Don't get too excited by the title of the new Norwegian film, “Sex.” The act itself is actually only briefly discussed in this fascinating film, the first in a new trilogy from writer-director Dag Johan Haugerud, relying mostly on the words and descriptions of the main characters rather than much visual information. Haugerud, winner of the Europa Cinemas label for best European film in the Panorama section of the current Berlin Film Festival, where it had its world premiere this week, has announced this as the first of three films – “Sex, Dreams” and then “Love” – ​​with the same cast and which, overall, will explore themes of desire, identity and freedom, not to mention sexuality and the place of gender in our lives and society. This first standalone film also leans heavily on masculinity in ways not usually discussed by men, but here they do in a profound way in this thought-provoking film that also puts Norway's most famous city, Oslo, in the spotlight.

Haugerud's dialogue-driven script is full of monologues delivered in conversational dialogues with either two male colleagues (never named) from a chimney sweeping company and/or their wives. It begins with the boss (Thorbjørn Harr) telling an unseen person about a dream in which he encounters David Bowie, who thinks he is a woman. The dream is described in detail and clearly disturbs him, as he has never experienced such a vivid depiction of gender, his sex and his image from the perspective of others, in such a graphic situation, whether in a dream or not. The camera soon reveals that he is not speaking to a therapist (my first thought) but to a colleague (Jan Gunnar Røise), who then decides, albeit hesitantly at first, to tell of a recent real-life encounter he had with a man in the kitchen of a house where he was working on the chimney, a stranger who, he says, saw him as an object of desire and asked him point blank if he wanted to have sex with him. He tells his colleague that he immediately refused – they are both married – but that he quickly returned after leaving and, he says, ended up having sex with the man. What's more, he even tells his wife (Siri Forberg) all about it in a matter-of-fact way afterwards.

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One can imagine that the story didn't go down well, and for the rest of the 2 hours and 5 minutes, her character is all about becoming more and more deeply disturbed about what this all means, not just for their marriage, but for her, her family, and whether her husband is actually gay. In these intimate and lengthy conversations, he assures everyone that just because he did it once with a man doesn't mean he's an alcoholic. Harr's character also confesses to his wife (a more understanding Birgitte Larsen) his own strange dreams in which David Bowie sees him as a woman, and has to digest the fact that this has more of an impact on his marriage than on his lifelong understanding of his identity and the way he is seen.

Once we're past these heavy, if sometimes tedious, discussions, Haugerud manages to lighten things up a bit, as Harr's character takes his son Hans Petter (Adrian Jenure Skaaland) to a doctor (a wonderfully incisive and natural Anne Marie Ottersen) to examine the boy's injured hand, but at the same time asks her about his own ailments. In a somewhat whimsical way, she begins a story about two young gay men, one of whom is seriously ill. Haugerud suddenly thrusts us into flashbacks to tell this story within a story. I, for one, was glad to get out of the claustrophobic conversations sparked by the chimney sweeps' revelations and into something else, anything else. The slow and deliberate pacing, with minimal camera movement in so many scenes between them and their wives, makes everything seem longer than it is.

Aside from that, Sex is full of wry observations about human behavior and life's unanswered questions about who we really are. The superbly chosen actors, especially Røise and Harr, tell the story in a subdued, almost deadpan style. The camerawork, which also puts Oslo himself in the spotlight, is masterfully executed by Cecile Semec. And as befits such a profound film, it all ends with a musical dance sequence – of course – in which Harr's character performs on stage with his choir while Røise's character and his entire family, now seemingly content to carry on with their lives as before, watch from the audience. No explanations are needed, but perhaps we'll get one as the trilogy moves into the next chapter.

Producers are Yngve Saether and Hege Hauff Hvattum.

Title: sex
Festival: Berlin (Panorama)
Director-Screenwriter: Tag Johan Haugerud
Pour: Jan Gunnar Roise, Thorbjörn Harr, Siri Forberg, Birgitte Larsen, Nasrin Khusrawy, Hadrian Jenure Skaaland, Theo Dahl, Anne Marie Ottersen
Sales agent: M Appeal
Duration: 2 hrs 5 mins

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A San Francisco man's home is contaminated after sewage floods his apartment, and it's not the first time he's faced this problem.

Armed with a squeegee, 77-year-old Jakow tried to remove black puddles of sewage from his San Francisco apartment on Tuesday evening. As Yakov dragged a bucket of the foul-smelling mud onto his patio, a maintenance worker explained that help wasn't on the way immediately and said, “We'll work on your unit tomorrow, sir.”

Yakov lives on Bay Street in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, in a 341-unit complex owned and managed by the John Stewart Company. On Monday evening, sewage began to overflow from his toilet.

At the same time, flooding also occurred at the Trader Joe's garage, which was located on the street level of the complex. The grocery store was closed Tuesday while workers cleaned up inside and plumbers parked outside.

However, this is not the first time that plumbing has been a problem in the complex. Cell phone video from Yakov's unit from 2016 shows the aftermath when his bathroom overflowed for the first time. Dehumidifiers and fans blow onto exposed walls and bare floors. It took more than a month to repair this damage.

