The federal Food and Drug Administration is adopting a new rule that will require warning labels on contraceptive products that contain the spermicide nonoxynol-9 but the federal agency is delaying the establishment of a similar rule on condoms containing N-9. It s still not sufficient, said Judy Auerbach, the deputy e
The year 2007 was the best of times, it was the worst of times for HIV/AIDS. The good news is that two new classes of drugs for treatment were approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and became available for use. It was the most important addition to therapy since the introduction of
Members of Congress staggered home on December 19 after the House wrapped up a $555 billion omnibus appropriations bill that included an additional $70 billion for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan . Only 78 Democrats voted for it, while 141 said no.
Next year is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the nearly 26-year-old San Francisco AIDS Foundation. The agency will welcome several new top executives and is likely to enter into a collaboration with local heath care providers to begin offering direct medical care to people living with HIV and AIDS. Foundation Execu
A controversial design meant to bring more awareness of San Francisco s National AIDS Memorial Grove was recently voted down by the organization s board. The design continues to evoke strong emotions among the grove s supporters, and nobody seems sure exactly what to do next. However, everyone has expressed a desire to
Financial donations by LGBT people in the Bay Area to LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations represent only about 2 percent of the number of gays in the region, according to a new report released by the Horizons Foundation. According to Horizons report, LGBT Giving to LGBT Organizations: Building a New Tradition of Philanthro
One of the great mysteries is why black men who have sex with men have a rate of HIV infection that is at least twice that of white MSM. Gregorio Millett conducted a meta-analysis of behavioral data looking for answers. The researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented the data at the 2007 Nati
Runners Mike Sacco and Lejon Boudreaux recently completed a marathon from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise awareness about AIDS and HIV testing. The proceeds from the marathon, Run in a Million, benefited the Black AIDS Institute. The run was Sacco s brainchild. A straight white biology student originally from Ver
Some people living with HIV/AIDS searching through the Medicare Part D drug plan finder might not locate some newly approved medications, but that doesn t mean the drugs aren t covered by Medicare s individual prescription plans, local AIDS advocates said. The apparent problem is that the plan finder isn t always curre
Don t screw with the flu could become a new slogan for HIV prevention. That s because up to 80 percent of persons newly infected with HIV experience flu-like symptoms. Viral load is sky high in the period immediately after that, until the immune system kicks in and suppresses the virus to an individual set point of ch
Housing advocates are calling for more affordable units at 55 Laguna, the former UC Extension campus located in Hayes Valley slated for development, including units for LGBT seniors. A coalition of more than 10 affordable housing advocates, mostly from the Castro and Hayes Valley neighborhoods, along with elected offic
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee s been saying a lot about gays lately -- but not much of it is very nice. Most attention this week has focused on his written comment in 1992 that, If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate
Estimates of just how many Americans become infected with HIV each year are at the center of a controversy at the 2007 National HIV Prevention conference that opened in Atlanta December 2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has used an estimate of 40,000 new infections per year since the early 1990s, before
In an effort to address methamphetamine use among men who have sex with men, women of childbearing age and youths, the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs announced a $10 million ad campaign Wednesday, November 28, which Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Methamphetamine Awareness Day. It will be one of
As hundreds gathered for World AIDS Day at the National AIDS Memorial Grove Saturday, December 1, there were tears, laughter, and photographs as people remembered loved ones they ve lost to the disease. Others were recognized for their HIV/AIDS-related work. And there were also reminders that, like the lives it s taken
Hundreds of demonstrators took to Atlanta s main drag, Peachtree Street, in the twilight of December 4 in an HIV prevention rally and march. The event coincided with the 2007 National HIV Prevention conference, which many were attending. Prevention Justice Mobilization, a new national coalition of individuals and organ
The Recycled AIDS Medicine Program has announced the opening of its new collection site at Tenderloin Health, and will have a welcoming party Monday, December 3 from 1 to 2 p.m. Tenderloin Health is located at 255 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco. RAMP gathers unused HIV medications through its collection sites in t
Estimates of the number of people living with HIV throughout the world have been lowered from roughly 40 million to 33 million, according to figures released by UNAIDS in its annual report released last week. The correction did not come as a surprise to either supporters or critics of the agency. The November 20 re
As World AIDS Day approaches, the Department of Homeland Security has proposed new guidelines for foreign HIV-positive travelers wanting to tour the United States for business or pleasure on a short-term basis, but HIV/AIDS and immigration advocates have serious questions about the new rules. The proposed regulatio
The number of people living with HIV worldwide is declining, according the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organization . The two organizations released a report November 20 that found a 6.3 million drop in people living with HIV, from an estimated 44 million to 33 million. The agencies attrib
The high toll that homophobia takes on gay men s health was starkly laid out during a conference this month in Washington, D.C. Fifteen to 22 percent of gay and bisexual men experience physical abuse from an intimate partner during their lifetime. These rates are similar to what women experience from their male partner
Dr. Merle Sande, a pioneer in the treatment of AIDS in the early 1980s, died on November 14 at his home in Seattle after a battle with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. He was 68. Dr. Sande was born on September 2, 1939, and raised in Mount Vernon, Washington. He received his medical degree from the University
