Lawmakers celebrated drag nun Sister Roma and declared June LGBTQ+ Pride Month at the California Capitol.
As part of an official resolution proclaiming it Pride month, the legislature’s LGBTQ Caucus invited Roma, a San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence member. Additionally, out tennis legend Billie Jean King and out filmmaker and internet personality Eugene Lee Yang were among others honored.
Sister Roma was invited to the state capitol by San Francisco’s gay state Sen. Scott Wiener, The Sacramento Beereports.
Several Republican senators called on the Senate’s President pro Tempore, Toni Atkins, to revoke Roma’s invitation last Thursday.
On Monday afternoon, some Catholics and evangelical Christians protested at the Capitol’s west steps against the recognition of Roma. Republican members retired to the lounge behind the chamber as Roma approached the podium.
However, standing ovations filled the room as the rest of the members cheered, applauded, and clapped.
“Love you, Roma! ” cried fellow honoree Harry Lit, eliciting cheers from the gallery and floor. While outside the chamber, Roma was greeted by supporters giving her high fives, shaking her hand, and taking photos.
“I was very emotional,” she said after receiving her award.
“I came this close to crying,” she added, “and if this makeup runs, I’m done.”
Wiener stated before the event that he would be surprised if Republican colleagues disrupted the ceremony.
“I think my Republican colleagues are caricaturing her,” Wiener conveyed to The Bee, “and if they really took the time to get to know her, they’d understand why I nominated her for this honor.”
The Sisters describe themselves as “a leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns” employing “humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”
In both the Assembly and Senate, the resolutions were approved without opposition.
The dispute over Roma’s invitation follows the L.A. Dodgers’ withdrawal of an invitation to the Los Angeles order of the Sisters last month, sparked by conservative complaints. Within a few days, the team re-invited the group after receiving backlash from protestors. Drag performances have been banned outright in several conservative-controlled states following a nationwide Republican campaign to restrict them.
Former vice president and 2024 presidential candidate Mike Pense criticized the Dodgers for acknowledging the Sisters.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, 491 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in GOP-controlled legislatures across the country — 63 of them have already become law.
Three people were arrested Tuesday at protests held outside a meeting of the Glendale Unified School District board, where pro-and anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrators faced off over how schools teach gender and sexuality.
Law enforcement declared an unlawful assembly after fighting broke out outside the building, officials said. The situation temporarily disrupted the meeting, which was about an hour into public comments on an agenda item calling for recognition of June as Pride Month — which board members unanimously approved late in the evening.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters had swarmed outside the building, some waving American flags and others waving Pride flags, with many documenting the scene with their smartphones. Those who were protesting the board’s LGBTQ+ policies chanted, “Leave our kids alone” while naming each of the five members of the board.
Large barricades set up by Glendale Police to control crowds were seen containing hundreds of demonstrators outside of the Glendale Unified School District headquarters.
A dispersal order was issued around 6:15 p.m. as police were heard using a loudspeaker to order the crowds’ removal, declaring an unlawful assembly. A large barricade was placed in the middle of the parking lot, separating the two contentious groups.
While most of the protest remained peaceful, police said a “small group of individuals engaged in behavior deemed unsafe and a risk to public safety.” Officers were also heard saying they would not hesitate to use a chemical agent against the crowds.
Footage from AIR7 HD captured the chaos as punches were thrown in the parking lot. After the skirmishes, police in riot gear kept pro-LGBTQ+ protesters and conservative groups separated. Three people were arrested for various charges, including allegedly using pepper spray and obstructing officers, according to the Glendale Police Department. Close to 500 people showed up at the protest at GUSD headquarters.
“While most of the protest was peaceful, a small group of individuals engaged in behavior deemed unsafe and a risk to public safety,” police said in a statement. A dispersal order was given just after 6 p.m. and additional police resources were requested “to ensure the safety of the Glendale community would not be compromised.” Board members later unanimously adopted the resolution to declare June as Pride Month.
The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ people in the U.S. on Tuesday and a released “a guidebook for action” summarizing what it calls discriminatory laws in each state, along with “know your rights” information and health and safety resources.
Sounding the alarm about the current political environment, the nation’s largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans said advisories warning against travel to dangerous places aren’t enough to help people already living in so-called hostile states.