When Yakov's apartment was flooded with sewage two years ago, his family had to spend more than $4,000 to replace all of his furniture. And now that it's happened again and his couch, rugs and chairs are covered in sewage, his family fears they'll lose thousands of dollars again.

“It is of course very expensive, but also very stressful,” said Yakov’s daughter Rimma, who looks after her father. Rimma says she has been trying to move her father to another apartment in the complex for years without success, due in large part to the flooding. “I don’t understand why it’s so hard to look at the blueprints and figure out which pipe goes where and how to fix it.”

Yakov is currently staying in a hotel paid for by the owners.

ABC7 spoke on the phone with John Stewart, the company's chairman, who said they would fix this issue and cover the cost of lost property.

For more stories, photos and videos about recent sewage spills, follow this link.

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A new affordable housing complex with on-site support services for families transitioning from homelessness opened Wednesday in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood.

The City Gardens complex at 333 12th St. adds 200 units to the city's inventory of permanent supportive housing. This is housing that includes long-term rental assistance and supportive services ranging from education and job training to health care. The new complex will increase the number of such residential units for families in the city by more than 20 percent.

The building and its services will be funded with $100 million from the city's Our City, Our Home Fund, a tax on businesses that generate gross receipts of more than $50 million. It was approved by voters as Proposition C in 2018.

City Gardens apartment complex at 333 12th St. in San Francisco.

City of San Francisco

The project was supported by an additional $56.7 million from the state's Homekey program, which funds a variety of permanent housing options as part of addressing a housing crisis declared in 2019. The city funded with Homekey funds.

“The City's investments in shelter, housing and prevention across our system make a difference for people and our neighborhoods every day, and we will continue to work to bring stability and hope to those most in need,” said San Francisco Mayor, London Breed, in a statement statement.

San Francisco Administrator Matt Dorsey said the project will provide families exiting homelessness a place to call home.

“The opening of City Gardens provides safe housing for San Francisco families at a time when it is desperately needed. It’s more than just a building, it’s a sign of our commitment to helping our most vulnerable neighbors,” Dorsey said.

On-site social services, including case management and mental health counseling, are provided by the nonprofit organization Abode Services. Other building amenities include common areas, resident lounges on each floor, a rooftop terrace, offices and a bicycle repair shop.

“City Gardens is a wonderful family project that we are happy to be a part of,” said Louis Chicoine, CEO of Abode Services. “We are grateful to have been commissioned by the City and County of San Francisco to operate such a beautiful and meaningful building where many San Franciscans live today.”

Under Proposition C, the city imposed a tax on annual gross receipts of businesses over $50 million to fund supportive housing and other solutions to the city's homelessness crisis. Legal challenges delayed the implementation of funds for city projects until the 2020-21 fiscal year.

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Problems with mold and vermin, broken tubs and showers and other slum-like conditions continue to mount at a massive South Los Angeles apartment complex even as politicians, housing and public health officials are pledging to hold the landlord accountable.

City and county inspectors are planning to reassess all 425 units at Chesapeake Apartments in early June, following a Times story in April that revealed widespread tenant complaints and public health violations, including leaking sewage and gas and electrical failures.

“It’s not acceptable,” said Robert Galardi, the chief inspector at the city housing department. “The building is in need of some major renovations.”

Galardi said the complex-wide inspection could be the precursor to sanctions against the building owner, Pama Properties, including enrollment in a city program that withholds rent from landlords to force them to repair blighted conditions.

For years, housing inspectors and others responsible for overseeing Chesapeake Apartments have missed obvious warning signs about its extensive deterioration and at other buildings owned by Pama Properties and Pama President Mike Nijjar. The World War II-era Chesapeake complex stretches across multiple city blocks in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area, with nearly two dozen two-story buildings constructed around courtyards and open-air parking lots.

County public health officials have found 205 violations at Chesapeake Apartments since 2017, an average of more than three per month and the most of any residential property in LA County during that time, a Times analysis found. Violations have included mold, rats and plumbing problems. Over the same period, more than 100 complaints have been filed with city housing inspectors over conditions at the property, including missing and faulty carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and gas and electrical issues, according to a Times review of city data.

Companies linked to Nijjar own more than $1 billion in real estate, predominately in Southern California, and many other properties also have had serious health and livability problems, according to a 2020 investigation by LAist. Five years ago, LA City Attorney Mike Feuer sued Pama Properties and Nijjar over crime concerns, reaching a settlement that required safety and habitability upgrades.

In January LA housing inspectors completed an assessment of Chesapeake Apartments that’s required every two years. Officials identified 71 violations during that inspection, but said all were corrected and gave the complex a clean bill of health. Galardi conceded that review failed, and that about half of the units were never examined.

Many tenants had placed notices on their doors advising inspectors not to enter their units, Galardi said, and the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges. The assessment began in November, just as the Omicron variant’s wave of infection was hitting Southern California.

“I wouldn’t say the system’s broken,” said Galardi, who visited the property and met with tenants and organizers last month. “I would say that the timing in the pandemic had a big impact on [inspecting] such a great community.”

