2006

Circumcision cuts risk of HIV by half, studies find in Kenya and Uganda: San Francisco Chronicle - December 14, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Two major studies of male circumcision in Africa have found that the simple surgical procedure reduces the risk of HIV infection by half -- a hugely important result that is likely to prompt many African nations hard hit by AIDS to promote it as a means to control the epidemic. The separate studies in
U.S. issues subpoena to HIV drug firm: San Francisco Chronicle - December 8, 2006; Bernadette Tansey, btansey@sfchronicle.com.; Gilead Sciences Inc., a Foster City biotechnology company, said late Thursday it had received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in San Francisco requesting documents related to its marketing and medical education programs for two HIV drugs, Truvada and
Congress renews Ryan White AIDS care funding: Programs here and in N.Y., N.J. saved from deep cuts: San Francisco Chronicle - December 7, 2006; Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau; Washington -- A last-minute deal in Congress approved Wednesday means that San Francisco and other California counties won t face deep cuts in programs for HIV/AIDS patients. In its closing days, the Republican-led Congress approved a three-year renewal of the Ryan White AIDS care program, rather than a previously plan
Bush to ease rule limiting HIV-positive foreign visitors: San Francisco Chronicle - December 2, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; President Bush will ease a long-standing rule barring HIV-positive people from entering the United States without a special waiver, a ban long criticized by human rights groups. Because of the rule, organizers of the biannual International AIDS Conferences have not held a gathering in the United States since 1990, when
HIV survivors ready to talk: East Bay activists want to raise awareness and halt 'epidemic' among African Americans: San Francisco Chronicle - December 1, 2006; Jason B. Johnson, jbjohnson@sfchronicle.com.; When Linda learned that she and her newborn daughter were HIV-positive, the shocked Oakland woman went on a five-year drug and alcohol binge. I thought I was going to die soon and my baby was going to die -- I d given her a death sentence, Linda said. I felt worthless. But she didn t die. Linda, 37, who asked that her
Caribbean HIV fight struggles for funds: Lower infection rates mean help is harder to come by: San Francisco Chronicle - December 1, 2006; Eliza Barclay, Chronicle Foreign Service; Cinco Casas Bateye, Dominican Republic -- In halting Spanish, Amelia Cayo describes her antiretroviral treatment, counting with precision the number of pills she takes three times a day. I feel better since I started the pills, and you can be sure I will keep taking them, Cayo said in this impoverished rural community
EDITORIAL: A day to fight AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle - December 1, 2006; SAN FRANCISCO high schoolers are selling palm-sized origami cranes for 25 cents. Some 5,000 Beijing cab drivers are handing out health-tip cards to their fares. African radio stations are devoting an hour a day to one special subject. What s the connection? It s AIDS, the worldwide plague that now has its very own day,
Death rate higher when AIDS treatment is erratic: Study a blow to idea of managing HIV by monitoring white cells: San Francisco Chronicle - November 30, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; AIDS patients who stop taking their antiviral drugs whenever blood tests show their HIV infection is under control run nearly twice the risk of dying as those who take their medication without interruption, according to a large international study meant to settle the question of whether the practice is safe. The experi
Foundation announces grants to AIDS groups: $1 million to be split among 14 nonprofits in disease's 25th year: San Francisco Chronicle - November 29, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund will donate $1 million to 14 Bay Area AIDS organizations that have been pinched by tighter federal budgets and may face severe cuts in the coming years. Richard Goldman said the gift is made in recognition of the fact that 2006 marks the 25th year of AIDS -- it was in June 1981 that t
Industry Buzz: San Francisco Chronicle - November 26, 2006; Hugh Hart; AIDS DRAMA: The film 3 Needles, opening Friday, dramatizes the impact of AIDS on a Montreal porn actor, African villagers and Chinese farmers. After watching a TV interview with an HIV-positive child four years ago, Canadian writer-director Thom Fitzgerald set out to construct a three-part mosaic offering a global over
EDITORIAL: An AIDS report Worth pondering: San Francisco Chronicle - November 24, 2006; AIDS isn t one worldwide epidemic. It s a string of diseases, hitting countries and continents, men and women, rich and poor, all with different effects. Treatment and prevention can work, but AIDS doesn t follow a simple script. That s the bewildering message contained in the latest U.N. report. The document is a char
