Author: Alfredo Casuso

Media Contact: DP&A, Inc. / David Perry / news@davidperry.com / (415) 676-7007

LYRIC’s Toni Newman Calls Joe Biden & Kamala Harris Victory “Historic and Heartening”

8 November 2020 – San Francisco, CA: Following today’s announcement of a victory for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Toni Newman, Interim Executive Director for San Francisco’s esteemed nonprofit LYRIC (www.lyric.org) called the election “historic and heartening.”

 “The Trump administration has been a constant assault on the lives, livelihoods and loves of the LGBTQ+ communities and an existential threat to the future of our LGBTQ+ youth,”  said Newman. “The fight is far from over, but today we can all breathe a little easier and hold our queer heads a little higher. Today is a moment both historic and heartening as opposed to the last four years that have been histrionic and disheartening.”

LYRIC is the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading organization offering expertise in youth workforce development, healthcare navigation, individual counseling, and group-based community building to marginalized low-income LGBTQQ+ youth.  In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, LYRIC has continued its vital work for LGBTQQ youth in our community.

Newman is the former Interim Director for Employment Services at the San Francisco LGBT Center and a consultant for the Transgender Strategy Center. Toni is a graduate of Wake Forest University and current candidate for her Juris of Doctorate (JD). Toni served as the Executive Director for St. James Infirmary and the Director of Development for Maitri Compassionate Care, and previously served as the Interim Director of Development & Communications at To Help Everyone Health and Wellness Centers and as a Strategic Fundraiser, Volunteer Recruiter, and Legislative Aide for Equality California. Additionally, Toni is a best selling author, noted for her memoir I Rise – The Transformation of Toni Newman released in 2011, which is based on the poem I Rise by Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor, Dr. Maya Angelou. 

LYRIC’s mission is to build community and inspire positive social change through education enhancement, career trainings, health promotion, and leadership development with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) youth, their families, and allies of all races, classes, genders, and abilities. For more information and to make a donation, go to www.lyric.org  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

*** STATEMENT ***

MAYOR LONDON BREED ON THE ELECTION OF JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed today issued the following statement following the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States.

“Joe Biden ran on the simple but powerful idea that we should strive to be a united country, not a divided one. As president, he has promised to represent everyone, not just those who voted for him, and he will put the needs of the American people first. I am so proud that this country chose leadership, decency, and compassion in our next President. 

With this election, we also made history by choosing Kamala Harris as our Vice-President. For the first time, millions and millions of Americans chose a black woman to help lead this country. The pride I feel as a black woman is hard to put into words. Kamala Harris is a friend and mentor, but most importantly, she is an inspiration to so many of us all across this country. While Kamala’s path to Washington has been her own unique journey, she is just as sure bringing the hopes and dreams of so many little girls with her. I only wish my grandmother, a daughter of slaves and sharecroppers, a woman who raised me to believe that we can all work to make the world a better place, were still alive to see this day. 

These results have shown us how close these elections are, and how much every single vote matters. All across this country, more people than in any other election in our history took to the cast their vote to fight for our democracy. We overcame decades of sinister efforts to suppress the vote. We overcame the cynicism that too often dissuades people from voting because they think their voice doesn’t matter. With this election, we have shown not only that our voices matter, but they have the power to change the course of history. 

We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we have hard days ahead of us, but tomorrow will be a little lighter and the days to come will be a whole lot brighter. Today, I have real hope for the future of our country.”

media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Dezart Performs Presents Special Free Virtual Series:

Creating for the Stage: Discussions with the People that Make Shows Happen

Every Wednesday November 11 – December 2 at 5:30pm (PST)
www.dezartperforms.org 

6 November 2020 – Palm Springs, CA: In pre-COVID times, theatres talked about “taking it on the road.” For Dezart Performs for the remainder of 2020, they’re taking it online. Every Wednesday from November 11 through December 2 at 5:30pm (PST), the award-winning Palm Springs ensemble presents a special free virtual series, Creating for the Stage: Discussions with the People that Make Shows Happen. Featuring actors, designers, creatives, playwrights and directors from their sold out 2019-20 season, the free online series is optimistic proof of the group’s mission this year: Still Here … and Dreaming.  To access the weekly series, go to www.dezartperforms.org

“Theatre is above all a discussion and until we can have discussions face to face, we’ll have them screen to screen,” said Dezart Performs Founding Artistic Director Michael Shaw. “These conversations were incredibly emotional for everyone concerned, and also a lot of fun and a real peek behind the fourth wall with the people who truly make shows happen.”

Details of the series are as follows:

Wednesday, November 11 – 5:30pm: Meet the Playwright and Director with Daniel’s Husband playwright Michael McKeever and director Darin Anthony.

Wednesday, November 18 – 5:30pm: Meet the Cast Members with Hand to God actors Eddie Vona, Yo Younger and Danny Gomez.