Jim Yukevich, an attorney who has represented Nijjar in litigation with the city, did not respond to a list of questions from the Times. Previously, Yukevich has said that his client takes health and safety issues seriously at all his properties and makes repairs when notified by tenants.

Since the Times story published last month, staff members for the federal, state and local officials who represent the area, all Democrats, have been meeting to discuss conditions at Chesapeake Apartments.

County Supervisor Holly Mitchell called the situation “horrendous” and said that the severity and longstanding concerns with the property required public agencies to penalize the landlord and ensure speedy and complete repairs.

“We’re at the point now where that strong, clear, decisive action needs to be taken,” Mitchell said.

US Rep. Karen Bass, State Sen. Sydney Kamlager, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and LA City Councilman Herb Wesson declined or did not respond to Times interview requests. After the initial Times story published, Bass, who is running for Los Angeles mayor, called on Nijjar’s companies to make immediate repairs to Chesapeake Apartments, relocate tenants until the work was complete and give them the right to return to the refurbished property.

Chesapeake tenants say that conditions have remained, or even worsened, since April as Pama Properties has scrambled to respond.

Milton Morris, 39, has lived in a one-bedroom apartment at the property for six years with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. One afternoon last week, an air purifier the family newly purchased whirred as his wife used a breathing machine and daughter clutched her asthma inhaler while doing science homework. Morris said he’s been complaining about problems for years.

An environmental contractor hired by building management in late April found numerous mold spores throughout Morris’ apartment at levels that exceed federal environmental guidelines, according to a Morris report shared with The Times. The contractor also found structural damage in the living room, bathroom and kitchen it called “unacceptable.”

“There’s nothing that they can possibly say to justify this,” said Morris, an in-home healthcare worker who pays $1,346 a month in rent. “A lot of people’s lives have been ruined by living over here.”

In other cases, tenants say the landlord’s recent efforts to make repairs have left them without basic necessities.

Maria Gonzalez did not have a working bath or shower for days after workers responded to complaints about a foul odor emanating from the plumbing. She was further annoyed when she said a maintenance worker entered the one-bedroom apartment she shares with her husband and 16-year-old daughter without permission while the teenager was home alone. To clean herself before her janitorial job at a local hospital, Gonzalez had to fill a bucket with water from the sink.

“Another day without bathing,” said Gonzalez, 50, throwing up her hands in her bathroom on a recent afternoon after five days without an operable shower. ‘When are they coming to finish?’

Another tenant said her shower has been offline for more than two weeks while undergoing repairs. She’s had to wash her 5-year-old son in the kitchen sink.

Tenants said they want the landlord to relocate them when doing major construction in their units and to assure them that all contractors are licensed and taking adequate protections when working with lead paint and other health hazards.

Galardi, the city chief inspector, said that tenants should file complaints to the housing department if bathing facilities are inaccessible or if they believe unlicensed construction is occurring, and that the department would respond immediately.

“We do not have the resources to supervise the day-to-day repairs at the property,” he said. “We do have the resources to respond to a scenario that could impact the tenants in either the short term or the long term.”

To date, Galardi said, the city hasn’t ordered the relocation of any tenants nor declared any apartments in the complex uninhabitable.

Over the past month, Chesapeake residents have gone to City Hall to plead their case in person and also protested outside Pama Properties’ corporate office in El Monte.

Morris said that tenants have to maintain pressure because history shows that public agencies haven’t helped them.

“The question is still there as to how the hell this place has been passing inspections all of these years,” he said.

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“It’s going to be a big community. We range from independent, to assistant living, to memory care. We dedicated a support and care team trained through the Mayo clinic,” said Michael Pounsberry, Coterie Cathedral Hill’s General Manager.

Located at 1001 Van Ness Ave the Coterie Cathedral Hill luxury senior complex is three months from opening its doors.

RELATED: Rent will cost up to $27,000 a month at new and luxurious senior living complex in SF

“Welcome to Coterie Cathedral Hill. We are right now standing in our 3,500 square foot living room and library space. It’s a beautifully designed space with hardwood floors, white oak throughout and accents of brass and leather,” said Tansy Mak, Related Companies Design Manager.

Waiting to move into one of the 208 units is Jim Meehan.

Luz Pena: “What was it about this specific community that attracted you here?”

Jim Meehan: “I’m in excellent health, but I live alone and I’ve reached the age where it’s sort of prudent for me to have assistance available, if I need it. I’m also looking forward to being part of a community of people.”

Residents will have access to an on-site nursing and wellness team.

“A lot of safety programs here at the property as well. We even have a watch called ‘Care Predict’ so residents will have a two-way communication should they need any assistance,” said Pounsberry.

WATCH: Inside a $27 million San Francisco mansion

The units are on a month-to-month basis, ranging from $7,700 for a studio and more than $17,000 for a two bedroom.

“That price is all inclusive. Everything you see here at Coterie Cathedral Hill. We’ll have a concierge team downstairs, we’ll have 24 hour security. That includes transportation for our residents also in a 5 mile range of the city,” said Pounsberry.

Food and utilities are also included, “Michelin-inspired cuisine. Over five dining options throughout the community,” said Pounsberry.

The 14 story building is built by the two national developers Related and Atria Senior Living. This San Francisco location is the first of its kind, followed by a second location in New York City.

