Top Stories
Maine refuses to comply with DOJ subpoena for trans prisoner’s confidential records
Maine is fighting a Justice Department subpoena seeking confidential prison records involving a transgender woman housed in a women’s correctional facility. The Maine Attorney General’s Office filed a motion Monday in federal court saying the state prison system cannot turn over the records without a judge’s order because Maine law treats inmate medical, administrative and investigative records as confidential, according to the Portland Press Herald. The records sought by the federal government include information related to Andrea Balcer, a transgender woman incarcerated at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your […]
REPORT: Idaho Official Runs Nazi, Anti-LGBTQ Accounts
Investigate West reports: Sam Wolkenhauer, an economist and research analyst supervisor at the Idaho Department of Labor, has often served as the face of the state’s agency for worker welfare. He regularly delivers presentations to local civic groups, hosts webinars on workforce statistics and gives media interviews to regional news outlets. But online researchers recently identified Wolkenhauer as the anonymous poster behind large Substack and X.com accounts that drive thousands of dollars in subscriptions each month with pro-Russian commentary that often traffics in Nazi imagery and amplifies far-right organizations. Wolkenhauer’s Big Serge account on X, formerly known as Twitter, has more […]
2 in 3 school students in the US feel unsafe due to their LGBTQ+ identity
A new survey has shown that two-thirds of LGBTQ+ school students in the US have reported feeling unsafe because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The report comes from Glisten, an organisation “dedicated to creating safe and respectful learning environments for youth of all sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, race and abilities.” The figures are part of the organisation’s 13th National School Climate Survey, and hear from LGBTQ+ students, including intersex, asexual and Two-Spirit individuals, from K-12 about their 2024-2025 school year. The results found that two out of three LGBTQ+ students reported feeling unsafe at school because of […]
Local News
Sonoma’s Tuesday Night Market organizers change this week’s musical act after public outcry
A new local band will take to the stage during Sonoma’s Tuesday Night Marketthis week following a last-minute change in the entertainment lineup in response to public outrage over a homophobic comment made on social media by the leader of the previously scheduled local band. The Humdinger Band will now perform, following the city’s cancellation of Big O and Company, during the June 30 Tuesday Night Market, which takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sonoma Plaza. The change was made on Friday, June 26, in response to requests from members of the public who were upset by a homophobic post […]
This Month at Sonoma County Library
50th Anniversary Celebration for Petaluma Library Saturday, July 11 Help us celebrate the Petaluma Library’s 50th anniversary at our Fairgrounds Drive location Throughout the day: a scavenger hunt, time capsule creation, special Petaluma History Room displays, and more. Dress like it’s 1976! 11:00 – 2:00: Photo booth 1:00: Commemorative Welcome program 1:30: Recognition of the late Library Commissioner Paul Heavenridge and volunteer Gerry Groves 2:00: History of Libraries in Petaluma with historians John Sheehy, Harlan Osborne, and architect Mary Dooley 3:00: Los Gu’achis band and refreshments Children Aguacate Music for KidsAguacate Music for Kids shares songs in English and Spanish that inspire kids […]
Arts & Entertainment
Frameline50 Announces Audience & Juried Awards and Affirms That Queer Art Is the Future of Independent Cinema
Frameline announced the winners of the juried and Audience Awards at the 50th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline50). The world’s largest and longest-running queer film festival presented nearly 150 films from over 30 countries, brought 600 filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world to the Bay Area, and welcomed 50,000 attendees across its 11-day run. “Frameline50 proves the undeniable fact that queer film is the future of independent cinema,” said Allegra Madsen, Frameline’s Executive Director. “This is reflected by the record-breaking attendance of and unwavering support from our global community of industry professionals, filmmakers, and movie lovers. What’s unique about this festival is […]
Frameline50: Interview with Luchina Fisher, the director of “The Dads”
Inspired by the Emmy Award-winning short documentary of the same name (Netflix, 2023), The Dads chronicles fathers of trans and nonbinary children as they are forced to choose between country and family when a new right-wing administration and conservative Supreme Court take hold in the United States. Filmed over the course of a year spanning retreats in rural Maine and Minnesota, protests, family milestones, a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court decision, and the collapse of gender-affirming care for youth, The Dads captures this national reckoning with remarkable intimacy through vérité footage and interviews with the film’s main protagonists. This is fatherhood as an act of […]
State News
Gay Jewish lawmaker running to replace Nancy Pelosi chased from San Francisco Trans March
California state Sen. Scott Wiener says he was harassed, threatened, and physically intimidated at San Francisco’s Trans March on Friday, forcing the out gay Jewish lawmaker to leave one of the country’s most important transgenderPride gatherings in a city that has long imagined itself as a refuge. Wiener, a Democrat who represents San Francisco and is running for the congressional seat long held by retiring House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement posted to Instagram that two incidents this week showed how easily political anger can curdle into something more menacing. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a […]
Police on the hunt for ‘The Doodler’ suspect who killed six gay men in 1970s
San Francisco police have renewed their appeal to identify “The Doodler,” a serial killer who targeted gay men more than 50 years ago, offering a $250,000 reward for information. Investigators believe the killer murdered six gay men between January 1974 and June 1975. Police say the victims were all targeted because they were gay, and that each met the suspect shortly before being killed in isolated coastal locations. Four bodies were found around Ocean Beach, with another in Golden Gate Park. The victims were 49-year-old Gerald Cavanaugh, 27-year-old drag and comedy performer Joseph “Jae” Stevens, 31-year-old Klaus Achim Christmann, 52-year-old lawyer Warren Andrews, 32-year-old […]