Folsom Street Events is sitting pretty in spite of the controversy over the leather Last Supper poster that erupted before its signature event, the Folsom Street Fair. Last week the leather organization, along with Grass Roots, Gay Rights West and Titan Media donated more than $500,000 to more than 60 organizations tha
No increase in federal funding for AIDS programs is one of the many consequences of President Bush s November 13 veto of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. The $606 billion measure was about $10 billion more than what Bush had requested. The [Democratic] majority was elected on a pledge of fiscal responsibility, but so
A staph infection that s resistant to many antibiotics, including penicillin, has generated a lot of attention in recent weeks. In October, a teen in Virginia died from the infection. About two weeks later, a prestigious medical journal estimated about 19,000 people died from it in 2005. There are also concerns about r
San Francisco health officials continue to see rates of sexually transmitted diseases drop, a significant difference from most other parts of the state and country where STDs remain on a six-year-long rise. The same is not true, however, for the city s HIV rates. After holding out hope that the city would continue to s
American Idol star Kimberley Locke gave a dazzling performance at Under One Roof s Sparkle SF benefit at the St. Regis Hotel last week, and received an award for her work raising awareness about AIDS. Locke, 29, who was on the hit television show in 2003, performed some of her signature songs last week, and closed with
It s that time of year again. Medicare beneficiaries should have received a letter in the mail by now, alerting them to the 2008 benefits enrollment period, which starts today, (Thursday, November 15) and ends December 31. Health care advocates suggest that beneficiaries review and switch plans, if necessary, by Decemb
AIDS physician and political activist Dr. R. Scott Hitt died Thursday, November 8 at his home in West Hollywood, California. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and had fought the disease that ultimately took his life. He was 49. The Tucson native was a bit of a child prodigy, completing high school at the age o
The San Francisco agency that has distributed more than $6.8 million for AIDS service groups throughout the Bay Area from its popular Oscar night viewing party has a new executive director. Mike Horak, 43, started work at Academy of Friends October 22. The nonprofit agency hosts its long-running Academy Awards night ch
The Halloween bag of treats was particularly sweet for San Francisco as it averted an $8.5 million rollback in federal AIDS funding. That slash in dollars would have taken place under a provision to the appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Senate on October 23. A House-Senate conference bill adopted the House languag
Gay related news from the presidential campaign trail. Efforts to get Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama to distance himself from anti-gay gospel singer Donnie McClurkin had mixed success last week. Obama did issue a statement, saying he strongly disagrees with McClurkin s views on homosexuality. (Among other
A report that a failed HIV vaccine could increase people s risk for contracting the virus has sent shockwaves across several continents and dealt another setback to efforts aimed at combating the spread of the deadly disease. The Washington Post reported in its October 25 edition that hundreds of volunteers in
Efforts by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to protect San Francisco from major cuts in funding for Ryan White CARE Act AIDS programs hit a roadblock in the Senate Tuesday, October 23. As a result, the city could lose $8.5 million rather than $2.5 million in federal money in the 2008 fiscal year that began on October 1. An a
Health care providers and consumers gathered in Oakland for a informational meeting last month sponsored by Roche Pharmaceuticals to educate people about an innovative home-based educational and support program for patients who use Fuzeon called Nurse Connections. Organizer said that more than 35 people attended the me
The Stop AIDS Project s Robert McMullin is calling it quits after nearly three years as the agency s executive director. His tenure since February 2005 brought a restructuring of the agency s focus and stabilization of its finances after years of funding troubles and the departure of longtime staff members. His last da
In what could be a first step toward establishing a safe injection facility, where intravenous drug users in San Francisco could go to inject drugs, about 170 people gathered for a symposium in the Mission District Thursday, October 18 to share information and ideas. The city s Department of Public Health co-sponsored
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger torpedoed a same-sex marriage bill as expected last week but did sign bills benefiting domestic partners, queer youth, needle exchange programs, LGBT beachgoers, and even gay horse racing fans. Upholding earlier promises that he would block - for a second time - a gay marriage bill, Schwa
Researchers staged a debate over a new concept in HIV prevention: pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, at a recent conference in San Diego. Pre-exposure prophylaxis is the most important concept in the [HIV] prevention field today, Robert Grant told the Infectious Disease Society of America at its annual meeting October
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first integrase inhibitor for the treatment of HIV Friday, October 12. The pharmaceutical company Merck developed the drug as raltegravir; it will be marketed under the name Isentress for $27 a day, or just under $10,000 a year. Raltegravir is the first drug that interrupts
Project Inform, the San Francisco-based national organization that has been working to end the AIDS epidemic since 1985, is getting a new executive director. Dana Van Gorder, 51, will start the job November 15. Van Gorder is currently director of state and local policy at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, where he s w
A local group s review of data from a survey it s been conducting since 2004 indicates the city s gay men are far from having a tight-knit community. Only about half of the respondents say there s a gay community with which they identify. The survey results, which might not be surprising to many people, also show that