RELATED: SF tennis community outraged over real estate developer’s revision plan to not rebuild sports club

“We have 25,000 square feet of amenities which is amazing,” said Mak and added, “We have a fitness center with an outdoor pool, which is unique for San Francisco. It has a yoga room, fitness equipment. We also have a 6,000 square foot roof deck with a bocce ball and a pet run for all of our pet guests and BBQ’s throughout.”

Luz Pena: “How did San Francisco inspire some of the rooms here?”

Michael Pounsberry: “Now we are staying in the beautiful cocktail lounge. This is actually called Karl after Karl the fog.”

The luxury complex will open March 1st, 2022.

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Prices run to $27,000 per month for a two bedroom unit on Coterie Cathedral Hill in Van Ness and O’Farrell.

Studios start at $8,000 per month.

The 208-unit complex includes amenities such as Michelin-starred meals, which residents can enjoy 24-hours a day in the restaurant or in their room.

There are also health facilities, a fitness center, heated pools, a movie theater, a hair salon, and more.

WATCH: Inside a $27 million San Francisco mansion

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

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On her Chesterfield sofa, with her electric wheelchair at hand, Rosemary Dyer gazed at the glittering peacock figurines she’d gotten hold of on her first solo trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown after she was released from prison, and admired the bright, silk-flowered tablecloth in her new one Living room .

Dyer, a quick-tempered woman with a mischievous sense of humor, brought these and other valuable possessions to Home Free, a new complex of temporary housing in San Francisco. It is designed for women who have been jailed for killing their abusive partner or for being on the scene of a crime under the coercion of an abusive spouse or friend. Dyer was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988 for murder for having shot and killed her eight-year-old husband who abused and tortured her in 1985, at a time when expert testimony about domestic violence and its effects was inadmissible in most states .

The insidious malice that defined her life included being repeatedly beaten and sodomized with a loaded handgun. Her husband had dug a grave in the back yard and said he would bury her alive.

Home Free – Where Dyers 2020 Commutation From Gov. Gavin Newsom Proudly Hanging on the Wall – was founded by Five Keys Schools and Programs, a statewide nonprofit that provides education, professional training, therapeutic programs, and shelter to incarcerated and newly released people. The complex of five two-bedroom apartments is the result of years of advocacy from survivors of intimate partner violence and organizations that work with them. Their efforts enabled women like Dyer to obtain their release through grace or by retrospectively presenting evidence of their abuse to the state probation board or the courts.

“The fact that women subjected to unspeakable violence were not allowed to produce evidence of abuse is the essence of injustice,” said Sunny Schwartz, founder of Five Keys. “Our goal was to create a living, dignified and safe home, a place that says, ‘You are worth it.’ ”

Previous transitional housing options for women were largely limited to addicts. Home Free on Treasure Island, a former naval base in San Francisco Bay, was forged with a tight starting budget of $ 750,000 including staff during last year’s pandemic. The formerly dirty apartments were renovated with the help of almost 100 volunteers – architects and landscape architects, floor and furniture installers, plumbers, freight forwarders, electricians and urban construction apprentices. They all gathered on this somewhat bizarre island, originally built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition.

Interior design students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco devoted a semester to the project, joining Mini-Charettes on Zoom with Irving A. Gonzales of G7 Architects. They also brainstormed the women, whose requests included full-length mirrors (they had been prevented from watching their form in prison for years).

“We wanted paint!” Said Dyer, who visited the site when it was still in makeshift accommodation. She and others had a particular dislike for gray, a shade associated with metal prison bunks and lockers.

Dyer, a 69-year-old cancer survivor with congestive heart failure, has been using a wheelchair since her hip injury in prison. A giant pirate flag – a nod to the Treasure Island theme – greets visitors upon arrival. Her barrier-free apartment borders on an inner courtyard where she grows pots with tomatoes and radishes.

The landscape itself was designed by Hyunch Sung from Mithun, who selected 10 different tree species. (Because the Treasure Island soil is contaminated with industrial chemicals, the trees are planted in brightly painted containers.) Sung said she approached her work there like designing for high-end customers. “The idea of ​​beauty is underestimated for disadvantaged communities,” she said.

Nilda Palacios, 38, who lives upstairs, said it was “emotionally moving” to join the complex. She grew up with a history of abuse: she was abused by an uncle and stepfather as a child and then raped by a high school teacher when she was 15. The stressful trial against the teacher led her to rely on drugs and alcohol (“I’ve tried to sleep through my life,” she said). Palacios became desperate and suicidal. One day when a beggar cornered her, she said she thought he was going to attack her and “whipped” him and strangled him. She was convicted of second degree murder. She was incarcerated for 17 years and benefited from therapists in prison who helped her understand “how the depth of my crime was related to my story,” she said. “I mistook someone who wasn’t a threat for someone who was.”

Palacios was released on parole. She has benefited from a broader vision for Home Free that now welcomes women like her whose crimes have been directly linked to their abuse.

When she moved in, she was “shocked” at the prospect of a private bedroom after years of sharing a 2 x 3 meter cell and stuffing all her belongings into a six cubic foot box, as one current inmate puts it , “Your panties right against the noodles and peanut butter.”

