Castro News Briefs

Condo Project on Market Gets the Go Ahead
A plan from developer Brian Spiers to build 115 modern condos with ground-floor commercial space on Upper Market was approved by the Board of Supervisors in mid September.

The board unanimously voted down an appeal by San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, which argued that the project at a closed gas station site at 1960-1998 Market St. constituted an environmental threat, most notably from the excavation of “highly contaminated soil and groundwater” that could put the neighborhood at risk. The City Planning Dept. disagreed on the grounds that a comprehensive plan for potential site hazards was already in place.

The board, with a vote of 7-4, also rejected an appeal of the project by neighbors, who said the development would block natural light and did not comply with “human scale” design parameters.
Supervisor Bevan Dufty supported the project for providing some affordable housing and mid-range home ownership without converting apartments to condos.

HIV and Aging Town Hall Forum Held at LGBT Center
Due to the success of anti-HIV therapy, a new demographic of people living with the disease get older, according to Project Inform, which hosted a free discussion on September 24tb at the LGBT Center to address these issues.

By 2015, according to the organization, it is estimated that half of those with HIV will be over 50 years old in North America. The discussion, dubbed “The Consequences and Management of HIV and Aging,” featured Dr. Steven Deeks from San Francisco General Hospital and probed into the impact of long-term HIV disease on the immune system, as well as non-AIDS related conditions that are medical, mental, psychological and social.

Project Inform represents HIV-positive people in the development of treatments and a cure, advocates for quality health care to respond to HIV and related conditions and promotes medical strategies that prevent new infections.

Gay and Lesbian Travel Agency Turns 25 Yeas Old
Voyager Travel, an LGBT-oriented travel agency in the Castro and the self-proclaimed “world’s #1 gay and lesbian travel agency,” celebrates its 25-year anniversary in October.

Both gay-owned and operated, Voyager has maintained itself as a fixture for globetrotting members of the LGBT community, specializing in such vacations as all gay cruises to the Caribbean, South Pacific or Greece.

According to Voyager, its clientele is over 90 percent gay and lesbian. It is located at 4406 18th St. between Douglass Street and Eureka Street and can be reached on the web at nowvoyager.com.

To the Editor,

Loved the photo you ran on page 7 of the current Castro Courier but...
It was not a graduation, it was a First Communion taken in the spring of 1957. How do I know? My husband is in the picture (2nd row from the bottom, 4th from right - a real cutie don’t you think?!).

I guess you don’t know too much about First Communions but that was the way we all dressed for the occasion in the ‘50s. Graduation was usually with the typical cap and gowns.
And it was at Most Holy Redeemer.

Andi Winters
Former San Francisco resident living in Redding, CA

For The Record
In the September issue, a photo caption for a Starbelly photo mistakenly identified Adam Timney as Sous-chef and Allyson Harvie as Starbelly chef. Timney is in fact chef and Harvie is Sous-chef.

Also, the article “Rainbow Honor Walk Placed on Walking Tour of Castro” mistakenly identified former Teamsters Organizer Allan Baird as a co-creator of the prototype plaques. Baird is a supporter of the project.

Copyright 2007-2008 Castro Courier