Bay Area Reporter

The Golden State last year saw reported anti-LGBTQ+ bias events decrease, while anti-transgender bias events continued to rise, according to the Hate Crime in California report released by Attorney General Rob Bonta on July 1. Bonta gave a preview of some of the data in his office’s State of Pride report last week, which noted that reported bias events against Californian LGBTQ+ communities, other than the trans community, largely decreased in frequency in 2025 compared to 2024.

Feeling pooped out from Pride? Kind of over the rainbow? Well, there are still plenty of invigorating arts and nightlife events to consider, and not just fireworks, all in this week’s Going Out. ‘Arab Spring’ @ Potrero Stage THEATER ‘Arab Spring’ @ Potrero Stage SF BATCO and Golden Thread’s production of Denmo Ibrahim’s dark comedy about loss, grief, war and family.

With last week’s announcement that former city attorney and current San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Dennis Herrera will retire at the end of the year, published recaps of his remarkable public service career spanning three decades hit all of the expected highlights: the first Latino elected city attorney in San Francisco history, lawsuits that successfully beat back the excesses of the first Trump administration and protected more than a billion dollars in federal...

The awful ruling Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court certainly was a buzzkill to end Pride Month and put a damper on our celebratory plans for the 250th birthday of America that will be commemorated July 4. The justices ruled unanimously to uphold state bans on trans women and girls playing on female sports teams. The two cases were from West Virginia and Idaho.

The defendant previously convicted of killing a gay San Francisco stylist is seeking to represent himself. The development comes amid a retrial after James Rickleffs’ conviction was thrown out a few years ago by an appeal court. As the Bay Area Reporter last reported, Rickleffs’ competence to stand trial was assessed this spring by two mental health evaluators, psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey L.

On her second day back on the job after a prolonged medical leave, queer District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder sent a letter of inquiry to city leaders about two San Francisco Police Department responses to separate events related to the city’s Pride festivities over the weekend. Fielder is requesting an answer by July 14 from Mayor Daniel Lurie, Police Chief Derrick Lew, and City Controller Greg Wagner.

LGBTQ advocates notched a host of fiscal successes totaling more than $2 billion in the 2026-27 state budget and associated trailer bills that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Monday. It marks the final budget for the outgoing Democratic leader, widely expected to seek to be his party’s presidential nominee in 2028, and the first time a state has established a statewide fund to support LGBTQ community centers.

There were three arrests after a reported shooting and two stabbings near Pride festivities over the weekend, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The events were on consecutive days. Identities of the three defendants are not being released, SFPD Public Information Officer Paulina Henderson stated to the Bay Area Reporter. The shooting was Saturday, June 27, around 3:30 p.m. “in the area of United Nations Plaza,” Henderson stated.

Get out the American flags and stars and stripes bunting. This year the country marks its 250th birthday and local Fourth of July parades will take on added celebrations, with one gay organizer encouraging people to wave their U.S. flag alongside a Pride flag. In San Francisco, the Friends of Sunset Dunes will hold a parade and celebration Saturday, July 4, from noon to 2 p.m. at the park fronting Ocean Beach along a portion of the upper Great Highway.

The CEO of Philz Coffee addressed his now-reversed decision to ban Pride flags from stores at San Francisco Pride’s recent fourth annual Human Rights Summit. He was in conversation with Suzanne Ford, a transgender woman who’s executive director of SF Pride and played a key role in convincing Philz to rescind its decision.