“No way, is this my room?” Palacios reminds me. “It felt like a real home to me.”

A way to decent living

The idea for Home Free came about during a conversation between Schwartz, its founder, and the Californian treasurer Fiona Ma, then a state representative. Ma’s law, signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2012, allowed women who had suffered domestic violence and were convicted of violent crimes related to their abuse to have their cases reported using Battered Women Syndrome (as it was then called) as To have the defense heard. The law also gave them the right to produce evidence of intimate partner abuse during the probation process. It applied to those convicted before August 1996.

The number of Rosemary Dyers still behind bars is unknown. According to Debbie Mukamal, the executive director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center at Stanford Law School and the director of the Regilla Project, a three-year study examining the frequency with which women in the United States are jailed for killing their perpetrators . Small studies, including one in Canada, suggest that 65% of women serving life sentences for the murder of their intimate partners were abused by them before the crime. The link between abuse and violent crime was underscored by dismal statistics in a 1999 US Department of Justice report showing that a quarter to a third of women incarcerated were molested as adolescents and a quarter to nearly half as adults.

Despite increasing public awareness, “there are still large numbers of defense lawyers who fail to understand how intimate partner violence creates the context for a crime,” said Leigh Goodmark, director of the Clinic on Gender-Based Violence at the University of Maryland School of Law.

In New York state, the 2019 Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act was put to the test in the high-profile case of Nicole Addimando, a young mother of two in Poughkeepsie who fatally shot her living friend and father, after years of harrowing children in 2017 Abuse (the case is captured dramatically in the documentary “And So I Stayed”).

Sentenced to 19 years of life for second degree murder, Addimando was entitled to a subsequent law hearing at which her allegations of abuse could result in a reduced sentence. The district court judge denied these allegations, believing she had “had the opportunity to leave her perpetrator safely”. In July, the Appeals Division of the State Supreme Court overturned this decision and reduced Ms. Addimando’s term to 7 ½ years.

For Kate Mogulescu, associate professor at Brooklyn Law School and director of the Survivors Justice Project, the case illustrates “the impossible burdens we put on survivors to prove their victimization.” Women are tested very differently in court than men, she added. “Women are bad mothers or promiscuous. Tropics are carried out on women and the penalties reflect this. ”However, 16 women have been convicted again in New York so far.

By far the most common reason why women who have been abused by intimate partners end up in jail are so-called complicity laws, which force a victim to be at the scene of an offender’s violence, for example while driving the getaway car, said Colby Lenz, Co-founder of Survived and Punished, a national advocacy group.

That was the case with Tammy Cooper Garvin, who was sexually trafficked at the age of 14 and jailed for 28 years for sitting in the car while her pimp murdered a customer. Her sentence has been commuted and she has been hired as a housing coordinator by Home Free.

Another advocate – and a driving force behind the founding of Home Free – is a fellow survivor named Brenda Clubine, who founded a weekly support group at the California Institution for Women. About 72 women soon joined. Dyer was one of the original members, though until Clubine encouraged her she was so afraid of life that she could barely speak.

Clubine herself was ill-treated for years, including fractures and stab wounds, by her husband, a former police detective. She hit him on the head with a wine bottle and he died of a blunt violent trauma. She served 26 years of a 16 year prison sentence. Her violent retelling of the stories of the women in the prison squad – which she sent to state lawmakers and governors – led to public hearings and the 2009 documentary, Sin by Silence, which in turn inspired California law.

Clubine’s close friendship with Dyer has continued and is critical to Dyer’s self-confidence. At Home Free, Dyer now indulges in making homemade chicken pasta based on her grandmother’s recipe. Clubine, her best friend, found that a safe and empowering place for her “sisters” has been a long time coming. “I can’t tell how full my heart is that it is available to you now,” she said.

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A groundbreaking residential complex is now located on Long Island, completed just 50 miles from the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, where the modern struggle for LGBTQ rights in the United States began unofficially.

The LGBT network’s LGBT-friendly senior housing and community center has been completed and residents have already moved into a welcoming space for members of the LGBTQ community entering their golden years. The four-story building has 75 affordable one- and two-bedroom rentals that are marketed to members of the LGBTQ community 55+.

According to the LGBT Network, it is the first senior housing project for the LGBTQ community to be built in an American suburb. All other projects of this type are located in major American cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“This is an open community with open arms for all,” said Steven Flotteron, Suffolk County’s legislature, who voted for the LGBT network’s project while serving on the Islip Town Board in 2017. “I was honored to be part of your project and part of the Bay Shore renaissance.”

Flotteron attended an LGBT network press conference at the residential center on Friday, attended by other elected officials, the network’s president and CEO David Kilmnick, and some of the building’s new residents.

“I lived in a dark apartment downstairs …” said Elain Felton, one of the residents of the building. “We have light, we have brightness, it is spacious, it is safe and that is the most important thing for me!

“Because yes, I am a senior. Yes, I am a colored person. Yes, I am part of the LGBT community. And I have the special chance to be one of 75 people who are allowed to live in this great place. “

why it is necessary

While the fight for LGBTQ equality continues to this day, years ago the elders in the community faced more discrimination than their younger counterparts, leading to economic disenfranchisement and the need for affordable housing.

