Author: Alfredo Casuso

LIVES OF THE LINERS: CRUISING & CRUISE SHIPS & COVID OCT 16, 2021

Written on October 16, 2021.

LIVES OF THE LINERS: CRUISING & CRUISE SHIPS & COVID OCT 16, 2021

From Bill Miller

Update: October 15th 2021

Fri Oct 1 Carnival Update: Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, described 2020 as a “trying but inspiring time” during last week’s “State of the Cruise Industry” panel in Miami Beach. Donald called 2020 transformative, and now has his sights set on the recovery. “We know where the road is headed and the road is headed toward a very bright future … but the road does have potholes and detours in it. It has been choppy and complicated,” said Donald, noting the Carnival brand had 11 ships back in service at 70 percent occupancy. Across the corporation, the cruise brands in service for Carnival Corporation are averaging 68 percent occupancy, he noted.

Below: The Carnival Glory berthed in nighttime St Thomas by fine photographer Andy Hernandez

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Sun Oct 10^th Holland America: Holland America Line is resuming service on the West Coast today as the Koningsdam welcomes guests back in San Diego. After a 19-month operational pause, the 2016-built vessel is starting a week-long California Coast voyage.

Mon Oct 11^th Singapore: Australia has finally announced the softening of some of its travel bans and so the likes of Cunard now plans a special long sailing next winter from Southampton to Singapore by the Queen Elizabeth.

More Bits’n Pieces: Ports such as Tampa & San Francisco are now planning resumption of cruise sailings. … If you’re looking for an aviation-focused adventure, Singapore Airlines might have a good option for you. The airline operates the world’s longest flight, from New York-JFK to Singapore. But throughout the pandemic that 9,537-mile, 19-hour route has largely been off-limits to most travelers. Now, thanks to the recent news about Singapore relaxing entry requirements for vaccinated Americans, the flight is once again within reach for many. It resumes Oct 19^th. …

Fri Oct 15^th Update from Cunard: A message from our dear & kind friend Capt Aseem Hashmi, master of the Queen Mary 2: “I am currently aboard QM2 after just returning to the UK shores after a four- week dry dock in Brest (France). The dry dock was mainly for external projects, but the refit internally is in full swing. Almost 400 crew are joining this week so the ship is coming to life again!”

At the podium: Tentatively (well, it has to be tentative in these uncertain covid times), I am joining the Crystal Serenity as a speaker on Nov 1^st-15^th for two seven-night Miami/Bahamas cruises; and then the Queen Mary 2 for her Christmas-New Year Caribbean cruise departing from New York on Dec 22^nd, returning Jan 3^rd.

Out of the old shoebox:

Below: The Queen Mary 2 arriving at San Francisco for the first time in Jan 2007

Thank you to all our readers, correspondents, those “agents” in faraway places!

San Francisco’s Oldest Indian Restaurant “New Delhi” Celebrates 33 Years as “Legacy Business” by Raising Funds for Nonprofit “Compassionate Chefs” Initiative

Written on October 14, 2021.

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

San Francisco’s Oldest Indian Restaurant “New Delhi” Celebrates 33 Years as “Legacy Business” by Raising Funds for Nonprofit “Compassionate Chefs” Initiative

“Deep Gratitude To You” is theme of November 3 Event

Honoring “Heroines of Recovery”

Vice President Kamala Harris
San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed
and Attorney Mishty Deb

Former SF Mayor Art Agnos Celebrated as “Partner in Compassion”

www.newdelhirestaurant.com

14 October 2021 – San Francisco, CA: As a wise teacher once said: we need to cultivate an attitude of gratitude every day, in every way. Certainly, no one embodies that more than Ranjan Dey, founder and owner of San Francisco’s historic legacy business, New Delhi Restaurant, the oldest example of Indian Cuisine in the City. On Wednesday, November 3 at 6pm, Ranjan hosts an event whose theme is just that: “Deep Gratitude To You”. Marking New Delhi Restaurant’s 33rd Anniversary, the evening of food, fun, fabulous music and festivities will honor three extraordinary “Heroines of Recovery” who demonstrated amazing leadership helping small business recover from the COVID shutdowns: United States Vice-President Kamala Harris, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed, and attorney Mishty Deb. Additionally, former SF Mayor Art Agnos will be celebrated as a special “Partner in Compassion.” Tickets are $ 50 and all proceeds will be donated to the nonprofit Compassionate Chefs Cafe. The festivities will begin at 6pm with an open bar and buffet of traditional Indian delicacies, a short program at 7pm followed by a special Bollywood dance performance, and lessons for the willing, by Shruthi Reddy. Tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thanks-for-being-with-us-tickets-167636522351?aff=Emailblast1