The campaign said it’s taking action in response to an unprecedented and dangerous spike in discriminatory legislation sweeping state houses this year, with more than 525 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced and more than 70 signed into law so far in 2023 — more than double last year’s number. In a report released Tuesday called “LGBTQ+ Americans Under Attack,” it says the new laws are a result of coordinated Republican efforts, supported by “well-funded extremist groups.”
The “LGBTQ+ Americans Fight Back” guidebook, meanwhile, also provides information about filing complaints for violations of civil rights and points to resources for financing moves and finding employment in what it calls “safer” states.
In a section called Know the Enemy/Opposition, the guidebook offers tips on how to engage in local advocacy opposing anti-LGBTQ efforts and how to navigate tough conversations about hate with friends and family.
The guidebook aims to help millions of vulnerable people, “whether they’re planning summer travel through regions that are becoming increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ people, or whether they already live in a state where legislative assaults and political extremism are continuing to put a target on our backs,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement.
The emergency declaration is the first in the 40-year history of the HRC, and comes as Republican-dominated legislatures around the country have passed bills targeting people based on their identities, including laws restricting various aspects of transgender existence, from pronoun usage and bathroom access to medical care and more.
Nearly 1 in 10 adults across 30 countries identify as LGBTQ, according to a new global survey, but that number tells only part of the story. Age and geographic location played a central role in the findings, with younger respondents and those in more progressive countries significantly more likely to be included in that top-line number. Demographics, including gender, also figured noticeably in respondents’ views on issues like transgender discrimination and same-sex marriage.
Ipsos, a market-research company, surveyed 22,514 participants in 30 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia in February and March, and found that 3% identified as lesbian or gay, 4% as bisexual, 0.9% as pansexual or omnisexual, and 0.9% as asexual.
Survey respondents in Generation Z (born after 1997) were two times as likely as millennials (born in 1981 to 1996) to identify as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual or asexual, and four times as likely as those in Generation X (1965 to 1980) or baby boomers (1948 to 1964).
When survey results were broken down by geography, respondents in Spain were the most likely (6%) to identify as gay or lesbian, while those in Brazil and the Netherlands were the most likely to identify as bisexual (both 7%). By contrast, respondents in Japan were the least likely to identify as gay or lesbian (less than 1%) or as bisexual (1%).
In terms of gender identity, 0.8% of respondents identified as transgender; 1.3% percent as nonbinary, gender nonconforming or gender fluid; and 0.7% did not identify with any of these categories but also did not identify as male or female.
Like sexual identity, there are large — and growing — generation gaps. While 6% of Generation Z respondents identified as something other than exclusively male or only female, 3% of millennials reported the same, while only 1% of Generation X and boomers did.
“We are seeing generational shifts. Globally, only 4% of boomers identify as LGBT+ versus 18% of Gen Z,” Nicolas Boyon, a senior vice president at Ipsos, told NBC News. “Older generations are seeing this and are probably a little bit puzzled.”
LGBTQ visibility
Globally, LGBTQ visibility has increased since 2021, when Ipsos last conducted its global survey. Nearly half (47%) of adults say they have a relative, friend or colleague who is lesbian or gay, up from 42% in 2021, and more than a quarter (26%) say they know someone who is bisexual, an increase of 2 percentage points from 2021. When it comes to gender identity, 13% know someone who is trans, an increase of 3 percentage points since 2021.
The number of people who say they know someone who is LGBTQ varies widely by country. The highest visibility for gays, lesbians and bisexuals was in Brazil, Spain, Chile and New Zealand, while visibility was the lowest in Japan, South Korea, Romania and Turkey.
Gender diversity was most visible in Thailand, New Zealand, the U.S. and Australia, and least visible in Romania, South Korea, Japan and Hungary.
Younger people and women were more likely than men and older respondents to know someone who is LGBTQ, and younger people in particular were much more likely to know someone who is transgender, the report found.
Transgender discrimination
Globally, 67% of respondents said transgender people confront a fair or great deal of discrimination, while 19% said they face little to no discrimination. And more than three quarters (76%) of those surveyed — representing a majority in each of the 30 countries surveyed — said transgender people should be protected from discrimination in employment, housing and businesses such as restaurants and stores.
A majority of respondents also said they support trans-inclusive policies that have become political flashpoints in several countries: 60% said trans teens should be able to access gender-affirming care with parental consent; 55% said trans people should be allowed to access single-sex facilities that match their gender identity; and 53 percent said government-issued IDs should include options other than male or female.