Twenty years ago, the start of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation s Spanish-language hotline was accompanied by an announcement on Univision, the Spanish-language TV station. Peter Taback, the foundation s director of communications and marketing, said the hotline got 200 calls that night. Now, the hotline attracts abou
African American leaders have launched a major call to action to address the issues of HIV/AIDS within the black community. The ambitious goals, announced at a Capitol Hill news conference two weeks ago, include reducing the HIV rates in black America by 50 percent; increasing the number of people who know their HIV st
It s probably impossible to recognize Tommy Murphy s mighty accomplishment in translating Holding the Man to the stage without having first read the book on which it is based. But that s an unlikely condition to be met at the play s US premiere at New Conservatory Theatre Center, in that Timothy Conigrave s posthumousl
The Lazy Bear Fund distributed $175,000 to numerous nonprofit groups Saturday, September 29 at the Lone Star Saloon in San Francisco. The money was raised at Lazy Bear Weekend in August and will help organizations such as the AIDS and Breast Cancer Emergency Funds, Positive Resource Center, Bears of San Francisco, BAY
A woman who has made extraordinary changes in her own life will take the helm of New Leaf: Services for Our Community as its new executive director later this month. Ann Harrison, 54, a lesbian, was hired in September to revitalize the counseling agency and to take it to a national standard of excellence. She will star
Saying he loves his job but it s time to move on, the executive director of Shanti, a San Francisco agency that offers services to people with life-threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and breast cancer, last week announced his resignation. Kevin Burns, who started volunteering with the agency 20 years ago after seei
Friends and family members looking to help loved ones living with AIDS or other life-threatening illnesses might have heard about something called a special needs trust, which is designed to guard financial gifts without affecting government benefits. But as one San Francisco man found out, government agencies count th
International clinical trials of what many believed to be the most promising vaccine against HIV were stopped on September 21. The STEP study enrolled 3,000 participants in a joint effort by the pharmaceutical company Merck and the National Institutes of Health s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. I
A year ago, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that HIV tests become part of routine medical care for all patients ages 13 to 64. This week, Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-Eureka) urged Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign her bill, which would implement the guidelines in California. Majo
Gay news from the presidential campaign trail. Democrat John Edwards on Monday, September 24, became the first presidential candidate of either party to announce a plan for combating HIV/AIDS. The plan, revealed at a Kaiser Family Foundation forum in Washington, D.C., calls for providing Medicaid coverage in the early
AIDS researchers cut short an HIV vaccine trial Friday, September 21 after they determined the vaccine did not stop HIV infections. The trial, called STEP, was testing the efficacy of Merck & Company s experimental HIV vaccine known as V520. But after reviewing the trial data, the independent Data Safety Monitoring
A San Francisco nonprofit agency that provides meals to people who are homebound recently received a gift from Pacific Gas and Electric that could help it serve an additional 6,700 meals a year. In a ceremony Thursday, September 13, Project Open Hand celebrated the installation of 132 solar photovoltaic panels and a 10
An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended approval September 5 of raltegravir (Isentress) as part of combination therapy for treatment-experienced patients with HIV. The pharmaceutical company Merck expects that final approval will come by mid-October. Raltegravir is the first in
A bill that passed the state legislature this week would allow needle exchange programs to use state HIV education and prevention funds to buy syringes. Currently, programs can only use the state funds to pay costs associated with needle exchange programs such as hiring staff and paying for rent and electricity. The pr
Methamphetamine, mental health, and HIV in gay and bisexual men were the subjects of a congressional briefing by the National Coalition for LGBT Health September 10. The goal was to state the case and push for additional funding. While there is no solid national data on the interplay of those factors, a range of urban
Art for Life show Sat Face to Face/Sonoma County AIDS Network will hold its revamped Art for Renewed Life Saturday, September 8 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Friedman Center, 4676 Mayette Avenue in Santa Rosa. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the oorganization s signature fundraiser. The event will feature more than
After working as a freelance graphic designer for about six years, Mike Lenhart, who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1994, started getting sick and losing business. It was hard to tell clients what was wrong, he said of the time, which was a couple years ago. It was very frustrating for me. Lenhart, 44, spoke with a busines
Castro-based hospice Coming Home celebrated its 20th anniversary last week with a black-tie celebration at California Pacific Medical Center. Housed in a converted convent, the 15-bed hospice began in 1987 as an AIDS facility. People were dying in droves, sometimes with no family support, no place to be, recalled Rich
Under One Roof, the Castro Street retail store that returns its proceeds to numerous HIV and AIDS service organizations throughout the Bay Area, has a new general manager. Mark Burns started the job Tuesday, August 21. The general manager position replaces the store s executive director position. Under One Roof has dis
A straight man who expected to be named director of the AIDS LifeCycle fundraiser is suing the event s producers, claiming in court papers he was denied the job because he is heterosexual. Jeffrey Shapiro filed his lawsuit last week in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and the Sa
AIDS housing advocates have set their sights on two city-owned parking lots in the Castro as potential development sites where not only could homes for people with HIV and AIDS be built but parking could be increased. The two parking lots are in the heart of the city s gay neighborhood and the projects could be a means
Many people dream of owning a home, but for a longtime AIDS survivor who bought a house through a low-income first-time homebuyer program, owning a home has been nothing but a nine-year nightmare. Marshall Roper, 53, who is living with AIDS and cancer, purchased a house in West Oakland in 1999, but he hasn t been able