Wednesday, November 25 – 5:30pm: Meet the Director and Cast Members with SWEAT actors Desireé Clarke and Cortez Johnson and director Michael Shaw.

Wednesday, December 2 – 5:30pm: Meet the Design Team with Hand to God set designer Tom Valach, lighting designer Derrick McDaniel and props master Cecilia Orosco.

The series is moderated by local author and former TV host David Perry.

Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting–edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.

For more information go online at www.dezartperforms.org, or call (760) 322-0179.

MEDIA ADVISORY / ONSITE COVERAGE REQUEST:
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 10:30AM

Media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com 

WHO:
California Governor Gavin Newsom;
Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis;
U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee;
U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier;
San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed; 
California State Senator Scott Wiener;
California Assemblyman David Chiu and 
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf

WHAT: To Text & Phone Bank at Manny’s in San Francisco

WHEN: Tuesday, November 3: 10:30am

WHERE: Manny’s Outdoor Socially Distant “Victory Booths”

3092 16^th Street at Valencia, San Francisco.

WEB: www.welcometomannys.com

WHY: California Governor Gavin Newsom has chosen to spend the morning of Election Day text and phone banking voters from the socially-distant outdoor Victory Booths at Manny’s (3029 16^th Street at Valencia, San Francisco) joined by special guests Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed, California State Senator Scott Wiener, California Assemblyman David Chiu and  Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.

Manny’s has built the country’s first and only outdoor socially distanced set of booths where community members have been coming to phone bank, text bank, and write over 25,000 letters to swing state voters for several weeks. 

“We are so honored to have a Governor Gavin Newsom and a Democratic Dream Team of elected officials spend some time at Manny’s on Election Day – a day which will be central to the future of our democracy,” said Manny Yekutiel, 31, who founded and runs the eponymous community engagement space and café dubbed “the New Hampshire of California” (KCBS Radio) for its hosting of myriad political events including hosting 17 Democratic presidential candidates.

“Manny’s was created to be a space for political discourse, activism and advocacy for social justice,” says Yekutiel, who expects to announce some “significant VIP on Election Day” for the effort. “Until we can once again gather for political action inside Manny’s we’re inviting people to gather outside, socially distant but politically active, at 16^th and Valencia.”

Since opening its doors on Election Night 2018, Manny’s has become an epicenter of community involvement, dialogue and civic engagement having served over 50,000 people, staged over 500 events, donated space to more than 150 area nonprofits and charities, and hosted 17 presidential candidates in his first year alone. Also, in addition to receiving much media and public attention, Manny’s was recognized for his above-and-beyond achievements by the California State Senate as “Small Business of the Year.” 

Manny’s is a people powered, community focused meeting and learning place in the heart of San Francisco that combines a restaurant, political bookshop, and civic events space. Manny’s goal: to create a central and affordable place to become a better informed and more involved citizen. Manny’s offers its events space to nonprofits, activists and civic organizations to spread their message and do their work as well as hosting its own civic and arts related programming. Manny’s kitchen is run by the non-profit, Farming Hope, which hires formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals and trains them in the food skills needed to work in the restaurant industry.

*** PRESS RELEASE ***
SAN FRANCISCO TO TEMPORARILY PAUSE ON EXPANDING ACTIVITIES AND BUSINESSES REOPENING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Friday, October 30, 2020

Contact: San Francisco Joint Information Center, dempress@sfgov.org

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

SAN FRANCISCO TO TEMPORARILY PAUSE ON EXPANDING ACTIVITIES AND BUSINESSES REOPENING

Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, San Francisco will temporarily pause most planned reopening efforts previously scheduled to resume on Tuesday, November 3^rd

Department of Public Health will assess situation; and resumption of further reopening is dependent on improvement of COVID-19 impact on City

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed and Director of Health Dr. Grant Colfax today announced the City will temporarily pause reopening of additional businesses and activities scheduled to resume or expand on Tuesday, November 3^rd. This pause is due to an increase in COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations in San Francisco, coupled with the current increase in cases in California and across the United States. San Francisco will continue its strategy of a thoughtful and deliberate reopening, consistent with emerging scientific data, information and evidence, and will move forward in the safest way possible.

This pause is a precautionary measure to ensure San Francisco can continue to reopen safely, to try to help prevent San Francisco from moving backwards under the State blueprint, and to protect community health. It is better for San Francisco to take the time to pause now and assess the data than to keep reopening and risk needing to roll-back reopening at a future date. Especially with upcoming holidays and events, including Halloween and the election, and people’s desire to spend time with their families and travel, it is more important than ever that the City carefully evaluate the data and respond appropriately.