Thailand and Chile were among the countries most in favor of pro-transgender measures, while the U.S. and the United Kingdom — where trans issues have “polarizing political issues,” according to the report — were among the least.
Same-sex marriage
More than half of all respondents (56%) said gay marriage should be legal, and an additional 16% said same-sex couples should be able to receive some form of legal recognition. By contrast, 14% opposed any form of legal recognition, and an additional 14% were unsure.
In the 20 countries surveyed where same-sex marriage is already legal, support for it ranged from 49% to 80%, with only Colombia coming in below the halfway mark. In the other 10, a majority support some form of recognition, with the exception of Turkey.
Support for same-sex marriage, however, has “softened in several Western countries since 2021,” the report found.
Of the 23 countries surveyed both this year and in 2021, the report found that nine showed a decline of 4 percentage points or more in the support of same-sex marriage, including the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Only two countries surveyed both years showed an increase of 4 percentage points or more: France and Peru.
“We see that there tends to be a lot of opposition where trans rights are a very political issue,” Boyon said. “I wonder if, to some extent, the political polarization has not spilled over to views about same-sex marriage and adoption.”
Similar patterns were also found regarding adoption by same-sex couples. Globally, 64% of respondents said same-sex couples should have the same adoption rights as opposite-sex couples, though the report found that support for same-sex adoption has “declined significantly” in the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey.
Women and younger respondents were more likely to support same-sex marriage and adoption than men and older respondents.
“Most LGBT+ related trends cross borders,” Boyon said.
Heron Arts, in collaboration with The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District and Oasis Arts is pleased to announce the group exhibition Pride Pop-Up Show. The exhibition will be a salon style show featuring artwork by local LGBTQ+ artists and will be both a celebration of the beginning of Pride month, as well as a celebration of the cultural heritage of the LGBTQ+ community in the SoMa neighborhood where Heron Arts is located. The exhibition will be on view at Heron Arts from June 2nd until June 14th, 2023. The opening reception for Pride Pop-Up Show will feature drag performances presented by Oasis Arts with a DJ set by Trevor Sigler and is on Friday June 2nd, 2023, from 6-9 pm and is free and open to the public.
Participating Artists
Adam Caldwell, Aleckzander Anthony, Alex Prestia, Diego Gomez, Dorian Katz, Elliott C Nathan, Favianna Rodriguez, Gloria Polo, J Manuel Carmona, Johnny Botts, Jonesy, Josh Katz, Justin Hall, Kegan Marling, Luke Andahazy, Phil Chanin (Glitter Moonbeam), Serge Gay Jr., and Tanya Wischerath.
The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District
The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District’s vision is to rejoice, commemorate, and protect the contributions of our predecessors, contemporaries, and successors rooted in the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District and its diverse and marginalized peoples. United, we preserve, enhance, and advocate for the continuity and vitality of the Kinky and Queer communities of San Francisco’s LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.
Oasis Arts
Oasis Arts supports artists through collaboration, development, and mentorship by providing tools, venue space, resources and equipment to enable LGBTQ and BIPOC artists to create innovative and diverse art. Partnering with Oasis Nightclub and leveraging the seven year history of the queer arts scene. Oasis Arts will elevate diversity and bring vibrant art to the community by embracing participation across generations, cultural backgrounds, and individual expressions. Oasis Arts is committed to uplifting the voices of the historically suppressed, disenfranchised, and forgotten LGBTQ and BIPOC community by providing a platform to present artistic expression. Oasis Arts, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, CA.
Members of a culture-warring Florida school district spent a contentious eight-and-a-half hours at a school board meeting expressing their exasperation with the divisiveness plaguing the schools.
According to the Tampa Bay Times,topics at the meeting included book bans, LGBTQ+ rights, and the “overall direction of the … district and its closely divided board.”
Many speakers (there were over 100) denounced the right-wing propaganda claiming teachers are indoctrinating children to be LGBTQ+.
“No one is teaching your kids to be gay!” said former math teacher Alyssa Marano, who recently resigned from the Hernando school district. “Sometimes, they just are gay. I have math to teach. I literally don’t have time to teach your kids to be gay.”
The district gained notoriety in May when the Florida Department of Education began investigating a Hernando fifth-grade teacher, Jenna Barbee, for showing her class the Disney movie Strange World, which contains a scene where one of the male characters says he has a crush on a boy. Barbee has since resigned.
But Barbee is just the beginning. About 50 teachers are reportedly planning to resign due to the school’s hostile environment.