If you were walking through the Castro on August 8, you may have heard and seen something unusual outside the Bank of America building. That s where the members of Bay Area Young Positives were holding their bake sale. Get your cupcakes! Get your picture with a drag queen! We ve got it all! promised one of the salesmen
In 2005, Grace Cathedral s Forum program erroneously listed Dr. Grant Colfax as director of HIV prevention at the San Francisco Department of Public Health when it invited the AIDS researcher to discuss what was driving the spread of HIV among young people. It turned out to be divine foreshadowing as this week the heal
In 1987, AIDS was devastating San Francisco. Patrick James, who was living with AIDS and working for the Social Security Administration, was seeing his friends die from AIDS while waiting for their Social Security benefits. He started AIDS Benefits Counselors to help them. James has since died, and the agency itself wa
THC, the major active ingredient in marijuana, makes cells more vulnerable to infection with the Kaposi s sarcoma herpes virus, according to researchers at the Harvard Medical School. The work was conducted in cell cultures and not in patients, and was published in the August 1 issue of Cancer Research. The purple blot
During a visit to the National AIDS Memorial Grove Saturday, August 11, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) reiterated her support for the Early Treatment for HIV/AIDS Act, which was introduced in Congress earlier this month. An apparent stumbling block to ETHA is the way in which the Congressional Budget Offi
ETHA - the Early Treatment for HIV Act - has been the holy grail of AIDS advocates for more than a decade because it would allow states, through Medicaid, to offer treatment to persons infected with the virus prior to their health deteriorating to full-blown AIDS. A milestone toward that goal was reached on August 2 wi
The first anti-HIV drug that targets the CCR5 coreceptor on the outside of the cell was approved August 6 by the Food and Drug Administration for use in treatment experienced patients. Maraviroc is made by Pfizer and will become available in the U.S. by mid-September under the trade name Selzentry. The main caveat
Despite some data suggesting that methamphetamine use among gay men has declined in recent years, a city panel tasked with addressing what health officials consider the other epidemic after HIV maintains that usage remains at a high plateau. The Mayor s Task Force on Crystal Methamphetamine came to the conclusion in an
Is the city s HIV epidemic over, as the Bay Area Reporter s front-page headline suggested last week? So many of us have wished for and worked toward the day when that headline would be printed. It would mean that a cure or an effective vaccine had been found. It would mean that the pain and fear of living in the shadow
San Francisco s 6th Street corridor has been known as a center of crime and poverty. Its residents include people with HIV/AIDS, people with disabilities, seniors, homeless people, and a growing number of families who can t afford to live anywhere else. Many struggle to survive. This Saturday, August 4, the area s resi
More than 5,000 researchers, community advocates, and people with HIV gathered this week in Sydney, Australia , for the fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention. The IAS conference, which alternates every other summer with the International AIDS Conference, has traditi
Having been HIV-positive 13 years, Elizabeth Maynard is well acquainted with the city s system of care for people living with HIV and AIDS. So when the straight San Francisco resident heard that the 26-year-old delivery system is itself being examined, Maynard felt compelled to be a part of that process. I wanted to he
Last Saturday, we celebrated 25 years of generosity with the AIDS Emergency Fund at the Marriott Hotel. Returning to the more formal celebrations of the past, the AEF hosted a lavish cocktail hour and silent auction followed by a seated dinner and program, including special recognition for one of the co-founders of thi
As Donut, a 10-month-old English bulldog, writhed and grumbled at the end of her leash, she got the attention of at least one onlooker at a July 18 news conference. She s so adorable! an onlooker said, admiring the dog s stout body and wrinkled face. That s the kind of reaction San Francisco s public health department
What started as a small grassroots effort in Rick Booth s living room 25 years ago has grown in dollars (not administrative overhead) as the AIDS Emergency Fund marked its anniversary with a gala at the Marriott Hotel Saturday, July 21. Booth, left, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by board President Cynth
Speaking at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation gala in May, the agency s executive director did not mince words. Two sentences into his speech that night, Mark Cloutier made a startling announcement. The HIV epidemic is over. Yes. The HIV epidemic in San Francisco is over, said Cloutier, according to a copy of his prepa
Back home in Washington, D.C., Christopher Bates, the openly gay acting director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy at the Department of Health and Human Services, often finds himself under the same constraints as other high profile Bush administration health officials. Bates has had to contend with the same restrictions
The health department s HIV section is likely to adopt new policies next year that would require creators of HIV prevention campaigns to increase the amount of pre-testing they conduct before releasing the messages publicly. The HIV Prevention Planning Council, which oversees the city s policies regarding HIV preventio
The Bush administration manipulated numbers and suppressed reports from the office of the U.S. Surgeon General, according to testimony by the former head of that office, Dr. Richard Carmona. His revelations came in testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on July 10. Anything that doesn t
California could reduce current requirements for patient informed consent for HIV testing in order to make it easier for health care professionals to provide tests to identify larger numbers of people who are unaware of their HIV status. Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-Eureka) introduced AB682, the California Routine HIV S
The number of new cases of syphilis in New York City more than doubled during the first three months of 2007 compared with the year before. Reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis increased from 128 to 260 over the period, with men constituting 96 percent of the total. The number of syphilis cases in the city