“Thank you will never be enough for the many people, including our honorees, who helped us get through COVID. By us, I mean our entire City of San Francisco and very specifically our family here at New Delhi Restaurant,” said Chef Dey, New Delhi owner. “In appreciation we are launching the Live Legends at Compassionate Chefs Cafe 2022 series to give back and enrich the community trough culinary and performance art and story-telling and archive and capture bygone memories.”

The brainchild of Chef Dey and Carmen Milagro Live Legends is an interview series with Bay Area artists and musicians benefitting Compassionate Chefs Café which raises funds to help underprivileged kids right in New Delhi’s neighborhood, the Tenderloin, as well as across the ocean at the three biggest slums opposite Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, India. Compassionate Chefs Café’s goal and mission is to help the kids become global citizens by connecting them through several ongoing programs. New Delhi Restaurant has transformed into Compassionate Chefs Café, twice a year in May and November, since 2005. The inaugural artists for the Living Legends 2022 series will be announced at the November 3^rd event.

“Everyone attending will partake in the delicious story of how the community was always there to help us,” Dey continues. “They will hear about a lawyer who was there to lend us a helping hand all the way from Texas when we were so lost trying to get our PPP and EIDL loans. This happened when I was posting my frustration that the big banks were just facilitating big business. We as a small mixed family immigrant business were just not a priority.”

New Delhi Restaurant has been serving guests from around the world from the same location for over 30 years. It is located in a 100-year-old former hotel ballroom built in 1914. Decorated like a Maharajah’s private banquet room, the restaurant serves cuisine made from recipes culled from the royal Indian menus dating back 300 to 400 years using the freshest local ingredients. Chef and owner, Ranjan Dey, star of the documentary series “MY INDIA”, creates daily specials with his six gourmet spice blends, available nationwide under New World Spices. New Delhi Bar has been the favorite hot spot for many, working in the downtown restaurant and hotel industry, since its inception in 1988. It is famous for its “Double-Happiness-Happy Hour”: The first from 5:30pm to 7:30pm and the second from 10pm to 12 midnight (“because not everybody works 9 to 5” according to Ranjan.) New Delhi is a great place to try inventive cocktails like Madras Madness or Oh! Calcutta; sip specialty infused Mango or Lychee Martinis and soak up the lively atmosphere and friendly company.

On January 27, 2020, New Delhi Restaurant was proud to be recognized as a Legacy Business: an honor only given to 239 business and the first Indian restaurant and South Asian owned business to be included. San Francisco’s Legacy Business Program acknowledges longstanding and community serving establishments that help make up the “soul of the city” and preserve the unique character of San Francisco.

“Our evening of ‘Deep Gratitude To You’ will be a delicious celebration of the stories of our resiliency,” Dey sums up. “Through creativity and gratitude we were able to overcome, survive and thrive. This event will feed the body and soul.”

New Gallery in San Francisco’s Castro Neighborhood Premieres with Group Show Featuring Six Artists Who Subvert the Heteronormative Gaze

Written on October 12, 2021.

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

Schlomer Haus Gallery Presents “Unseen Seen”
October 26 – 5-9pm

IG: schlomer_haus

New Gallery in San Francisco’s Castro Neighborhood Premieres with Group Show Featuring Six Artists Who Subvert the Heteronormative Gaze

12 October 2021 – San Francisco, CA: Creative couple and Castro residents,Steffan Schlarb and Brandon Romer, are embarking on a long-hidden dream to help artists and their beloved neighborhood thrive. The husband-and-husband duo are opening an art gallery with an emphasis on queer, underrepresented and emerging art and artists. On Tuesday, October 26 (5pm – 9pm) the couple will open the Schlomer Haus Gallery (2128 Market Street San Francisco) in San Francisco’s storied LGBTQIA Castro neighborhood. The gallery’s inaugural show, entitled Unseen Seen (IG: schlomer_haus), is an exhibition featuring six international artists: Heather Benjamin, Lanee Bird, Evan Paul English, David King, Ryan McMenamy and John Webster.