At the board meeting, teacher Daniel Scott decried the “draconian working conditions that are causing many such as myself to abandon this honored career.”
“I don’t feel that I can adequately provide a safe environment for my students anymore,” Scott said.
Students and parents also spoke, with one saying the school’s “war on woke” is actually a war on the students’ futures.
Amelie Howell, a sophomore in high school, held a sign that said “Education is not indoctrination” and told the board, “It feels like a lot of people are speaking for us. Nobody is asking what we want.”
According to the Times, meeting attendees also included Proud Boys and members of the anti-LGBTQ+ organization Moms for Liberty.
As part of his own war on so-called “woke” culture, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been helping Moms for Liberty members get elected to local Florida school boards.
Shannon Rodriguez, a Hernando board member who was endorsed by Moms for Liberty, is the one who reported Barbee for showing the Disney film.
Both Rodriguez and fellow Board member Mark Johnson – whose campaign was focused on opposing critical race theory – have caused controversy in the district after campaigning to remove Superintendent John Stratton, whom they have accused of supporting “indoctrination.”
Stratton survived the vote of no confidence, with one board member, Susan Duval, saying you “could never find a better superintendent.”
Meetings like this are the product of a Florida culture war continually stoked by DeSantis, who recently announced his campaign for President.
Beginning with the 2022 passage of the Don’t Say Gay law – which prohibits class instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade – DeSantis and the Republican-controlled legislature have devoted their tenure to demonizing LGBTQ+ people and making schools less safe for LGBTQ+ students.
DeSantis and the Florida GOP have been so hostile to the LGBTQ+ community that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) – the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ rights organization – joined Equality Florida to issue a travel advisory for the state.
On May 17, DeSantis signed a slate of laws targeting LGBTQ+ people, including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, restrictions on such care for adults, a ban on all-ages drag shows, and an anti-trans bathroom bill.
DeSantis has gone to war with Disney over its opposition to the Don’t Say Gay law, has launched numerous blindsides attacking “woke indoctrination” in schools, and has taken control of the state’s education system with handpicked administrators and the power of the bully pulpit. His staff has regularly smeared LGBTQ+ people and allies on social media with vile slurs and insinuations of sexual abuse.
The Don’t Say Gay law – which has been expanded to all grades – has led to the banning of LGBTQ+ books in schools and the forced outing of students to their parents by school administrators.
In 2021, DeSantis signed a bill banning trans students from participating in school sports.
DeSantis has ranted against “woke gender ideology” and once claimed, “In the state of Florida, we are not going to allow them to inject transgenderism into kindergarten.”
LGBTQ+ students in Florida are so scared of repercussions that many have refused to speak with LGBTQ Nation about their experiences. A non-LGBTQ+ student told us that terrified queer students are learning to “shut up and keep their head low.”
The frontrunner to be Thailand’s next prime minister joined a Pride parade in Bangkok on Sunday, promising to pass a law that would allow same-sex marriage and gender identity rights if he becomes premier. Thousands of LGBTQ+ people, their allies and political leaders marched through central Bangkok, marking Pride month and promoting gender equality in the second official Pride parade to be held in the country.
Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the progressive Move Forward party, is pushing to lead a coalition after winning the most seats in a May 14 general election. The coalition has made a joint pledge to pass laws, including the Marriage Equality Act, to ensure equal rights for all couples regardless of gender, after the passage of the draft law and related legislations were stalled in parliament under the previous government.
PRIDE APPROACHES!Get ready for an event-packed month ahead.We have flags-raising, an LGBT+ Veteran’s meeting, an art show and reception for the LGBT+ artists, a book reading by one of our own, and much more!
Welcome Joe Tuohy! Join us to celebrate our new Executive Director at a lovely evening at Falkirk Cultural Center 1408 Mission, San Rafael June 14, 5:30 to 7 pm
Also,Joe is looking forward to getting to know you, members of our LGBT+ senior community. He will join us on the Second Tuesday at the Mgt. Todd Senior Center on June 13, 12:30 to 2 pm, to talk to us about his vision for The Spahr Center and hear from the community about our lives, our needs and concerns. I encourage you to come out and meet him! More info below.