The increase in syphilis cases among gay men, particularly among those who are HIV-positive, has been a concern for years. Most troubling is the occurrence of early neurosyphilis, when the infection reaches into the central nervous system and the brain. Now a review of 170 possible neurosyphilis cases in four cities -
Two studies of medicinal cannabis were recently published in leading journals, one demonstrating that smoked marijuana works as well as an approved THC pill, the other showing that medical marijuana laws do not lead to increased use of the drug. Marijuana versus Marinol In the first study, which appeared in the June 21
Surgeon general nominee Dr. James Holsinger goes before the Senate health committee in a confirmation hearing scheduled for today (Thursday, July 12). Gay and AIDS advocates are stepping up their opposition to the nomination, and there is some grumbling from the right as well. The HIV Medical Association has come out i
San Francisco is taking the initiative and providing new services to transgender individuals. Starting this week, University of California, San Francisco handed over its TRANS Project to the San Francisco Department of Public Health. UCSF s Transitions Project will remain at the school. In addition to these programs, t
Fears of devastating cuts to the city s AIDS system of care will prove unwarranted once city supervisors adopt their budget later this month. Not only are HIV services spared in the fiscal 2007-2008 budget, but numerous LGBT programs are set to receive funding windfalls. The Board of Supervisor s budget committee passe
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) has come under criticism from some in the gay and AIDS communities who objected to one of his responses in a debate last week and said it contributed to the ongoing stigma of HIV/AIDS in the African American community. Obama had just responded to the q
San Francisco AIDS researcher, physician, and HIV policy expert Dr. Michelle Roland, a founding member of the original ACT UP/San Francisco, will become chief of the state Office of AIDS for the Department of Public Health on July 1. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Roland s appointment to the $172,000-a-year p
The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted 5-0 at its June 20 meeting to allow an HIV-positive man to remain in his Castro in-law apartment. Ken Herrera, 55, who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1995 and has other disabilities, including limited mobility due to failed hip replacement surgery, is now able to remain in his home
The 21st annual AIDS Walk San Francisco kicks off Sunday, July 15 in Golden Gate Park. Thousands of walkers from the Bay Area and beyond will converge on Sharon Meadow to raise money for the 42 benefiting organizations throughout the region. There is still time for participants to sign up. AIDS Walk volunteers will be
The President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief will receive an increase of $1.25 billion, to $5.08 billion, for the next fiscal year. The House of Representatives passed the Bush proposal for international HIV programs on June 22. Of equal importance, the House took a baby step toward rolling back some of the restricti
The pharmaceutical company Abbott kicked off a storm of protest when it increased the price of the anti-HIV drug ritonavir ( Norvir ) by 400 percent in December 2003. Now a federal judge in California has authorized a class action lawsuit against the company as a violation of antitrust laws. The legal wrangling has
Next month, the AIDS Emergency Fund will mark its 25th anniversary with a night of dinner and dancing at the San Francisco Marriott. The event coincides with the longtime AIDS organization s milestone of granting $25 million in emergency financial assistance to people with HIV/AIDS, which will occur in late July or ear
Warning: This opinion piece contains sexually explicit material. Ever since the term barebacking was popularized in the mid-1990s, pundits and academics alike have concocted a flurry of explanations for a phenomenon that has been likened by some as the sign of the next gay apocalypse. The explanation given depends on w
Just in time for Pride Month, Steamworks, the men s bathhouse in Berkeley, has relaunched an innovative program aimed at helping men who have sex with men make healthier choices about their sexual behavior. Dubbed Mr. Sexx, the program stresses free one-on-one on-demand counseling about safer sex, taking a holistic vie
Shanti, a San Francisco health service organization that assists people living with HIV/AIDS as well as those living with breast cancer, has announced the recipients of its 2007 LIFE program George F. Solomon HIV Prevention Scholarships. The scholarships are being financed by a $5,000 grant from the Until There s a Cur
Did you ever get the feeling, during Pride, that something wasn t quite right? The yearly festivities are meant to celebrate our queerness, our otherness, and our right to exist and be who we want to be. Increasingly, however, it seems as though the parades and parties act in homage to politicians as well as corporatio
Get ready for nonstop music, marching bands, gay choruses, and of course, the hundreds of motorcycles that will converge on Market Street in downtown San Francisco Sunday, June 24 for the 37th annual LGBT Pride Parade. Drag queens, drag kings, bicyclists, athletes, bears, leather folk, those living with HIV/AIDS, and a
Michael and Jean Strunsky, longtime local philanthropists, were honored by Tenderloin Health at its benefit June 5 marking the one-year anniversary of the merger between the former Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center and Continuum HIV Day Services. Michael Strunsky manages the estate of his late uncle, Ira Gershwin, and th
On the final day of their annual summit last Friday, June 8, in Heiligendamm, Germany , leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized nations issued a statement saying that they would provide $60 billion for AIDS relief and other health and development assistance, mostly for Africa. The statement recommits the G8 leaders to
The San Francisco LGBT Community Center will hold its first community health fair Saturday, June 9. Titled Fabulously Healthy, the free fair will offer basic health screenings, panel discussions, and information booths. We think it s something great for the community, said Anthony Philip, the center s director of healt
President Bush called for a doubling of PEPFAR - the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - to $30 billion in new spending over the next five years. The announcement came in a Rose Garden event on May 30, with generally strong bipartisan support. Current authorization of PEPFAR is set to expire in September 2008.
