Monthly Archives: October 2012

Midweek Round Up: Updates On Recent Castro Biscuit Posts

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There has been  a real flurry of events in the Castro over the last month and we’ve done our best to keep up with it all. Here is a quick re-cap of some of those posts and what has transpired since.

 MUMC and the Transgender Flag Flap: As we reported the request to fly the Transgender Pride flag on Nov. 20 in place of the LGBT Pirde Flag in the Castro at Harvey Milk Plaza has been approved by the Merchants of Upper Market Castro (MUMC) after threats of boycotts, online petition, resubmission of application and announcement of protest. That protest set for Nov. 19 against has now been turned into a solidarity march-The Million Trans March for Inclusion & Tolerance- organized by local Transactivist/Performers, La Moni Stat and Michael Soldier. We encourage all our readers to attend and keep an eye peeled for your stalwart Castro Biscuit staff.

World Homeless Day Protest: On Oct. 11 following a march to the Castro Homeless Rights Activists, many of whom identify as LGBT, occupied an empty house that could be used as shelter highlighting this continuing, unresolved and growing issue within City twenty activist were arrested and charged with a variety of offenses including conspiracy. Court dates have been set for those arrested and we will post more on how you can help them as trial dates approach. We encourage readers to get involved in this ongoing social disgrace. According to City statistics LGBTQ kids make up between 40% to 55% of the young people within the City’s homeless population. We should and can do more to help our communities in need and at risk youth.

Condoms As Evidence Law Struck Down & No On Prop. 35 March by AIDS Activist, Feminist & Sex Workers:  Fifty to seventy five activist marched in the Castro to celebrate the City’s decision to stop the practice of detaining and arresting people for carrying three condoms or more on your person as evidence of prostitution. Activists also used the opportunity to encourage everyone to vote no on Prop. 35, billed as stopping the sex slave trade, but  actually stipulates that anyone convicted of being a sex worker must then register as a sex offender for the rest of their lives. The march was well received and many local people came out to cheer on the activists who were comprised of the reformed chapter of ACT UP/SF, members of St. James Infirmary and the No On Prop. 35 coalition.

GLBT Museum, Magnet SF, Harvey’s & Outfit Hit By Vandals: At post time, according to SFPD, no one has been apprehended who broke out multiple large plate glass windows of both institutions and businesses post celebration of the Giant’s winning the 2012 World Series. We’re happy however to report that the GLBT Museum will be open today ready to receive visitors as is Magnet. The damage to both these much needed and heralded institutions is extensive and estimates to replace the broken windows will reach the thousands. Donations to the GLBT Museum and Magnet are still desperately needed. Your patronage of  Harvey’s and Outfit clothing store will also be much appreciated and help them to recover quickly from this senseless violence.

UPDATE to the UPDATE on GLBT/Magnet SF Vandalism: As of Wednesday, Oct. 31st, according to the SFPD and the Bar Area Reporter, a suspect has been identified in the vandalism and is currently under investigation. Arrest should be imminent! Good job SFPD!

Nudity in the Castro: Our recent editorial here at the Biscuit opposing  Sup. Weiner’s new proposed ban on public nudity has brought a lot of traffic to the site and we welcome all the new readers and viewpoints both for and against this issue. Yesterday the protest was taken to the steps of City Hall where the debate will soon reach the ears of the full SF Board of Supes. We look forward to the next development and continuing to cover this story as it evolves.

Handbills Appear in Castro Targeting Supervisor Scott Weiner

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Handbills appeared through out the Castro today inside newspaper boxes, on telephone poles and placed on the side of buildings calling District 8′s Supervisor, Scott Weiner, out on his reported stance on the ongoing issue of the Homeless within the neighborhood. Many citizen’s and businesses have complained to the Supervisor about this ongoing challenging social issue facing the City and the Castro. Homeless advocates point out that the over 40% of all homeless youth under the age of 24 in the City are LGBTQI and are often the most under served of all. The anonymous authors flyers implications are quite provocative.  This isn’t a new issue facing the community or the Supervisor, yet, it is one that has remained woefully unsolved. The last attempt by the City to address the issue was the much debated ‘Sit/Lie Law’ instituted to keep the homeless off sidewalks, benches, or walkways.

Do you have suggestions for the Supervisor on how to help dismantle this complex Citywide issue? Feel free to comment and we can pass them on to the Mr. Weiner for you.

Castro’s Giants’ Celebration Aftermath: Thousands of Dollars in Damages

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We’re sad to report that the celebration for the City’s beloved baseball team, The Giants’, winning the World Series over the Detroit Tigers in the Castro has left two non-profits and two businesses with broken windows and everyone shaking their heads wondering, ‘why’?