Pride Not Prejudice The Sausalito Center for the Arts is hosting an exhibition of art by 28 LGBTQIA+ artists including our own Bill Otton. The exhibit runs from June 9th to July 2nd, Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 am to 5 pm and is free, though donations are suggested to support this new space. Cleverly titled Pride Not Prejudice, the showcase will expose tourists from all over the world (and middle America!) to our creativity and humanity. More information here. There is an artists’ reception on June 9, 6 to 8 pm; tickets for the reception are required and can be secured for donation through a link to the exhibition website here. The exhibit includes the showing of Homosocial, a collection of vintage photographs of same-gendered couples displaying intimacy.
UPCOMING EVENTSall events are free
June 1Novato’s Annual Pride Flag Raising Event **Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue coffee & pastries served8:30 am June 1Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm on zoomWhat’s Pride Mean To You?See topic writeup belowTo join group, find purple Join Group button below
June 2Pride Flag Raising **Novato Community Hospital 180 Rowland Way (off Rowland Blvd.)10:30 am, reception to follow June 6Grief & Bereavement Groupfor LGBTQIA+ & HIV+ people who have experienced losson zoom only this monthclick here to join the zoom group 7 to 8 pm June 9LGBTQ+ Veterans of the North Bay Quarterly Lunch **Sam’s Place, Novato 1 pm June 9Pride Not PrejudiceOpening Night Artists’ Reception6 to 8 pm (tickets required / see above)the Exhibition in Celebration of Pride Month continuesJune 9 to July 2, Wednesdays to Sundays 11 am to 5 pmSausalito Center for the Arts 750 Bridgeway June 10Fairfax Festival Paradewhere hippies & the gay community celebrate together!come march (2 blocks!) with the Spahr Banner!gather at 9:30 behind Good Earthmarch at 10 am June 13Second Tuesday LGBT+ Senior Group at Mgt. Todd Senior Center1560 Hill Road, Novato in the Hill Community Room behind the main building(see site map & more information below)12:30 to 2:30 June 14LGBT+ Senior Monthly Mixer **at San Rafael Joe’s -from 4th Street entrance4:30 to 6 pm June 14 Welcome Joe Tuohy **Our New Executive DirectorFalkirk Cultural Center1408 Mission Ave, San Rafael5:30 to 7 pm June 15Senior Breakfast Club *at Sam’s Place, Novato 9:30 am June 17Seniors Learning Together about Our Transgender Friends **at Beth & Lolma’s homefor more information to reserve your spot,contact Lolma at sageconslt@aol.com(limited to 10 participants)1 to 3 pm June 20Games Day *at Sam’s Place, Novato 1545 S. Novato Blvd.meal at 2 pm, games at 3 pm June 21Bill Jones Book Reading Bachelor Father: The first single manto legally adopt a child in AmericaSausalito Books by the Bay 100 Bay Street, Sausalito5:30 pm June 27Women’s Coffee *at Sam’s Place, Novato 10 am June 27Fourth TuesdayWest Marin LGBT Senior Town Hallin-person at San Geronimo Valley Community Center 6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd12:30 to 1 brown bag/1-2:30 discussion June 30Men’s Brown Bag Lunchlast Friday of every monthdownstairs at the Spahr Centersemi-ramp but no automatic door150 Nellen Ave. #100, Corte Maderanoon to 1:30 pm
July 16AIDS Walk San Francisco **save the datewatch for more information soonJoin the Spahr Center’s Team!Contact Matt: MEasterwood@thespahrcenter.org July 29LGBT+ Senior Potluck Picnic *Food Fun Games FriendsMiwok Park, Novato *Social Committee event, must RSVP, at least 8 participants required;to RSVP or get on their email list, write to them at socialcommittee@comcast.net ** See flyer below
To join the Spahr Senior Groupon ZoomMondays, 7 to 8 pm, &Thursdays, 12:30 to 2 pm,click the purple button below the Butterfly Heart or here:
New participants are warmly welcomed!If you’re zoom-challenged, let me know and I’ll work with you!
Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm June 1What Does Pride Mean to You?We were born into a time when, as Oscar Wilde phrased it, our love dared not speak its name. We’ve come a long way since then! How do you relate to the idea of pride in who we are?
Living Room Mondays7 to 8 pm We share with each other about how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening from our hearts and deepening community.
Welcome Joe TuohyOur New Executive Director Join us in a celebration of a new era for The Spahr Center at the lovely Falkirk Cultural Center. Refreshments will be served. And yes, we’re aware this overlaps somewhat with our monthly Senior Mixer. Everyone is invited to participate in both – Falkirk is just a bit further west of San Rafael Joe’s on Mission. Donations are welcome and encouraged – click on the flyer just below. To automatically register without a donation – a senior exclusive! – write to Matt Easterwood at measterwood@thespahrcenter.org.