“If we only speak for our older adults, the problems they face now are really a culmination of problems over the years, namely discrimination in the workplace, discrimination in housing,” said Latisha Millard-Bethea, director of the Residential Services from SAGE, an advocacy and resource center for LGBT elders. “And now they really look underpaid for years, especially for some of our trans and colored people. They look at where they are really not as financially stable as they would have been under other circumstances if there was no discrimination involved. “

Sexual orientation discrimination is not the only problem many people in the LGBTQ community face.

“There’s a lot of intersectionality in there. So trans people with color face a multitude of problems that just arise from being a person of color. Before you get into any of the trans issues, deal with it. And then when you add the transgender component, there are problems with their health care, there are problems with things like housing, problems with moving into lower-income homes. “

Applying for lower-income housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development can be a daunting process for trans people after the transition, Millard-Bethea said, as applications must be completed with the applicant’s name and gender, assigned to them at birth.

“HUD rules are very old rules, they can’t really change and so a lot of our trans people we work with to get into living already have their new identities and new names. It’s almost a little traumatizing or offensive to sit down with someone and have to trace it all back because HUD only recognizes male or female, ”she said.

Education and resources

SAGE operates two LGBTQ-friendly residential projects in New York City, similar to the LGBT network’s new Bay Shore project: the Stonewall House in Fort Green and the Crotona Senior Residences.

Millard-Bethea said such projects are typically proposed in urban areas that are “a little more open to projects like this and the services and needs of the LGBTQ community. In larger cities it is easier to implement such a concept, such as

The LGBT network’s 8,000 square meter LGBT community center in Bay Shore also offers “services and programs related to arts and culture, fitness, food and nutrition, health and wellness,” according to the tenant application.

Millard-Bethea said centers like the one in Bay Shore, as well as SAGE-administered communities in the city, educate surrounding communities about the LGBTQ population and provide physical and mental health resources to LGBTQ people in those areas.

“It brings some of the resources … into the community for people who may not be comfortable with their identities right now, to know that there is an open place for them,” she said.

“It really brings that knowledge into them [health care] also providers in the community. “

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Residents are being allowed back home in parts of the Bay Area that were threatened by wildfires, even as crews continue battling the three complex fires that have claimed six lives, destroyed more than 1,700 homes and businesses and burned over 826,000 acres across the region.

Repopulation could take weeks as fire officials assess damage, and clear out dangerous downed power lines, fire-weakened trees and other hazards that could pose risks to the more than 136,000 Californians forced to flee their homes.

The LNU Lightning Complex, in the North Bay, is the third-largest wildfire in the state’s history at 372,344 acres and was 35 percent contained as of Friday evening. Three Napa County residents and two Solano County residents have been killed by the fire, which has damaged or destroyed 1,352 structures.

The SCU Lightning Complex, in the South Bay and further east, ranks behind only the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire as the second-largest wildfire in California’s history. It had burned 374,471 total acres and was 40% contained as of Friday evening, with 57 structures damaged or destroyed.

The CZU Lightning Complex, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, had burned 83,133 acres and is 27% contained as of Friday evening. It had taken the life of one Santa Cruz County man and destroyed at least 831 structures, including 575 single-family homes.

Follow below for the latest updates, and explore the map to see where fires are burning.

LNU complex spurs closures of wildlife areas in Napa, Solano counties | Update 9:35 p.m.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday announced the closure of the Knoxville, Cedar Roughs and Putah Creek wildlife areas due to the proximity of the LNU Lightning Complex Fire.

The areas are closed for all public use, including hunting and hiking, until further notice, the department said in a news release.

“The closures will help ensure public safety and allow CDFW to fully evaluate the effects of the wildfire,” the department said.

The Knoxville and Cedar Roughs wildlife areas are located in Napa County and the Putah Creek wildlife area is located in Solano County.

Cal Fire clears the way for more Santa Cruz County residents to return home | Update 9:20 p.m.

More residents were given the green light to return home Friday as Cal Fire increased containment of the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burning in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Evacuation orders were lifted for the communities of Lompico, Zayante and Mt. Hermon.

“It’s great to get those folks back home,” said Chief Deputy Sheriff Chris Clark of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office at a news conference in Scotts Valley. “It’s a good day for us. It’s a great day for them.”

More than 40,000 people remain evacuated, and the wait to return home could be weeks for those who live in Boulder Creek and Bonny Doon, two communities that were hit hard by the fire. Clark asked for their patience as crews work to repair the infrastructure.

“It’s a day-by-day process,” said Clark, who urged residents in need of assistance to visit the recovery resource center at the Kaiser Permanente Arena, 140 Front St. in downtown Santa Cruz. The center is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, he said.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton said ground crews continued to gain ground on the fire but they were encountering challenges in some areas, including the Highway 9 corridor, where the edge of the fire crossed control lines in several places.

“I think this is just going to be a regular occurrence as we continue to strengthen lines,” he said, “and until we get those completely strengthened, we’re going to see that happening.”