AIDS Action and the Human Rights Campaign have become the first two national organizations to oppose the nomination of Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr. to be surgeon general of the United States . Other organizations have expressed concern and are sifting through the public record in order to shape their own position on the
Faced with losing the very services they need to stay alive, people living with HIV and AIDS are vowing to mobilize against seeing the city s system of care decimated due to a $9 million cut in federal funding. More than 160 people packed a town hall meeting last week at the LGBT Community Center to discuss how to resp
The House and Senate meeting in a budget conference agreed to allow a $500 million reserve fund for state demonstration projects to expand early access to HIV care through Medicaid. The agreement was finalized on May 17. AIDS advocates have long sought implementation of the principles of the Early Treatment for HIV/AID
The city s AIDS services industry is mobilizing a full court press to influence the city s budget process after health officials learned San Francisco s funding for HIV-related services will decrease by $8.1 million this year. Folks in my community tend to rally when we know we are being threatened by something pretty
On May 19, the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center will celebrate 20 years of serving API communities in the Bay Area and around the world. Currently, the center has offices in San Francisco, Oakland, and Daly City and serves between 3,000 and 4,000 clients. We provide HIV prevention and health education progr
The University of California at San Francisco has relinquished nearly $1 million in federal grants that support two programs that serve the transgender community. Meanwhile, members of the Board of Supervisors Tuesday requested the city controller perform a review of services funded by the city, including the effect of
The Reverend Jerry Falwell died Tuesday, May 15 in Lynchburg, Virginia after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73. The cause of death has not been determined, but it was reported that Falwell had a history of heart problems. Falwell came to prominence through the Moral Majority, a cons
Of the estimated 18,300 people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco, 16 percent are homeless. On May 2, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee heard recommendations for a new HIV/AIDS housing plan to provide new homes for some PWAs, and to help others keep their housing. Stable housing pla
The 12 men who will grace the 2008 South of Market Bare Chest Calendar congratulate each other following their selection during a party at the DNA Lounge Sunday, May 6. The winners include Even Graner, Robert Mison, Matt Johnson, Grant Petersen, Michael Wolford, Joe Mazza, Howard Hart, Ron Hull, Bill George, Greg Fogle
A more visible LGBT community in Nepal is the goal of the Blue Diamond Society, which last week received the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission s Felipa de Souza Award. Sunil Pant, founder of the society, was in San Francisco last week to receive the award and participate in a panel called South Asi
Ambassador Dr. Mark Dybul, coordinator of the United States Global AIDS program, asserted the Bush administration s commitment to fighting AIDS in undeveloped countries and dismissed some beliefs that the administration is unsympathetic or religion-oriented regarding AIDS funds during an appearance at the Commonwealth
One of the primary defenders of the Bush administration s international abstinence only until marriage HIV prevention program has resigned after his personal cell phone number turned up on the list of a high class escort service. Randall L. Tobias, 65, was the former head of the pharmaceutical company
Under a proposed merger plan, a gay men s health clinic and a program for gay and bi speed users are set to become part of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation this summer. The consolidation of Magnet, the 4-year-old, Castro-based clinic, and the Stonewall Project, which provides counseling to users of crystal methampheta
An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended approval of a new class of anti-HIV drug for heavily treatment experienced patients, at a meeting outside of Washington on April 24. The CCR5 inhibitor maraviroc is made by Pfizer and will be sold under the name Celsentri. Final approval
Zero people living with HIV and AIDS in San Francisco will lose their subsidized housing due to changes in how the federal government funds HIV programs, city officials pledged this month. Under a revision to the federal Ryan White CARE Act, municipalities must now spend 75 percent of their awards on medical services a
HIV is far and away the most studied diseases ever, yet researchers continue to learn new things about the virus itself and how the human body interacts with it. The most recent discoveries are proteins in the blood and within specialized immune cells that appear to kill HIV. These findings may help to explain why it i
Every room in Maitri glows with sunlight, reflecting off the lacquered cabinets, Buddha statues, and blond wood floors. People who are ill can lose track of days, stuck inside, explained Maitri s program director Steve Grolnic-McClurg, so every room in Maitri has natural light and fresh air. In fact, everything in the
Hundreds of AIDS advocates rolled into Washington for the annual lobbying effort known as AIDSWatch. Activists spent Monday, April 23 receiving briefings before they headed to Capitol Hill over the following days. Several of the speakers railed against past Republican control of Congress and hoped for better things und
The U.S. travel ban on HIV-positive foreign visitors and immigrants is a vestige of the darkest days of the epidemic. It may be drastically modified or even eliminated completely if the organizers of an April 12 forum in Washington, D.C., have their way. U.S. authorities always have had the power to bar foreigners who
AIDS activists are mobilizing after Watson Pharmaceuticals last month dropped a common off-label drug used to assist patients with combating wasting and picked up a generic brand of an approved AIDS-related wasting medication that they maintain is not as effective. Taking this drug away from people with wasting syndrom
Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit created by Congress in 2003, is failing people with HIV/AIDS, according to a detailed online survey of their members conducted by the American Academy of HIV Medicine and the HIV Medicine Association. Bureaucratic roadblocks, exorbitant co-pays, and plans that fail to cove
The spread of drug-resistant gonorrhea has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change the nationwide guidelines for treating that infection. The announcement came in an April 12 conference call with reporters. But gay men and residents of Hawaii and California will see no changes. That s because
AIDS organizations in San Francisco and Oakland will take to local restaurants Thursday, April 26 for the annual Dining out for Life event. In San Francisco, the Stop AIDS Project is urging community members to dine at one of numerous participating eateries; 25 percent of diners food bills will go to the agency. Last y
The Department of Health and Human Services announced more than $1.1 billion in Part B funding under the revised Ryan White CARE Act. Word came late in the day on April 5. Part B covers programs in what used to be known as Title II. The funding includes base grants ($324.4 million), the AIDS Drug Assistance Program ($7