Seniors Learning Together This is the perfect time and place for seniors to become familiar with Transgender & Non-binary people and their identities in a safe, small group. Contact Lolma for more information and to register here.
The Northbay LGBT+ Senior Social Committee has been consistently offering meaningful, fun events for the senior community. Everyone born in any month will be celebrated in that month’s email – including your birthday if you’ll let them know when it rolls around! To sign up for their emails or register for events, click here. You can check out their June birthdays and calendar by clicking here.
Coronavirus Updates A second bivalent covid vaccination is available to seniors and immune-compromised individuals if you had your first bivalent injection at least 6 months ago. Covid Test Expiration Dates Extended:When the tests were created, a conservative date was assigned because authorities didn’t know how long they would be effective. They are working beyond their original expiration date and have been assigned new ones. You can check on your kits’ expiration date and learn more by clicking here.IF your kit is made by Quickvue, you can search for the updated expiration date here.
The Spahr Center has coronavirus rapid home test kits& masks and they are available for free in the office – 150 Nellen Avenue, Suite 100, Corte Madera 94925; 415/457-2487. The office is open 10 am – 3 pm weekdays. Only vaccinated people may come to the office and masks must be worn inside the building. Any staff person can direct you to the kits. This is a great resource we are pleased to offer, please don’t hesitate to get these kits! In order to keep track of new infections, the County asks that we report self-test resultshere. To see Marin County’s latest pandemic information, click here. The mask recommendations of the Mask Nerd– an aerosol scientist who studies mask effectiveness – are featured in this article and highly informative video. May we all be safe and well!
Community Notices
The Spahr Center’s Food Pantryis open to seniors who need support in meeting their nutritional needs. We want to help! Items such as fresh vegies, fruit & meats, eggs and dairy, prepared meals, pasta, sauces, and canned goods are delivered weekly to people who sign up. We strive to do a terrific job in trying to meet the individual needs and preferences of the people we serve.
Vivalon Resources for Seniors Whistlestop, now renamed Vivalon, offers many resources for us seniors, now listed in this easy-to-print one-page guide. Access to rides, food, classes, activities, resources, referrals, and more. Membership not required for most classes and services during the pandemic. Some in-person events are being planned. To get Vivalon’s listings, click here. They also provide access to resources including rides for older adults. Please note: there is a 3-week registration process for the ride program so register now if you think you may need rides in the future. Click here for their website. The Jackson Cafe has great specials, a roomy dining room, small tables and big round tables for groups. Open 11:30 to 1:45; $8 for members, $10 for guests, with takeout readily available. You can find their daily changing menu and more information here.
Building Community in the Midst of Sheltering-in-PlaceSee old friends and make new ones! Join us!The Spahr Center’s LGBT Senior Discussion Groupscontinue everyMonday, 7 to 8 pm& Thursday, 12:30 to 2 pm
BEERFEST-THE GOOD ONE RETURNS SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 2023 LUTHER BURBANK CENTER, SANTA ROSA 1PM-4:30PMVIP Admission starting at Noon Join us for the 30th Annual Beerfest-The Good One fundraiser! 40+ breweries & cideries pouring their best product for you.Music, Food, Raffle and more all in one fun-filled afternoon. Tickets Available Now
“You’re not qualified! You’re not qualified!’ shouted one audience member at the board. The frustration was over the 3-2 vote opposing the adoption of new social studies curriculum for Temecula Valley Unified School District elementary schools.
The decision could leave 11,397 students without a textbook next year. “We’ve never experienced this before. I’ve never heard of a top performing district or any district say you know what we are going to withhold these materials,” said Edgar Diaz, the president of the Temecula Valley Educator Association.
School board members, Dr. Joseph Komrosky, Jennifer Wiersma and Danny Gonzalez opposed the inclusion of gay rights activist Harvey Milk in the supplemental material used by teachers, even though Milk is not in the 4th grade textbook himself.
The board’s president made a baseless accusation that Milk was a pedophile before voting to ban the book. “My question is, why even mention a pedophile?” said Board President Dr. Joseph Komrosky. Temecula’s emotionally charged meeting resembles many others from here in Southern California and across the country as communities demand school boards to limit discussions of race and sexual orientation.
180 Rowland Way (off Rowland Blvd.)10:30 am, reception to follow
