county Castro: Last News

SAN FRANCISCO — Cleve Jones has lived in the Castro neighborhood for nearly 50 years, almost from the day he graduated from high school in Phoenix and hitchhiked to California. He has been a political and cultural leader in San Francisco, organizing gay men and lesbians when the AIDS epidemic devastated these streets in the early 1980s. He created the nationally recognized AIDS Memorial Quilt from a storefront on Market Street.

SAN FRANCISCO — Cleve Jones has lived in the Castro neighborhood for nearly 50 years, almost from the day he graduated from high school in Phoenix and hitchhiked to California. He has been a political and cultural leader, organizing gay men and lesbians when the AIDS epidemic devastated these streets in the early 1980s. He created the nationally recognized AIDS Memorial Quilt from a storefront on Market Street.

It's been three years since San Francisco last celebrated Pride with its usual extravagance — COVID, like any unwanted guest, saw to that — but now, the fête is back this weekend under the theme "Love Will Keep Us Together" and people, hundreds of thousands of them, are ready to party. In person.

A permitting snafu may sink the Pink Saturday fashion show and dance party planned for the Castro June 25. A separate daytime event being produced by the Castro Merchants Association, featuring drag contests and a petting zoo, will go on as scheduled.Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman told the Bay Area Reporter Tuesday morning that he's doubtful the other event, called A Touch of Pink, will occur. He told the B.A.R.

San Francisco's Excelsior district is one of the more conservative areas of the city — not always welcoming to LGBTQ residents But that is starting to change. This Saturday, the neighborhood will hold its inaugural PridExcelsior party to kick off Pride Month.It was the neighborhood of Dan White, who served on the Board of Supervisors at the time and represented the district until his resignation. It was after he sought his job back that November and was rebuffed by mayor George Moscone that White assassinated both the mayor and San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk, the first gay man elected to office in California. (White died by suicide in 1985.)Today, the Excelsior district boasts some of the city's most diverse demographics, a place where Filipino markets, a Chinese hospital, and a tortilla shop are just some of the many eclectic businesses that dot a 2.2-mile commercial district. While some Excelsior business owners are eager to support the LGBTQ community, there's a tacit understanding that the neighborhood's first-ever official Pride event is a big step, no matter how much the neighborhood has changed.

San Francisco police are investigating two recent telephoned bomb threats against queer youth organization LYRIC, located in the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood, as possible hate crimes.LYRIC received the first bomb threat April 29, forcing the organization's youth clients and staff members to leave the Purple House building in the Castro that serves as its offices. A second threat, 24 days later, followed at 3:30 p.m., May 23, as after-school programs were underway, said Adam Michael Royston, communications director for the nonprofit, in a telephone interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

Organizations are in the midst of planning activities for Pride Month in June, including the return of a Pink Saturday dance party in the Castro and an event in Golden Gate Park timed with the observance of Juneteenth.Longtime San Francisco Pride celebration enthusiasts will be glad to hear that an official Pink Saturday is returning to the Castro this year, after an absence of nearly six years. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence stepped away from producing the event in 2015, after saying they could no longer guarantee the safety of visitors.

Castro merchants, long frustrated by the presence of so many empty storefronts throughout the LGBTQ neighborhood but particularly on Castro Street itself, may find themselves with new neighbors, temporarily at least.An ambitious plan announced at the May 5 meeting of the Castro Merchants Association would, with the cooperation of Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, neighborhood landlords, and grants from the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, bring short term pop-ups to the district's long-empty storefronts. "This is the number one problem in the Castro right now," CMA Co-President Dave Karraker told meeting attendees.Empty storefronts have plagued the neighborhood for years now, as the Bay Area Reporter detailed more than four years ago.

A man was held up at gunpoint and robbed in the Castro May 5, according to a report from the San Francisco Police Department. The SFPD's daily recap stated that the victim, a 41-year-old man, was approached at 16th and Castro streets around 10 p.m., by what he described as a man, probably in his early 30s, who held a gun to him and demanded valuables.

September 30, 1936 — March 19, 2022Bernardine Anna Banonis passed peacefully on to her eternal reward on March 19, 2022.She was a 55-year resident of San Francisco, living in the Castro district of the city. She and her dog, Chelsea, were a fixture in the Castro neighborhood.Her memorial Mass will be held at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 100 Diamond Street, on Saturday, May 7, at 11 a.m.In lieu of flowers, please remember her by donating to the Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group, 100 Diamond Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 or your favorite charity.Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going in these tough times. To support local, independent, LGBTQ journalism, consider becoming a BAR member.