The fire had burned 83,133 acres and was 27 percent contained as of 6 p.m. Friday.

Ian Larkin, chief of the Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit, said the region remains susceptible to fires.

“In fact, our burn window that we typically have here in Santa Cruz County is just starting,” Larkin said. “Take advantage of this time. Look around your home. Try to increase your defensible space. If you don’t have any, now is the time to start working on that.”

For fire-ravaged communities, a long road to recovery looms ahead | Update 5:25 p.m.

The thousands of evacuees returning to homes and businesses destroyed by fire face a “marathon” rebuilding process, complicated by clearing toxic debris and ash from burned-out lots, as well as navigating a complex web of state, federal and private relief and reconstruction funds. Three complex fires throughout Northern California have burned more than 800,000 acres and early estimates point at more than 2,000 destroyed or damaged homes and businesses. Still unknown: who will be responsible for the cleanup. The federal government’s handling of the cleanup after the 2017 North Bay fires destroyed about 5,000 homes cost $1.3 billion and was widely criticized. California oversaw the clean up after 14,000 homes were destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire.

“Once we can get in and get a full idea of the scope of the damage, we’ll have a better idea of what the debris looks like,” said Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “It’s too early to say who exactly would be responsible and what the scope would be.”

Read the full story from Fiona Kelliher here

Evacuation warnings lifted in parts of Santa Clara County | Update 5:10 p.m.

Officials lifted evacuation warnings in multiple parts of Santa Clara County, including warnings on the eastern outskirts of the San Jose city limits.

#SCULightningComplex | Evacuation Order to Warning and Warnings Lifted | Santa Clara County 08.28.20 – Zone 5B (Order to Warning) | Zones 3B, 4A, and 4B (Warning Lifted) https://t.co/CdgltbCN95 pic.twitter.com/RHsYsdiimY

— CAL FIRE SCU (@calfireSCU) August 29, 2020

Fire crews make progress against SCU Complex fire | Update 4:45 p.m.

“A lot of great work has happened over the last 24 hours,” at the SCU Complex Fire, Cal Fire Chief Tim Ernst said at a media briefing on Friday. Crews have been able to contain the spread, with repopulation beginning on the eastern side of the fire and no further spread anticipated on the northern and western sides, which at one point had led to evacuation warnings in the eastern outskirts of San Jose and Fremont. Residents might see columns of smoke on the south side of the fire, where crews are setting up controlled burns to stop the wildfire from spreading into Henry W. Coe State Park. Some controlled burns are also expected in the western side of the fire.

As the fire comes under control, fire suppression repair teams are starting to spread out to begin addressing damage drainage channels, fences and more caused by crews battling the fires, Ernst said. Mirroring Cal Fire officials in the CZU and LNU Complex fires, officials fighting the SCU fire said the focus was shifting toward safely allowing residents to come home.

“Today is day 13 of this incident. Our troops — and the public — are tired, and we recognize that,” Deputy Chief Michael Marcucci said, adding that he hopes to put the fire “to bed within the next week or so.”

Key piece of Big Basin’s infrastructure survived the CZU Complex fire | Update 2:30 p.m.

The historic amphitheater at Big Basin Redwoods State Park was damaged by the CZU Complex Fire. 

The wastewater treatment plant at the Big Basin Redwoods State Park survived a fire that destroyed multiple other park structures, including the historic headquarters, multiple park residences and the Little Basin Campground. The wastewater plant “is an essential element to rebuilding the park in the future,” the California Department of Parks and Recreation wrote in an update. The update also confirmed significant damage to the park’s historic amphitheater, posting photos that show the stage almost completely destroyed, although many of the benches carved out of tree logs appeared undamaged.

Legislators consider extra ratepayer fee for wildfire prevention fund | Update 2:10 p.m.

A battle has erupted in Sacramento over a last-minute legislative measure that pits the interests of utility customers who don’t want to pay higher power bills against a quest to bankroll efforts to combat wildfires in a financially shaky state of California. The legislation, AB 1659, is being floated as an emergency measure in the state Legislature and would add roughly $1 to the monthly bills for customers of PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric for decades to come. The money would go toward a $3 billion fund to help reduce the risk of wildfires in the state.

Read the full story from George Avalos here.

More evacuation warnings lifted | Update 2 p.m.

Officials battling the LNU Complex Fire have lifted several evacuation warnings in Napa and Solano counties. In the SCU Complex Fire burning largely in Santa Clara County, officials have lifted evacuation warnings in Merced County.

‘The end is in sight:’ Fire crews expand containment and repopulation efforts in fire-threatened North Bay communities | Update 11:40 a.m.

Fire crews made steady progress against the LNU Complex Fire overnight and into Friday morning, officials said at an 11 a.m. briefing. The Hennessey fire burning closest to Calistoga remains the highest priority, with crews there stymied by difficult terrain. Elsewhere, at the Walbridge Fire — one of the fires that make up the LNU Complex — crews are focused on monitoring and mopping up along containment lines.

“The word of the day has been repopulation,” said Cal Fire Chief Sean Kavanaugh. About 7,000 people have been allowed to return home, and damage assessment crews have identified 2,760 homes within the fire zone that were undamaged by the flames.