Familiar with the adage that it takes money to raise money, a gay couple is planning a bay cruise later this month, with the goal of raising $15,000 for this year s AIDS LifeCycle 6 ride. Dennis Trump, 38, and his partner Steve Coughran, 35, have signed up for the 545-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles bike ride that be
For the first time ever, the number of clients served by state run AIDS Drug Assistance Programs has stabilized and there has been a slight decrease in total drug expenditures under the program. The good news came in the annual report of the National ADAP Monitoring Project, released at a forum in Washington, D.C. Tues
The ease of finding sex online has long been a draw for gay men. Increasingly, the Internet is proving to be a useful tool for another group of people looking to make a connection: criminals. In recent months, law enforcement officials, hookup site operators, and local LGBT agencies have sounded alarms about the need f
Members of the newly formed group ACT UP/Bay Area and supporters remember the 20th anniversary of the founding of ACT UP with a die-in at the Castro offices of Coldwell Banker Real Estate March 29. About 50 people took part in the die-in, which was held to highlight the continuing evictions of HIV-positive tenants. Kat
Ken Herrera has created a home for nearly 20 years in an in-law studio apartment along the narrow tree-lined stretch of Noe Street behind Cafe Flore, but it is uncertain whether he will continue to call the Castro home. Herrera s in-law unit is illegal, one of many within San Francisco. And while his situation might be
The U.S. international AIDS effort known as PEPFAR - the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - represents a notable achievement not only in its conceptualization but also in its implementation, the Institute of Medicine said in a 420-page report released March 30. The independent study was mandated by Congress i
The city s Sunshine Ordinance Task Force has found an HIV policy body to be in violation of the city s and state s open meetings laws due to its restricting the ability of photojournalists to document its meetings. The task force voted Tuesday, March 27 that the health department s HIV Prevention Planning Council, whic
The Early Treatment for HIV Act has been a goal of AIDS advocates from as far back as the Clinton administration. It would expand Medicaid coverage to allow for treatment of HIV before it develops into full-blown AIDS. ETHA was reintroduced in the Senate on March 13 by a bipartisan group led by Senators Gordon Smith (R
An estimated 3.7 million bisexual men and women receive inadequate health care due to invisibility and biphobia, according to a new report entitled Bisexual Health: An Introduction and Model Practices for HIV/STI Prevention Programs published by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. Keeping with thi
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the birth of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, affording activists an opportunity to reflect on the group s legacy and attempt to rekindle some of the spirit that animated the movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Demonstrations are planned for March 29 in San Francisco
The most powerful drug used to treat hepatitis B (HBV) can lead to the emergence of drug resistant HIV in persons who are co-infected with both viruses under certain circumstances. The news was one of the more troubling things to emerge from the 14th retroviral conference, held last month in Los Angeles. The drug is en
Researchers and others at last month s retrovirus conference in Los Angeles painted a stark picture of the epidemic in this country. The AIDS epidemic in the United States is appreciably worse than the epidemic in any western European country, said Dr. Harold Jaffe. The former head of HIV programs at the Centers for Di
AIDS agencies plan to seek $6 million from city funds this year in order to maintain services for people living with HIV and AIDS. The budget request is a six-fold increase from what health officials have sought in previous years and stems from new federal dictates on the use and distribution of AIDS funding. This is t
Spiritual leaders from various houses of worship throughout the Bay Area united at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church Saturday, March 10 for a public forum to discuss the role of spirituality in the lives of African American men in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Organized by Black Brothers Esteem, a prevention and
Two new classes of drugs to treat HIV are likely to be approved later this year by the federal Food and Drug Administration. Many consider the development to be a milestone second only to the introduction of powerful combination therapy more than a decade ago. The mounting evidence of the success of those new therapies
Health officials plan to disband the Office of AIDS and reintegrate the 170-person unit into the larger Department of Public Health. The reorganization comes as AIDS Office director Jimmy Loyce, a deputy director of health, announced this week he would retire May 1. Exactly how the larger health department apparatus wi
Bob Hattoy, 56, died in his sleep on March 3 at his home in Sacramento, apparently of a heart attack. The announcement was made by Mr. Hattoy s close friend, Bob Pelham. The environmental, political, gay, and AIDS activist became perhaps the most widely known openly gay member of the Clinton administration. He addresse
U2 lead singer and HIV/AIDS activist Bono met at a church in Oakland on Friday, March 2, with Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and community members to discuss how the AIDS epidemic is impacting the African American community and other communities of color in the United States , and specifically in Lee s district
Concerned about the recently announced skyrocketing cost for a state medical cannabis patient identification card, Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) is urging the California Department of Health Services to reconsider the fee hike. I am very concerned about the wisdom of this policy and its implications for the f
This year s nominees to lead the annual Pride parade and celebration include four transgender individuals; a male pair who have been at odds over the stewardship of the AIDS quilt; a couple fighting for marriage rights; and a longtime lesbian health activist. The choices represent what is at the heart of the LGBT commu
AIDS activists reacted with dismay to President Bush s $2.9 trillion fiscal year 2008 budget that was sent to Congress last week and acknowledged a difficult road ahead in getting Congress to provide significant increases in funding. The major bright spot was internationally, where the President s Emergency Response fo
An advisory body that directs the city s HIV prevention efforts voted to further review changes to its attendance policy last week after critics charged the new rules discriminate against people with HIV and AIDS. Members of the HIV Prevention Planning Council adopted the proposed changes at its meeting Thursday, Febru
High rates of HIV/AIDS infections in the black gay male community continue to raise concerns and puzzle health experts and community advocates. To mark the seventh annual Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day February 7, community members and health officials held luncheon in San Francisco where they initiated a call to action.