San Francisco could see the return of a gay sex venue as soon as June now that the Board of Supervisors has thrown its support behind removing prohibitions that have kept such establishments from opening their doors in the city's historic LGBTQ neighborhoods. The decision also paves the way for a traditional gay bathhouse to once again operate in the City-by-the-Bay.At its April 26 meeting the board voted 11-0 in support of a zoning change that allows gay bathhouses and other adult sex venues to operate in the Castro, Tenderloin, and most of South of Market.

A proposed zoning change to allow gay bathhouses and other adult sex venues to open in the city's historic LGBTQ neighborhoods is close to being finalized. The new rules for such businesses should be in place by Pride Month in June.It will allow Eros, the sex club for queer and trans men, to reopen its doors at 132 Turk Street.

A group describing themselves as "a coalition of community stakeholders concerned about the future of the Castro Theatre" have written Gregg Perloff, chief executive officer of Another Planet Entertainment, to express their concerns about the future of the theater.Another Planet is the Berkeley-based concert promotion company that assumed management of the fabled cinema earlier this year."We are very concerned that changes being made without the input of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District will result in the erasure or drastic reduction of queer culture in the Castro Theatre," the letter stated. Dated April 12, the letter expresses concern about "the probable loss of regular film programming, sing-alongs, world-class film festivals, and low-cost rentals accessible to specialty producers like Mark Huestis and Peaches Christ beyond this calendar year." Furthermore, it details additional concerns about preservation of the historic theater along with its organ, the movie screen, "a century's worth of ephemera worthy of cataloging," and various other matters.In a news release to the Bay Area Reporter which accompanied the letter, cultural district manager Tina Valentin Aguirre, a genderqueer Latinx person, said that APE had refused to meet with them."It's been really disappointing to experience Another Planet Entertainment's erasure of film and queer culture in the Castro Theatre while refusing to meet with us or respond with substantive answers to detailed concerns that we have presented to them privately and now publicly," Aguirre stated.

It's been two years since the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have indulged the public's thirst for hunky Jesuses and foxy Marys in person but, finally, they're back and ready to party.San Franciscans can expect a full weekend of LGBTQ-centered Easter celebrations this year: the Sisters' annual Easter party in Mission Dolores Park on April 17, and a new celebration in the Castro, the Castro Easter Eggstravaganza Block Party, hosted by the Castro Merchants Association on April 16.The Sisters, the internationally beloved drag nun charitable group that got their start in San Francisco, are also expected to gather on Saturday for the official unveiling of Sister Vish-New Way, at the corner of Dolores Street and Alert Alley. The street name is derived from one of the names that founding Sister Kenneth Bunch has gone by over the years.The Sisters' signature Easter event, organized under the theme "Back to Our Old Habits," begins at 10:30 a.m.

In an encore performance, a man arrested for suspicion of breaking into the Castro Theatre March 29 was arrested again, April 1, for allegedly breaking into the historic movie palace days later, authorities said.Gary Marx, 38, was taken into custody just before 5 p.m. Friday, a normally busy time in the Castro, after police were "flagged down at the scene by a witness who pointed out the male who was trying to break in," according to a news release from the San Francisco Police Department. Marx was one of three men arrested earlier in the week for allegedly breaking into the historic cinema. Along with Nicholas Degrego, 25, and Jason Kilbourne, 32, Marx was apprehended inside the cinema March 29 after one of them was spotted by SFPD officers on routine patrol around 6:30 a.m. Kilbourne is still being held on a $30,000 bond and is next expected to appear in court April 5.Degrego was released into assertive case management shortly after his arrest. Marx was released into assertive case management in both incidents, said Robyn Burke, a spokesperson with the San Francisco District Attorney's office. He is expected to face arraignment on April 5, as well, for his earlier arrest.Marx is being charged with second-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools, and vandalism of more than $400, according to Burke. The cost of damages to the theater from the first break-in is $30,000, said Mary Conde, vice president of Another Planet Entertainment, which recently took over management of the theater. The costs for the second, most recent break-in is $15,000, she stated.

Milk plaza can fit with proposed site planIn the Guest Opinion ["Milk plaza plan has broad support," March 24] author Alex Lemberg asserts that I, along with another, are solely responsible for creating a false impression that demolition and replacement of Harvey Milk Plaza are not universally loved. "Neither of these people live in San Francisco, both have ulterior motives, and neither they nor anyone else has presented a viable alternative plan to the one presented by [Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza]," he writes.