Post win thousands poured into the streets all over San Francisco including the Castro. Within an hour the GLBT Historical Museum, San Francisco Magnet-San Francisco AIDS Foundations Gay men’s health care center and Harvey’s Bar-all located on 18th street between Castro and Collingwood-had huge plate glass windows smashed by celebrating  vandal/’fans’. These massive, plate glass, windows will cost thousands of dollars each to replace and will deplete already limited budgets on the part of the all those effected. On the main strip, Outfit on Castro Street, also experienced the wrath of the vandals having had their wooden, front door windows smashed out as well.

What a disappointment and sad turn of events on a day when we all should be enjoying the afterglow of winning such a coveted event. Instead Magnet and the GLBT Museum were shuttered today due to the damage.

We hope anyone that saw what happened can help the SFPD find and arrest the culprits who attacked our own. If you have a tip on who these vandals are you can leave it anonymously HERE. If you took pictures while the damage was happening you can also forward those anonymously or send them to us and we’ll post them. This is not how SF Queers celebrate success. We as a community cannot condone or be complicit in this type of outrageous behavior.

If you can donate to the GLBT Historical Society or Magnet just click the highlighted names here and you’ll be linked directly to help defray the large dent this will put in their non-profit budgets. Help Harvey’s out by stopping by and having a bite or a drink to support them and offset the huge cost of replacing these windows. Stop by Outfit on Castro Street and check out their selection of fine clothes and consider making a purchase.

Magnet SF

Harvey’s Windows. Photo: Gerard Koskovich

Outfit on Castro Street

 

Editorial: Take Your Clothes Off, If You’d Like

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In mid-September I started an email dialogue with Castro’s District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener when I found out he was going to be introducing legislation to ban nudity throughout the city of San Francisco. I was disappointed, to say the least, that of all the issues that plague our community and San Francisco at large, this was an issue Scott was willing to tackle.

Supervisor Scott Wiener at the opening of Jane Warner Plaza in 2009. Photo by Flickr user Jamison Wieser

In the exchange he noted that the nudists have taken over Jane Warner Plaza saying,

“I don’t have an issue, in general, with public nudity.  Nor do most folks in the neighborhood.  What I and many others do have an issue with is any group that takes over and dominates the only usable public plaza in our neighborhood. Jane Warner Plaza is our town square, and these guys have turned it into their own personal nude beach. That’s not ok.  They’re their own worst enemies — their behavior has done nothing but built strong public sentiment in favor of a ban.  I’d very much prefer that they just stop dominating the plaza and avoid the need for a measure to address the situation.  To date, I’ve seen no indication of a willingness on their part to do so.”

Continue reading →

PHOTOS/VIDEOS: Castro Goes Nuts as Giants Sweep the Tigers Winning World Series!

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1000′s of people are pouring into the Castro, and out of the bars and into the streets to celebrate the Giants’ World Series Championship. The Giant’s swept Detroit 4-3 in the fourth and final game of the series scoring the tie breaking run in the tenth inning. Fans chanted, honked, stopped buses, threw toilet paper, shot off fireworks and got rowdy at 18th and Castro.

Check out the photos and videos!

More ‘Signs’ of Displeasure & Dissent Over The Pope’s Pick of SF’s New Archbishop

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Despite all it’s efforts to quell the LGBT communities justifiable unhappiness over the Pope’s pick of Proposition 8 author, Salvatore Cordileone, as new Archbishop of the San Francisco diocese many still remain enraged. These posters have been going up around The Castro and adjoining neighborhoods touting the facts of the matter. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have plans to welcome the Archbishop at every opportunity and we here at The Biscuit would like to encourage other like minded individuals and groups to do the same. We believe that religious freedom cannot trump our inalienable bill of rights.

BHG Mason-McDuffie Moves Out of the Castro

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Mason-McDuffie, a Better Home’s and Gardens real estate broker, has packed up shop and moved out of their location at 2241 Market Street. Their new home is now on Valencia in the Mission. Mason-McDuffie was founded in the Bay Area in 1897 by Duncan McDuffie who developed what he called ‘neighborhood residential parks’ like Forrest Hills and Claremont in Berkeley. Better Home’s and Gardens acquired the company in 2009. At this time it’s not clear why they chose to shutter this particular location.

We’ve checked out the SkyLine Realty website to try and get the lease price and details for people who might be interested, but it has not yet been listed.

Another void in the neighborhood bringing the number of store front properties empty between 15th/Market and 19th/Castro to 15 and counting.