Medical cannabis can alleviate pain due to peripheral neuropathy in people with HIV, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California at San Francisco published in the February 13 issue of Neurology. Peripheral neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that usually starts in the feet and can cause s
One hundred gay men came together this week to dialogue about the health and social needs of themselves and their peers. They brainstormed on solutions and sought ways to improve the mental and physical needs of gay men. The goal is to help gay men be healthy homos. We have an opportunity through our ideas to create ch
Hopes for the rapid development of a vaginal microbicide to prevent the transmission of HIV were dealt a setback when a large phase III trial using cellulose sulfate was stopped at the end of January. The women using the product were more likely to become infected than were those using a placebo gel. The term microbici
No matter the campaign, any social marketing effort funded by the health department or an AIDS agency elicits some kind of complaint. Critics have deemed past advertisements demeaning and demonizing to gay men, racially stereotyping of black men, polarizing and insulting to HIV-positive men, or simply a waste of money.
San Jose s LGBT community center is expanding its rapid HIV testing services this month thanks in part to grant funding, county money, and the intervention of Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager. The Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center had been running a pilot rapid HIV testing program since last February and offe
The health department s HIV Research and Prevention sections, in partnership with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation s Black Brothers Esteem program and Shanti s LIFE program, will commemorate the seventh annual Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with a luncheon program Wednesday, February 7. The event, which is open to inter
The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation has charged the pharmaceutical company Pfizer with promoting Viagra as a party drug ... leading to more infections with sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, according to its president Michael Weinstein. AHF filed suit in a Los Angeles court Monday, January 22 to fo
A panel that oversees HIV prevention in the city plans to increase how it evaluates the social marketing campaigns it funds with federal money. The advisory body also signed off on developing more innovative, cutting edge approaches to HIV prevention at its first meeting of the year last week. The HIV Prevention Planni
The House Democrats 100-hour agenda rumbled on last week, as legislation was passed to require the federal government to negotiate prices for drugs under the Medicare drug benefit and fund research using embryonic stem cells. The Senate is likely to pass the latter but perhaps not the former bill until a later date.
A mixture of optimism and skepticism surround Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger s sweeping health plan and budget for the coming fiscal year. With the unveiling of Schwarzenegger s nearly universal healthcare plan in his State of the State address on January 8, many LGBT healthcare advocates are applauding his efforts for
Jeanne White Ginder, front right, the mother of the late Ryan White, attended the kickoff reception and registration event for AIDS LifeCycle 6 Sunday, January 7 at the Hotel Nikko. Hundreds of riders also attended the party. This year s AIDS LifeCycle 6, produced by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angele
The billboard above Cafe Flore in San Francisco s gay district last year carried a New Year s resolution message. An unidentified person, presumably a gay man, pledged he wouldn t infect anyone with HIV in 2006. The HIV prevention message was part of the long-running HIV Stops With Me campaign, begun in San Francisco a
A Castro District gym s steam room has once again become a flashpoint of dialogue about sex in public establishments, and the possible spread of infectious disease through bodily fluids. After a community member contacted the San Francisco Department of Public Health STD Prevention and Control Services office about obs
The new year brought renewed squabbling between the creator of the AIDS quilt and the Atlanta-based group that now oversees the memorial of cloth panels stitched together by the family members and loved ones of those who have died of AIDS. The latest skirmish between the two sides could scuttle a deal hatched 17 months
About 250,000 Medicare Part D recipients have an enrollment extension because they did not receive letters about changes in their prescription plans in November. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services realized the error about a week before the December 31 enrollment deadline. To correct the situation, CMS issue
Many people who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS between the early 1980s and mid-1990s believed they only had 18 months to live, largely because gay men watched in horror as their friends, neighbors, and family members died. By the late 1980s, AIDS was everywhere. Obituaries flooded gay newspapers such as the Bay Area Repo
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