Dr. Nasser Mohamed is believed to be the first physician to offer Apretude (injectable PrEP) in San Francisco outside of a clinical trial.Mohamed, a gay man, founded Osra Medical in 2019 "to take back my relationship with my patients and empower myself to be the doctor I set out to be," his website states.The medical center in the city's Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood strives to improve health outcomes for the LGBTQ+ community by offering access to comprehensive primary care, a news release states.

A massive display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will take place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park during Pride Month, officials of the National AIDS Memorial Grove, which oversees the tapestry, told the Bay Area Reporter.The news is set to be formally announced at a March 29 news conference at the San Leandro warehouse that houses the quilt.Meanwhile, the grove has received a grant from Mayor London Breed's office that will help cover some expenses for its new office space in the Castro, which it moved into earlier this month.The AIDS quilt display will be the largest ever in San Francisco and the biggest display anywhere in the U.S. in a decade — the last such showing was in Washington, D.C.

Cleve Jones helped build the Castro. Now he's leaving under what he wishes were better circumstances."I don't want to leave," the 67-year-old gay longtime activist — who worked with the late Harvey Milk and founded the AIDS Memorial quilt — told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview. "I came to the Castro in the mid-1970s, and I've moved away for work many times, but the Castro: that's where my heart has always been."Jones said he isn't leaving under circumstances he wants.

While few people will likely forget the silent pall that fell over San Francisco beginning two years ago March 17 with the COVID-19 lockdown, businesses in the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood are still struggling with the fallout from the impact of the pandemic."The COVID?19 pandemic has had a debilitating impact on small businesses in San Francisco," according to a report issued jointly in May 2021 by the San Francisco Office of Small Business and San Francisco State University, titled "Impact of COVID-19 on Small Businesses in San Francisco.""While demand has dried up due to the lack of tourists and shelter-in-place mandates, city mandates around capacity limits, opening dates, and a lack of transparent rollouts of programs have been devastating. Various sectors have been affected in disparate ways," the report states.One can see that firsthand in the Castro.Local Take, a shop specializing in San Francisco-made crafts at 3979-B 17th Street, fared reasonably well, said assistant manager Andy Eaglesham.

A new San Francisco-based organization assisting LGBTQ asylum seekers to rebuild their lives in the United States called upon President Joe Biden's administration to do better by queer people seeking refuge in the U.S. at a recent rally.During the evening rush hour March 3, about 50 people gathered at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro to listen to gay Assembly District 17 candidate David Campos, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), and queer asylum speakers who called for better U.S.

Dennis Cunningham, a longtime civil rights lawyer whose work also included representing gay men who were attacked by police in the infamous "Castro Sweep," died March 5. He was 86.The New York Times reported that Mr.

After a chilly weekend, it was a beautiful, warm Monday morning in the Castro. A promising start to the week, unless you happen to own Mudpuppy's.The night before, March 6, someone smashed the large plate glass windows of the 10-year-old dog grooming shop, which hung over the holding pens where their canine clients await their turn with their groomers.

There comes a time in a person's life when they've done what they needed to do and they want, instead, to do what they're passionate about. Michael Armentrout has reached that point.In January, Armentrout, a gay West Virginia native, was hired as executive director of Maitri Compassionate Care, a 35-year-old organization providing hospice, short-term respite care, and recovery support following gender affirmation surgery, in the Castro's Duboce Triangle neighborhood."It's an exciting organization," he told the Bay Area Reporter in a phone interview, "and I'm over the moon about the mission."For Armentrout, 65, who described himself as a "mission-driven kind of guy," Maitri was a natural progression, he said, after doing HIV care and education for much of his life.

SAN FRANCISCOStart in San Francisco’s gayborhood, the Castro District, at the intersection of Market and Castro Streets. The Harvey Milk Plaza is the spiritual and geographic heart of the Castro and honors the courageous gay activist and member of the city’s Board of Supervisors who was affectionately known as the “Mayor of Castro Street.” The easily accessible plaza now sits above the Castro’s Muni Metro Station on the city’s mostly underground light rail system.

Rates of sexually transmitted diseases rose in San Francisco in 2021, according to a year-end report released by the city's Department of Public Health.Dr. Stephanie Cohen, a straight ally who is the medical director of DPH's City Clinic in the South of Market neighborhood, told the Bay Area Reporter that "the impact of COVID-19 on sexual health services" led to statistics that were probably lower than the real rate of community infections."In 2021, we fortunately saw an increase in engagement with sexual health services," Cohen said.

A shooting in the parking lot of Market Street Safeway in the Castro left one person injured late Tuesday afternoon. The shooting took place during a fight involving "a large group of juveniles," according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation runs one of the largest community-based HIV service programs in the country, but last month, it began canceling some services and rationing testing for sexually-transmitted infections due to supply shortages at its Strut health center in the Castro.

