San Francisco planners are recommending that a city oversight body reject landmarking two Catholic Church sites in the city. It is likely to prevent efforts to landmark any other parishes owned by the Archdiocese of San Francisco to move forward.... www.ebar.com/story/162658...

Castro-area stakeholders and community groups are weighing options as to how they can prepare should a surge of federal agents not acting like traditional law enforcement come to the Bay Area.... www.ebar.com/story/162646...

Rarely-seen letters, photographs, and archival materials related to LGBTQ people and the field of psychiatry from the archives of the Kinsey Institute are now on display in the exhibition "Desire on the Couch" in SF at the California Institute of Integral Studies.... www.ebar.com/story/162597...

In December, gay state Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) received an early Christmas gift when Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) named him as chair of the powerful Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee just days ahead of the holiday.... www.ebar.com/story/162461...

San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission to take up expanding local landmark designation for Compton’s Cafeteria Riots site in the Tenderloin where historic demonstrations took place in 1966 between queer and trans people and the police.... www.ebar.com/story/162433...

Roger Doughty, a gay man and the longtime president of Horizons Foundation, will retire later this year, the LGBTQ philanthropic nonprofit based in San Francisco has announced.... www.ebar.com/story/162408...

Community concerns are growing about the independence of San Francisco’s Office of Transgender Initiatives as it is restructured and soon to vacate its space in the LGBT Community Center and relocate in a city building.... www.ebar.com/story/162429...

A preservation panel in San Francisco is supportive of seeing a number of properties important to LGBTQ history become city landmarks. The sites are among more than a dozen it recommended be given such a designation by the Board of Supervisors.... www.ebar.com/story/162407...

Catholic officials raise objections to seeing San Francisco landmark several of its properties, such as a Noe Valley church made famous by the comedic film “Sister Act.” It led to a city oversight panel postponing weighing in on the sites at its meeting Wednesday... www.ebar.com/story/162398...

Photographer Nicholas Blair has captured images of the LGBTQ community on two coasts since the early 1980s. More than 100 of his photographs from this period are reproduced in the book “Castro to Christopher: Gay Streets of America 1979–1980” .... www.ebar.com/story/162251...

National Rainbow College Fund has announced that LGBTQ students across California - whether out or in the closet - can now apply for its 2026 scholarship program..... www.ebar.com/story/162325...

The San Mateo County Pride Center will be looking for a new physical location in the coming months, its executive director shared with the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview.... www.ebar.com/story/162333...

Protecting access to medical interventions for gender-nonconforming young people is one policy area where the trio of Democrats running to represent San Francisco in Congress are in alignment.... www.ebar.com/story/162334...

Two out county supervisors in the greater Bay Area region are taking on leadership roles this year for their respective boards ... they are among a host of local LGBTQ electeds serving in the top spots on their governing bodies this year... www.ebar.com/story/162318...

As deadline to file for the June 2 primary races fast approaches, several contests with LGBTQ contenders continue to see changes in their lineups. The final makeups will come in mid-March, so the list of candidates won’t be finalized for another two months... www.ebar.com/story/162200...

Next month, the dog owner convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the mauling death of lesbian Diane Whipple, 33, will be up for parole. Marjorie Knoller, now 70, has spent more than 20 years in custody… www.ebar.com/story/162233...

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s State of the City address January 15 was long on initiatives but short on the queer community, as it did not explicitly mention LGBTQs.... www.ebar.com/story/162186...

Trio of Democrats running to succeed SF Congressmember Nancy Pelosi addressed HIV and AIDS issues during their first candidate forum .... meanwhile gay San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman is pivoting his plans to seek higher office... www.ebar.com/story/162143...

As part of his push to designate historic properties as city landmarks to protect them from being destroyed, gay San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is seeking such local recognition for the one-time home of the late gay U.S. Ambassador James. C. Hormel... www.ebar.com/story/162109...

The victim of a severe beating in Sacramento’s queer Lavender Heights neighborhood was laid to rest January 10 as the community grapples with what to do next. Prosecutors are evaluating whether to upgrade charges against the suspect to include homicide.... www.ebar.com/story/162107...

Democrats running to succeed Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) have pledged to author legislation to designate Harvey Milk Day as a day of special significance nationally honoring the late gay civil rights leader should they be elected this November.... www.ebar.com/story/161979...

Fatal shooting of a Minnesota mom and American citizen by ICE agent is sends shockwaves through the nation as the year begins. The victim, identified as Renee Nicole Good, was reportedly married to a woman and her death has outraged LGBTQ leaders... www.ebar.com/story/161943...

Trio of Dems running to succeed SF Rep Pelosi voice slight differences in strategy for how they would endeavor to see the sweeping LGBTQ rights legislation the Equality Act become law at 1st candidate forum in the race.... www.ebar.com/story/161941...

Sam Smith’s residency at the Castro Theatre next month won’t be the first event at the reopened historic movie palace after all - get a sneak peek of the renovated theater at benefit screening of “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” a few days before... www.ebar.com/story/161908...