“The six artists in this group exhibition explore the dynamic ways queer artists subvert the heteronormative gaze,” said Schlarb in a statement. “The queer gaze and queer visibility are conveyed in diverse mediums, through abstract and figurative subject matter, and shared subcultural signifiers, making the unseen seen.”

“COVID really made us realize the importance of community. Opening Schlomer Haus Gallery is a way for us to foster community while expressing our love of art and our desire to help queer, underrepresented and emerging artists thrive.”

“We could have opened the gallery in another neighborhood with an established art scene,” explains Schlarb. “But we wanted to create a space in the Castro for the unseen to be seen — and where we can help foster artistic creativity and culture in the Castro.”

Schlarb is an award-winning creative director with extensive innovation, creative strategy and product design experience. He has lead teams of designers in creating innovative and engaging digital products and experiences. He has lead successful projects for such clients as Google,

Salesforce and Open Table, among others. He is also an artist. He has lived in San Francisco since 1992 and the Castro since 2011.

Romer is a film and video producer in the advertising industry for nearly 20 years, producing for Facebook, Twitter and Xbox. He has worked with world-renowned directors Terrence Malick, Rupert Sanders and Jenn Nkiru. He holds a B.A. in Art History from UC Berkeley. He has lived in San Francisco for 20 years and the Castro for 11 years.

In accordance with an order from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, all individuals regardless of vaccination status must wear a mask while inside the gallery.

Unseen Seen will open October 26 – 5-9pm at the Schlomer Haus Gallery 2128 Market Street; Gallery Hours: Tue – Sat 12-6p, By Appointment; IG: schlomer_haus; T: (415) 275-0960; E: info@schlomerhaus.com

LYRIC Names Laura Lala-Chávez New Executive Director

Written on October 7, 2021.

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

LYRIC Names Laura Lala-Chávez New Executive Director

7 October 2021 – San Francisco, CA: San Francisco’s esteemed nonprofit LYRIC (www.lyric.org), for 33 years serving LGBTQQ+ youth, has named Laura Lala-Chávez as its new Executive Director.

“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Laura to the LYRIC family. LYRIC’s Board of Directors unanimously agreed that we need Laura’s leadership experience, commitment to investing in LYRIC’s people and programs, and relationships with community leaders,” said Phil Kim and Michael Appel, LYRIC Board of Directors Co-Chairs in a statement. “Laura will join LYRIC during a pivotal time: we’re in the midst of our first-ever capital campaign to expand our Center as we’re seeing increasing demand for our services. We believe her vision to move LYRIC’s work into its next phase will best serve LGBTQQ+ youth and affirms our commitment to racial equity.”

LYRIC’s longtime former Executive Director Jodi L. Schwartz continues as President to oversee the ongoing capital campaign through December 2021 to renovate LYRIC’s landmark home in San Francisco’s Castro District, allowing for increased program opportunities for youth. Interim Executive Director Toni Newman, who will remain through November 2021 to support Lala-Chávez’s executive transition,was recently named as interim CEO for the Black AIDS Institute.

“When I think of LYRIC, I think of youth moving to San Francisco in search of support. I think of youth in the Bay Area who are struggling to come out to their families, or are navigating family rejection, and the lack of stability losing your support system provides,” said Lala-Chávez. “I think of youth who are trying to survive in an unjust, oppressive world day to day. I think of the collective power we have to create change as a place of healing, acceptance, love and nurturance. I see this opportunity as a way to reimagine work in service to youth. I have seen the effects of trauma on youth in my time as a counselor and as a result I have become deeply ingrained in the city of San Francisco as a resident, advocate, director and change maker. I don’t think I could have dreamed a better opportunity than this one to create lasting, impact for LGBTQ+ youth in San Francisco.”

Lala-Chávez will start on October 25 and brings over 25 years’ experience in youth development, counseling and nonprofit management to LYRIC. Previously, Laura served as Executive Director of Challenge Day, a national organization focused on building empathy, compassion, and equity in school communities across the country. They also served as Associate Executive Director for Mission YMCA in San Francisco, a youth development organization supporting youth in creating educational, career pathways while supporting food and housing insecurity. She holds a Bachelors in Recreation-Nonprofit Management and a Masters in School and MFT Counseling from San Francisco State University. Lala-Chávez lives with her wife Cheryl, two children and dogs in the Portola district of San Francisco.