Castro merchants were told at their meeting February 3 that the acting captain at the San Francisco Police Department's Mission Station has been promoted to the permanent position and that the old Pottery Barn store is unlikely to be the site of an LGBTQ museum.

Give APE a chance with Castro TheatreOn a positive note, I love the passion my community has for issues that are happening, in this case, at the Castro Theatre ["Cultural district expresses concerns about new Castro Theatre plan," January 27]. But we also tend to jump the gun, dig in our heels (stilettos?), and get our knickers in a twist. Another Planet Entertainment taking over the programming of the Castro Theatre is a good example of that.

With the recent news of the management and programming changes at the Castro Theatre, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District made a list of demands of the new management in a letter it published January 20.

Longtime gay rights activist and retired San Francisco State University professor Stuart Loomis died January 17 in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he had lived for many years. He was 102.

July 2, 1953 — December 25, 2021Peter F. Gettner, 68, of San Rafael, California, died peacefully on December 25 after a brief illness at Marin General Hospital with his loving life partner of 30 years, Francisco Molieri, at his side.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation January 11 that will allow additional bars in the Castro neighborhood.

Criminal charges have been dismissed against a gay San Francisco man who was allegedly beaten by police during an altercation in the Castro last year.

Best of GayCities 2021 gave our fans the opportunity to vote for their travel favorites and enter for a chance to win a prize. The votes are in, and we are pleased as punch to announce this year’s winners.

Santa and his reindeer are preparing to spread Christmas cheer as they take a break on the rooftop of the building at 18th and Danvers streets in the Castro, with the sun peeking through on a recent morning. The display also includes a Christmas tree and snowman.Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going in these tough times. To support local, independent, LGBTQ journalism, consider becoming a BAR member.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution December 14 designating December 30 as "Jodi Schwartz LYRIC Day" in the city. Schwartz, a queer woman, is the former executive director of the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, better known as LYRIC, and is now leading the organization's $2.5 million capital campaign to complete a major renovation of its "Purple House" on Collingwood Street in the Castro.

A temporary memorial to slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone — who were killed 43 years ago last week — was defaced in the Castro neighborhood December 1.

Names were written in chalk onto Castro Street sidewalks as part of Inscribe on World AIDS Day to colorfully remember those lost to the disease, now in its 40th year, and the COVID-19 pandemic that began over a year ago.

Former San Francisco supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, right, who was a colleague of gay supervisor Harvey Milk, joined others in leaving candles at the site of Milk's former camera store in the Castro November 27, on the 43rd anniversary of the assassinations of Milk and Mayor George Moscone. The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club organized the vigil, which began at Harvey Milk Plaza.Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going in these tough times. To support local, independent, LGBTQ journalism, consider becoming a BAR member.

After canceling the public Hanukkah celebration in the Castro last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 100 people turned out November 30 for the return of the large menorah in Jane Warner Plaza.

Housing hope in D8Good to hear Matthew S. Bajko mention the "renewed talk of seeing [Safeway's] upper Market Street site be redeveloped to bring in housing.

GayCities rounded up a few favorites that stand out–not only for their goods and services, but for the experience they provide– not to mention nearby world-class bars, cafes, restaurants, and only-in-San Francisco sights.This holiday season, skip soulless online buying and experience local color at these 10 fabulous LGBTQ-friendly stores across San Francisco.This impeccably curated, designer consignment store on Market Street has something for every occasion.

Would Harvey Milk, who organized the LGBTQ residents flocking to San Francisco's Castro district in the 1970s into a potent political force that helped elect him as the city's first gay elected leader, be able to afford to live in the City by the Bay today? It is a question his present-day successor on the Board of Supervisors, gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, poses at the start of a report he commissioned that examines how to construct more housing in the various neighborhoods he represents."It seems more likely than not that, after snapping some photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, enjoying the views from the top of Twin Peaks and maybe taking a ride on the Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park, they would have concluded that the rent

An announced town hall on the subject of raising a more contemporary Pride flag at Castro and Market streets was quietly dropped by the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District last month.

San Francisco? Last week saw the opening of a brand new LGBTQ art gallery in the Castro neighborhood of the city.Schlomer Haus Gallery is located at 2128 Market Street. The men behind it are Castro residents and husbands, Steffan Schlarb and Brandon Romer.

Halloween is a day that has held a special significance for San Francisco's LGBTQ community going back decades; but this year's is likely to be more noteworthy. Not only does the holiday fall during a weekend, it is expected to draw the most Halloween revelers since the COVID-19 pandemic.