The San Francisco Examiner - Wednesday, June 4, 1997
Lisa M. Krieger of the Examiner Staff

This is down from a weekly average of 68 panels in previous years - a 43 percent reduction in names and further proof of progress against the AIDS virus.

The bad news is that as the number of panels is down, so are visits and financial donations to the quilt. This means the Names Project has been forced to cut 13 positions from its staff, an 18 percent reduction. By mid-June, the positions - eight full-time and five contract (temporary or part-time) - will have been eliminated to save money. Positions range from sewing assistant to shipping assistant.

"We are delighted that the quilt is not growing as quickly as it was. This is what we've all been longing to hear. AIDS is no longer a death sentence," said Greg Lugliani, spokesman for the Names Project.

"The layoffs are difficult news, coming out of extraordinary good news," he said.

"AIDS organizations have always said that they exist to put themselves out of business. Increasingly, this is not just a figure of speech," he added.

The project budget for the 1997 fiscal year has been revised downward to $4.7 million from $5.2 million. Only half as many people as expected are visiting the quilt. Contributions are down about 25 percent. Sales of quilt-related merchandise, like T-shirts and videos, are down 60 percent.

The main mission of the Names Project - preservation of the quilt and the photos, letters, and mementos that accompany each contribution - will be unaffected by the cuts. Another important mission - circulating the quilt to high schools as part of an AIDS education campaign - also will remain a priority.

But continued contributions are critical to ensure that the quilt survives, said Lugliani. It costs $750,000 a year to add panels and safely store the quilt.

"The quilt is a monument," he said. "Caring for it is paramount."

Making HIV assault a felony

A person who tries to infect a sex partner with the AIDS virus could face up to nine years in prison under legislation approved by the California Senate on Tuesday.

The Senate approved the bill on a 24-1 vote, sending the measure to the Assembly.

The sponsor, Sen. Richard Rainey, R-Walnut Creek, said the bill was designed to close a gap in state law and toughen state penalties.

"This bill sends a clear message to those few individuals who intentionally attempt to infect others with HIV," Rainey said in a statement. "Such behavior is a clear menace to public safety and will not be tolerated."

Under existing state law, it is a misdemeanor to willfully expose another person to a contagious, infectious or communicable disease.

Under Rainey's bill, it would be a felony to expose another person to HIV with intent to infect them. Offenders would face five to nine years in prison. Rainey introduced the bill in response to several high-profile HIV assault cases in California.

Needle exchange stalls

Also Tuesday in the state Senate, a needle-exchange program designed to reduce the spread of AIDS failed by one vote.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles, would have allowed Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Jose and San Francisco to set up pilot programs under which drug users could trade dirty hypodermic needles for clean ones.

The measure stalled on a 20-16 vote, one short of the majority needed to pass the 40-seat Senate. The Senate gave Watson permission to seek another vote later in the session.

Of San Francisco representatives, John Burton voted yes, and Quentin Kopp voted no.

Rally at Capitol

Lawmakers lined up to address the seventh annual AIDS Lobby Day rally in Sacramento last Sunday, boasting of their bills addressing AIDS-related issues.

"Year by year we're making progress," said Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles. "Year by year we're turning the tide."

Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-S.F., said she was sponsoring legislation to ensure continued Medi-Cal coverage so people who were HIV-positive or had AIDS may return to work. Sen. Diane Watson said she was working for passage of a needle-exchange bill.

The 200 activists, many of whom arrived on buses from the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, lobbied lawmakers after the rally.

Activists were optimistic regarding the biggest issue, Gov. Wilson's proposed 1997-98 state budget allocations for AIDS-related services and programs, including education, prevention, testing, research and prescription drugs.

The proposed budget, which has yet to be approved by the Legislature, would increase state spending on AIDS to $122 million from $92 million in 1996-97, activists said.

Funding of many programs remained constant, they said, but money was increased for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. The service provides prescription drugs to low-income Californians who do not have access to Medi-Cal or private insurance.

Volunteers needed

*UC-San Francisco researchers are examining risk of HIV transmission between partners of gay male couples. It seeks 50 gay male couples whose partners are both HIV-negative and 50 gay male couples whose partners are mixed negative-positive HIV status. To volunteer, call (415) 597-4988.

*Are you a good listener? The AIDS / HIV Nightline needs volunteers to provide telephone emotional support and crisis counseling. Call (415) 984-1902.

The toll

Esteban Moreno Ruiz, 34, who loved soccer and music and crossed the Mexico-U.S. border on four occasions to live in San Francisco and Utah, in Guadalajara . . . Dennis J. Reno, 39, a graduate of Fordham University who for many years in San Francisco worked in management and sales at Wilkes Bashford, staging many fashion shows.

Date

reported Cases Deaths

S.F. 4/1 23,974 16,692

Calif 4/1 99,906 64,137

U.S. 4/1 548,102 343,000

WHO 4/1 8.4 mil 6.4 mil

Figures are cumulative since June 1981.

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