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 queer youth in our community. 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

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SAN FRANCISCO TO EASE INDOOR MASK REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN INDOOR SETTINGS WHERE STABLE GROUPS OF FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE GATHER

Written on October 7, 2021.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Contact: San Francisco Joint Information Center; sfeocjic@sfgov.org

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

SAN FRANCISCO TO EASE INDOOR MASK REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN INDOOR SETTINGS WHERE STABLE GROUPS OF FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE GATHER

Masking requirements will be eased on October 15 for offices, gyms and certain other settings with 100% full vaccination, as COVID-19 cases recede and vaccination requirements for employees of businesses go into effect

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) announced today that so long as case and hospitalization rates remain stable or decline, indoor masking requirements will be lifted on October 15 in certain, limited settings. This includes places where stable cohorts of fully vaccinated individuals gather, and where other safety measures are followed. These controlled settings with individuals who regularly interact are considered safer indoor settings for fully vaccinated individuals to remove their masks.

These settings include offices, gyms, and fitness centers, employee commuter vehicles, religious gatherings, and indoor college classes or other organized gatherings of individuals who meet regularly, not exceeding 100 people. People in these settings may remove their masks if the employer or host of the gathering can control access to the setting and verify 100% full vaccination of everyone in the setting. The employer or host must also ensure proper ventilation, no recent COVID-19 outbreaks, and children under 12 and guests are not present, among other safety measures.

“I’m excited that we’re once again at a place where we can begin easing the mask requirements, which is the direct result of the fact that we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, our cases have fallen, and our residents have done their part to keep themselves and those around them safe,” said Mayor Breed. “This is an important step forward for San Francisco, particularly for our downtown, because when I talk to office workers and business leaders one of the things I continue to hear is that they’re anxious to get back to a more normal routine at work where they can interact with their colleagues. Our economy is bouncing back, the City feels like it is coming alive again, and this is yet another milestone in our recovery.”

San Francisco, in concert with eight other Bay Area jurisdictions, also today released the criteria for lifting the indoor universal mask mandate in most other settings once a sustained period of low and stable COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been achieved and a high threshold of the population is fully vaccinated, including children. More information about the criteria can be found at sf.gov/news.

Indoor masking remains in effect for all settings accessed by the wider public, including retail stores and other shared indoor areas such as common areas of a building elevators, lobbies and restrooms, where people from different workplace settings could interact. Indoor masking also continues to apply in bars and restaurants except for patrons while actively eating or drinking, subject to the proof of vaccination requirements.

“Throughout this pandemic we’ve implemented common sense measures like masking and vaccinations to protect us through four surges in COVID-19 while keeping hospitalizations manageable,” said Director of Health, Dr. Grant Colfax. “Tragically, other areas of the country have seen outcomes much worse than ours. San Francisco’s health orders and shared mitigation efforts have been successful in keeping us safer as a community, and a relaxation of masking orders is warranted. We’ll continue to follow the data and science where it leads us.”

When issued, the changes to San Francisco’s Safer Return Together Order will include further details about the requirements to allow for mask removal by fully vaccinated individuals in these controlled settings. San Francisco has led the way in requiring proof of vaccination for many businesses, which provide the best defense against the virus and, along with indoor masking, has slowed the spread of the disease. San Francisco has a current weekly average case rate of 77 cases per 100,000, a drop from 309 at the height of the summer’s surge. Cases among fully vaccinated individuals are currently at 7.4 per 100,000, while among those not fully vaccinated are 14.4 per 100,000. The vaccines remain highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death.

“Vaccines continue to be our path out of the pandemic, but masks have blunted the Delta-driven surge and protected our vital hospital capacity, while allowing businesses to remain open and children to return to school,” said Health Officer, Dr. Susan Philip. “We thank all San Franciscans for participating in those successes. Well-fitted masks will continue to have a place in our lives in higher-risk settings, and everyone should feel free to wear a mask whenever they would like an extra layer of protection.”

Even as masking restrictions lift, indoor masking will remain in effect where required under state or federal rules, like public transportation, hospitals, jails, homeless shelters, and schools, as a recommendation for everyone to wear in large, crowded outdoor settings, and as a requirement under certain circumstances if there is an outbreak of cases.

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