‘Rise for Climate Jobs + Justice’ Expected to Be Largest Ever West Coast Climate March
Thousands of rallies across the world are being planned for September 8 to demand that local leaders commit to building a fossil fuel-free world that puts people and justice before profits. The San Francisco rally, “Rise for Climate Jobs + Justice,” is expected to be the largest ever climate march on the West Coast. Participants will include numerous members of our LGBTQ community, including those who participated in the comparable worldwide Women’s March on January 21 of last year. The organizers of the upcoming rallies support the goals of the Paris Agreement (https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement) and further call for “a fast, fair and just transition to 100% renewable energy and an immediate end to new fossil fuel projects.”
For more information about the San Francisco march: https://ca.riseforclimate.org/
California Passes First State Legislation Recognizing Bodily Autonomy of Intersex Individuals
The California Legislature on August 27 passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 110 (SCR 110), authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D- Richmond), calling on those in the medical community to recognize the human rights of individuals born with variations in their sex characteristics, sometimes referred to as intersex traits. Specifically, the medical community is to stop performing sex assignment surgeries on intersex infants at birth. Instead, the surgery can be delayed until the intersex individual may decide for themselves whether to pursue surgery at all, at an age when informed consent is possible. The resolution is the first-ever successful piece of state legislation to explicitly recognize the bodily autonomy of intersex individuals, and to celebrate the bodily autonomy of intersex youth. SCR 110 passed the Senate with 25 votes in support.
Senator Wiener said, “Physicians should not immediately seek to ‘correct’ how people are born through irreversible surgeries, unless they are medically necessary. These surgeries can have significant negative impacts on people’s lives, particularly if the gender chosen by the physician and parents is different from the child’s ultimate gender identity. I am proud that the California Legislature understands that intersex people deserve the right to identify with the gender of their choosing, and not have that decision be made for them before they are able to consent.”
Read the full text of SCR 110: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SCR110
LGBTQ Activist Cleve Jones and District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman Arrested on Labor Day While Supporting Hotel Workers
When We Rise author/activist Cleve Jones and San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman were among those arrested on September 3 during a rally at the Westin St. Francis hotel. Seventy-five hotel workers were arrested as well, all for blocking the street via a sit-in. The Labor Day action was taken on behalf of hotel workers desiring job protection and better pay. Unite Here Local 2 spokesman Ted Waechter explained that 8,000 workers in more than 50 hotels in San Francisco and 6 other North American cities are working without a contract. He added that many of the workers must hold two jobs, having only received a salary increase of 7 percent in a decade.
During the rally, Waechter and other union members announced that a strike authorization vote will take place on September 13. The action would be against Marriott International, Inc., the global lodging company with numerous hotels, including the Westin St. Francis and others in San Francisco.
https://www.wcvb.com/article/75-hotel-workers-arrested-at-labor-day-protest-in-california/22943101
and multiple other reports.
LGBT Groups Decry SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh As Hearings Begin
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Transgender Law Center and other San Francisco-based LGBT groups have expressed their opposition of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearings began on September 4. They join LGBT groups nationwide in voicing opposition to Kavanaugh, selected by President Trump to replace now-retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Leaders from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), NARAL, National Women’s Law Center, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and others joined a press call Tuesday morning ahead of the hearings. HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride said: “Make no mistake, in nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Donald Trump has picked someone he fully expects to do his bidding in gutting protections for those with pre-existing conditions and in ripping health care away from millions, from women to LGBTQ people to those living with HIV. The American people cannot afford for senators to pretend that Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination is anything short of a direct threat on our access to health care, on our rights and on our progress.”
Mayor Breed, LGBT Democratic Clubs Announce Endorsements for November Ballot
San Francisco Mayor London Breed on August 24 announced her endorsements for the Board of Supervisors races on the November 6 ballot. They are as follows: District 2, Supervisor Catherine Stefani; District 4, Jessica Ho; District 6, dual endorsement of Christine Johnson and Sonja Trauss; District 8, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman; and District 10, dual endorsement of Shamann Walton and Theo Ellington. The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club also listed its complete slate of endorsements for the November election (http://www.milkclub.org/) as did the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club (http://www.alicebtoklas.org/2018/04/november18endorsements/).
Popular Castro Farmers’ Market Vendor Killed in Highway Collision
Ly Thao Nyia Yi, head of his family’s Nyia Yi Farms that has been a vendor at the Castro Market for numerous seasons, was killed in a highway collision on August 25. Having left the College of San Mateo Farmers’ Market, he was driving his box truck on the eastbound 92 San Mateo Bridge when the collision occurred. He was on his way to pick up his wife, who was selling vegetables at the Union City Farmers’ Market. From there, they were supposed to come home, but he never made it.
His son King Ly wrote: “His pure heart touched everyone he met. His smiles and laughter will be missed forever. He left us too soon and without saying goodbye. He will not only be missed by his family and friends, but by the many loyal customers he had in San Mateo and all over the Bay Area and Central Valley.”
A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family: https://www.gofundme.com/mr-ly-nyia-yi-farms
Female Transgender Patient Dies After Exiting Ambulance on Dublin Freeway Ramp
A female transgender patient on September 3 exited an ambulance on its way to John George Psychiatric Pavilion (JGPP) in San Leandro, ran into traffic and died after being struck by a vehicle. The tragic series of events began with reports of the woman—as of yet unnamed—driving recklessly, hitting multiple vehicles and a pedestrian. Officers say that when they arrived at the scene, she struggled and tried to obtain one of their guns. A Taser was used to subdue her and she was taken to ValleyCare Medical Center in Pleasanton for a medical clearance.
Norcal Ambulance subsequently responded to take her to JGPP. She was placed in restraints, but reportedly managed to undo them. Because of the problems, the ambulance stopped on the side of the road at the connector ramp from southbound Interstate 680 to westbound Interstate 580 in Dublin. It was there that she escaped and ran into traffic. The incident may lead to scrutiny of procedures in handling the transportation of psychiatric patients.
Woman Dies After Leaping From Ambulance On Dublin Freeway
Retail Cannabis Store Planned for Central Castro Location
Ray Connolly and husband Desmond Morgan are planning to open a cannabis store called “Sugar” at 3989 17th Street, fronting Jane Warner Plaza and Muni’s F-Line Historical Streetcars Terminal, according to Daniel Bergerac, President of Castro Merchants. Connolly had previously made plans for a “Castro Place” cannabis shop in the former Worn Out West space at 2352 Market, but those plans now are superseded by Sugar at the new location. A number of steps are still needed for the required Planning Department process.
The Castro, already a retail cannabis destination, is poised to become even more so with others having high hopes of cashing in on California’s legalization of recreational marijuana sales, which began on January 1. Flore co-owner Terrence Alan and minority owner J.D. Petras, for example, are working to open the Flore Store pot shop in the fall at 258 Noe, where Flore currently operates an off-site kitchen.
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