Still, fire and law enforcement officials urged caution and patience as neighborhoods reopen, and warned that the remaining evacuation zones are those that are significantly closer to active firelines. Emergency personnel is still in repopulated areas checking the damage to infrastructure and inspecting trees and powerlines that could fall. Officials directed residents to ReadyForWildfire.org for a returning home checklist, which includes avoiding water from the tap, checking for the smell of gas and discarding tainted food.

“The end is in sight,” said Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick, but the remaining repopulation zones have the most damage “so we want to make sure they’re safe, the roads are safe, utilities are out of the way.”

Worst air in the world still in the Bay Area | Update 8:55 a.m.

Despite some partial respite during the week, the Bay Area still has some of the worst air quality in the world because of smoke from a trio of major wildfires in the region, made worse on Friday — particularly on the northern peninsula — by the combination of the marine layer and a new layer of smoke. The air quality index in the eastern valleys of San Francisco was between 200 and 300 Friday morning, according to the PurpleAir sensors. In Pescadero, which reopened to fire evacuees Thursday, there were readings near 700 Friday morning.

Air quality index reading above 100 are considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, with readings between 201 and 300 considered very unhealthy and 301 to 500 considered hazardous. A Spare the Air warning had been extended until Saturday throughout the region. On Friday morning, San Francisco issued a red air quality alert, indicating unhealthy air and recommending people with respiratory diseases avoid “prolonged outdoor exertion.”

Read about the region’s worsening air quality here.

SCU, LNU trading spots as second-largest fire in state history | Update 8 a.m.

Both the SCU and LNU complexes remained 35 percent contained overnight, according to an update from CalFire officials Friday morning, as the blazes burning in the remote East Bay and Central Valley once again grew larger than those in wine country.

The two largest of the three blazes burning around the Bay Area have been getting close to becoming the largest wildfires in state history, with the SCU Complex adding 3,500 acres overnight to a total of 372,971 acres burned. That’s now second to the 2018 Mendocino Complex fires, which burned 459,123 acres. The LNU Complex fire grew by fewer than 2,000 acres overnight to 371,279 acres.

A ‘little setback’ against CZU Complex, but progress overnight nonetheless | Update 6:45 a.m.

Despite a “little setback” Thursday, firefighters had increased their containment of the CZU Complex by Friday morning, Cal Fire officials said during a 6 a.m. briefing.

The fires grew by about 1,000 acres overnight to a total size of 82,540, while crews had them 26 percent contained. In an area that hasn’t burned often, the thick vegetation on the forest floors have proved difficult for firefighters to fully extinguish. They had bulldozed control lines near Ben Lomond and Brookdale, but the heat traveled beneath the ground and popped up again on the other side.

“It’s very thick material,” fire chief Mark Brunton said. “When we put our control lines in, we scrape those lines down to bare soil that won’t burn … It almost becomes a trench.”

The fire is most active on the northwest edge near Butano Park toward a control line, as well as to the south near San Vicente Creek where the steep terrain and thick vegetation on the canyon slopes have complicated the firefight on the ground, while power lines in the area prevent support from the air.

Crews elsewhere were just mopping up fires, clearing roadways and making sure it was safe to return to evacuated areas. Officials said trees weakened by the fires present a hazard throughout the area.

On Thursday, evacuation orders were lifted for parts of San Mateo County and south of the fire in Santa Cruz County. Although officials declined to speculate, they were hopeful more residents would soon be allowed to return home. Those who did return home Thursday have reported no burglaries or break-ins while they were gone.

Catch up on all the updates from Thursday here.

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The historic Pie Ranch farmhouse in Pescadero was destroyed by the CZU Lightning Complex, according to a Facebook post from the ranch’s co-founder.

Nancy Vail, the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit organic education farm, posted a video on Facebook of the farmhouse chimney sticking out of a pile of rubble shrouded in red and orange flames.

“I thought we were clear, but a glow fell on the historic Pie Ranch farmhouse from 1863 and it’s gone,” Vail wrote. “May this be the beginning of the transformation, may we decide to bring back indigenous knowledge, to heal the damage caused since colonization, to bring justice to the land and people, to build resilient houses for all people, to practice everything in a climate-friendly way, people to feed, to love More. “

Vail underlined the Facebook post with a red heart emoji, followed by the hashtags “phoenixrising” and “pieranch”. She could not be reached on Friday evening to comment.

The destroyed building marks just one of dozen of buildings destroyed by the CZU Lightning Complex, which burned 57,000 acres in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. According to Cal Fire, it was 2% included as of Friday night. The complex had destroyed 97 buildings and threatened a further 24,323 buildings as of Friday evening.

In June, Mona Urbina, Pie Ranch’s culinary program manager, told The Chronicle that the farm had weathered the coronavirus pandemic. The farm is known for its large organic farms on Highway 1 and for its youth education program.

Around 77,000 people were evacuated in response to the CZU lightning complex, Cal Fire said.

Lauren Hernández is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez

The post Historic Pescadero Pie Ranch farmhouse, in-built 1863, incinerated in CZU Complicated fires appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.