The majority of activities and businesses that were scheduled to reopen or expand their capacity on Tuesday, November 3^rd will be paused. These include opening indoor pools, bowling alleys, and locker rooms at fitness centers, and expanding capacity at indoor dining establishments, places of worship, and museums, among other businesses and activities that are allowed only if a county at least reaches the orange tier under the State’s blueprint. Businesses and activities that are currently allowed may continue operating at this time. Limited lower risk activities that were planned to move forward on November 3^rd (and are not tied to the State’s orange tier) will still do so, including expanded filming productions with strict safety protocols, and indoor dining at museums up to 25% capacity. Schools will continue to reopen, with more than 75 schools approved and a handful of high schools approved to open their doors in the next week.

“Throughout our response to COVID-19, San Francisco has demonstrated our willingness to make hard choices and take reopening carefully and deliberately. Given what we’re seeing in our numbers here as well as across the country and the world, we want to make sure we continue our cautious and deliberate approach, which is why we’ve decided to pause before moving forward with more reopening,” said Mayor Breed. “With this pause, our public health experts can evaluate our cases and hospitalizations so that we can work to stay ahead of this virus and keep our community safe. We have to all keep doing our part and follow public health guidance to keep ourselves, our families, and our entire city safe. Wear your face covering when you go out, keep your distance, and avoid gatherings. This is going to be especially important with Halloween this weekend and the election on Tuesday. These aren’t normal times and we can’t act like they are.”

“Our goal has always been to respond quickly and carefully, watch the data closely, and make decisions based on the data, science, and facts,” said Dr. Grant Colfax. “The data is, once again, telling us to pause and to extend the time before we reopen the next phase of indoor activities. San Francisco’s strategy has always been a deliberate and measured approach. As we increased activities throughout the City, we expected to see the virus circulate. We have always focused on making sure our healthcare system can handle cases, and while system capacity remains adequate, we know this virus can move fast, so we are pausing to evaluate and to ensure we can continue to manage the impacts of the virus and keep our communities safe.” 

The Department of Public Health will continue to monitor the City’s COVID-19 Key Public Health Indicators and other information that will inform the status of further reopening, and will determine when it is appropriate for San Francisco to resume its gradual reopening. The City continues to encourage San Franciscans to avoid gatherings, wear face coverings when leaving home, and keep their distance from other people, and to get tested for COVID-19 if they feel sick.

“Although we are disappointed to hear that San Francisco will not be moving forward to allow indoor dining at 50% capacity at this time, we understand the need to pause our reopening plan in order to keep cases and hospitalizations under control,” said Laurie Thomas, Executive Director, Golden Gate Restaurant Association. “This is not the news we were hoping for, but we are thankful that indoor dining at 25% capacity is continuing, as is outdoor dining, all adhering to our SF Department of Public Health guidelines. We appreciate the hard work of the Mayor, the Department of Public Health and our community to keep our city from facing the surges and backtracking of reopening that we are seeing across many parts of the country and internationally.”

The following activities scheduled to resume on November 3^rd will be put on pause:

• Reopening of indoor pools, indoor locker rooms and showers at gyms, and indoor family entertainment activities like bowling alleys.
• Expanding capacity from 25% to 50% (up to 200 people) at indoor restaurants, indoor food courts, movie theaters, museums, zoos, and aquariums, and houses of worship.
• Expanding capacity at outdoor events from 200 to 300 people at outdoor worship and political protests.

The following activities scheduled to resume on November 3^rd, will continue:

• Reopening indoor dining at museums at 25% capacity (up to 100 people).
• Expanding outdoor film production from 12 to 25 people with safety protocols and easing restrictions on indoor film production with testing and ventilation requirements or an approved health and safety plan.
• Allowing additional types of outdoor live performances with up to six performers in a drive-in setting.
• Allowing increased real estate showing and open houses with social distancing protocols in place.

Additionally, to continue to operate at 25%, indoor restaurants and personal service providers that deliver services requiring mask removal will need to post signage about what ventilation measures they have put into place and comply with at least one of a list of recommended ventilations strategies by November 17. 

One of the key indicators of COVID-19 prevalence in the city, the number of new cases per day per 100,000 people, has increased over the last two weeks from a low of 3.14 cases per 100,000 people to 4.17 cases per 100,000 people. The rate of increase in hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients is also a key indicator that affects the pace of reopening. San Francisco recently hit a low of 21 people in the hospital with COVID, but that number has begun to climb again and is now at 37 people.

Despite this recent increase in cases, San Francisco continues to do relatively well in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the community. San Francisco has the lowest death rate of any large city in the U.S. and has the second lowest test positivity rate of any large city. San Francisco leads in testing, with 5,100 average tests per day and more than 664,000 tests conducted to date.

The City’s relative success to-date is due to its COVID-19 response infrastructure, which includes testing, contact tracing, and support services, its deliberate and measured approach to reopening, and a willingness to pause and assess the data before moving forward on reopening. 

The Department of Public Health will monitor the Health Indicators, the risk of specific activities, the estimated reproductive rate of the virus, the regional data and the State’s actions in determining when and how to move forward, pause, or dial back reopening. More information about San Francisco’s reopening timeline can be found at https://sf.gov/step-by-step/reopening-san-francisco.

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