For 32 years bimonthly magazine The Gay & Lesbian Review has provided its readers erudite editions filled with thought-provoking essays on myriad issues impacting the lives of LGBTQ people. In 2026, a number of changes are in store for the publication.... www.ebar.com/story/161906...

Several LGBTQ historical matters await the San Francisco Board of Supervisors as it returns from its holiday hiatus.... www.ebar.com/story/161683...

Improvements to transgender, nonbinary, and queer Californians’ health care privacy and access are coming in the new year due to a number of bills went into effect as of January 1... www.ebar.com/story/161684...

he San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission later this month will hold a public hearing at City Hall regarding the proposed historic designation of several local LGBTQ landmarks, including the site of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots in the Tenderloin... www.ebar.com/story/161875...

Dr. Mervyn Silverman, a controversial former San Francisco health director, has retired from the board of HIV nonprofit amfAR.... www.ebar.com/story/161876...

Training on queer and transgender issues for counselors with California’s 988 suicide support line for youth is now underway .... plus a pair of bisexual elected leaders in the Bay Area are engaged to wed... www.ebar.com/story/161905...

The Bay Area Reporter will be co-moderating a forum in the new year between the trio of Democratic candidates running to succeed Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who will be retiring when her current term ends in early 2027... www.ebar.com/story/161520...

Five out political leaders in the Bay Area have assumed new roles ahead of the new year.... www.ebar.com/story/161509...

Heating up 2026 will be pressure from local HIV advocates on San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services to set aside $300,000 in its 2026-2027 budget, as the city’s fiscal year begins July 1, specifically to provide services to seniors living with HIV... www.ebar.com/story/161513

A gay San Francisco resident and his beloved dog have been reunited in time for the holidays. The kidnapping of the tan French Bulldog named “Hank” earlier this month had sparked a Bay Area-wide search for the missing canine... www.ebar.com/story/161469...

This year’s installment in the Political Notebook’s annual end-of-year op-art offerings showcases several seminal LGBTQ moments in the history of San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.... www.ebar.com/story/161409...

Researching binge-drinking in LGBTQ adults, a UC San Francisco predoctoral fellow details what happened after losing National Institutes of Health grant funding earlier this year amid a Trump admin crackdown on such studies into the health of queer and trans people... www.ebar.com/story/161403...

Looking forward to additional affordable housing affirming to LGBTQ seniors in San Francisco is one bright spot for Morey Riordan as he shapes the future for nonprofit service provider Openhouse... www.ebar.com/story/161406...

Much of the fencing came down in recent days around the new elevator shaft at the Castro Muni Station that serves as the de facto front door to the famed San Francisco LGBTQ neighborhood. The lift is speeding toward an early 2026 opening..... www.ebar.com/story/161404...

As he awaits to see if he will be contested for a 2nd term in 2026, gay Richmond City Councilmember Cesar Zepeda is pushing for several projects that would be transformative for his East Bay city... www.ebar.com/story/161372...

Branching Out Adventures helps bring LGBTQ people to Bay Area open spaces and California national parks who may otherwise not visit them on their own ... with several events at New Year's coming up as it kicks off its 2026 lineup of excursions and camping trips..... www.ebar.com/story/161331...

San Francisco is being represented in the 137th Tournament of Roses parade on New Year’s Day for the first time in nearly 50 years, but don’t expect a nod to the LGBTQ community on the float.... www.ebar.com/story/161279...

San Francisco police and a gay local dog owner are asking for the community’s help in locating a French bulldog allegedly stolen from in front of a Castro gay bar... www.ebar.com/story/161277...

LGBTQ advocates are remembering Hollywood actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, after news broke Sunday night that the couple were found dead in their Brentwood home.... www.ebar.com/story/161272...

A new affordable housing project affirming of LGBTQ seniors should open by early 2029 in San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood. The timing will be dependent on a final round of financing state agencies are to decide on awarding late next summer... www.ebar.com/story/161194...

In agreeing to pay a $1,000 fine to settle an ethics investigation, queer San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women member Sophia Andary is ready to move beyond the matter and focus on protecting the governance powers of her oversight body... www.ebar.com/story/161191...

With nearly $47.6M in funding from a California agency, an affordable housing project affirming of LGBTQ seniors is closer to breaking ground in San Francisco in the upper Market Street corridor... www.ebar.com/story/161118...

The Sacramento LGBT Community Center is holding a town hall Tuesday, December 16, following a series of violent, troubling incidents in the city’s queer neighborhood... www.ebar.com/story/161110...

A writer for independent magazines and an online seller of comic books based in Palm Springs, Ferguson Porter is among the gay and bi candidates trying to oust conservative Congressmember Darrell Issa (R-Vista) from office in 2026.... www.ebar.com/story/161109...

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case of a Bakersfield baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The action is a win for the state’s Office of Civil Rights, which initially filed the lawsuit several years ago... www.ebar.com/story/161106...