HIV in young Africans starting to show decline: Global numbers continue to grow, says U.N. group: San Francisco Chronicle - November 22, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; International trackers of the AIDS epidemic reported tentative signs Tuesday that HIV infections among young people in Africa may be starting to decline. In 8 of 11 sub-Saharan African nations where sufficient amounts of data could be collected, a survey found that the percentage of young people ages 15-24 infected wit
7th-graders face blood tests after science class mistake: Substitute teacher loses his job after using same lancet to take samples from students, who will now be checked for hepatitis, HIV: San Francisco Chronicle - November 21, 2006; Diana Walsh, dwalsh@sfchronicle.com.; As many as 30 seventh-graders at a Redwood City middle school will be tested for hepatitis and HIV after their substitute science teacher repeatedly used a blood-letting device to draw samples from them for a class project. The substitute teacher, who has been fired as a result of the incident, was giving a life scienc
Editorial: A shift in the AIDS fight: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, November 17, 2006; AIDS HAS a way of flickering in and out of the public spotlight. In this country, even in hard-hit San Francisco, the disease has dropped from a death sentence to a lingering condition sustained by life-prolonging drugs. But, worldwide, the HIV virus that causes AIDS has infected 40 million, who die at the rate of 3 mi
Strategy pushed to aid blacks' HIV/AIDS fight: Groups call on feds, new Congress to act: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, November 17, 2006; Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer; Black politicians, civil rights leaders and medical experts issued a call to the federal government and newly elected members of Congress on Thursday to expand programs that help fight HIV and AIDS among African Americans. A five-point strategy to reduce the impact of the disease in the black community is detailed in a
Dine for a cause in the Bay Area: San Francisco Chronicle - November 15, 2006; On Nov. 30, nearly 50 Sonoma County restaurants will contribute a quarter of their food and drink proceeds to Food for Thought -- Sonoma County AIDS Food Bank. Funds raised during Dining Out for Life will support nutrition services for county residents with HIV and AIDS. For more information, call (707) 887-1647. For a
Election Aftermath America: What's At Stake: AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle - November 12, 2006; Sabin Russell; What s at stake: At home, AIDS funding for urban areas; and abroad, President Bush s $15 million AIDS relief program. What could happen: Cities such as New York and San Francisco have more people living with HIV than ever. Current legislation to reauthorize the Ryan White Care Act would strip $50 million from Californi
Memorial in S.F. for AIDS activist Jeff Getty: San Francisco Chronicle - November 3, 2006; A memorial gathering will be held in San Francisco next week for renowned Bay Area AIDS activist Jeff Getty, who died last month at the age of 49 after a long struggle with the disease. Getty was a mentor to a generation of AIDS activists who fought for more research on treatments for the disease and for greater access
JEFF GETTY: 1957-2006 AIDS activist succumbs: Getty pushed for experimental treatment protocols: San Francisco Chronicle - October 15, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Jeff Getty, a courageous Bay Area activist who inspired a generation of advocates for AIDS treatment and underwent an unprecedented bone marrow transplant from a baboon during the darkest days of the epidemic, died Monday after a long struggle with the disease. He was 49. In December 1995, before antiviral drug combina
Businesses start 'red' campaign to help Africa: San Francisco Chronicle - October 14, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Rest assu(red), if you haven t noticed (RED) yet, you will soon. The (RED) billboards, the (RED) cell phones, the (RED) iPods -- they are all part of a giant red conspiracy to coax dollars out of capitalists to fight AIDS in Africa. Motorola is marketing a sleek, red-colored version of its popular RAZR wireless phones,
Luz 'Mima' Perez -- caregiver for AIDS patients in S.F.: San Francisco Chronicle - October 8, 2006; John Koopman, Chronicle Staff Writer; They called Luz Perez Mima. It was a variation of the Spanish Mami, which she was to many of the sick and dying. It s also a form of the verb to spoil. She did that, too, for her own children as well as scores of AIDS patients in San Francisco General Hospital s infamous Ward 5A. Mima Perez died Sept. 21 of pneumonia.
Gilead's purchase expands its scope: Foster City company hopes Myogen buy will lead to growth: San Francisco Chronicle - October 3, 2006; Bernadette Tansey, btansey@sfchronicle.com.; Gilead Sciences Inc., known for its HIV medicines, said Monday it is staking a claim on new territory by agreeing to acquire Myogen Inc., which develops drugs for lung diseases, for about $2.5 billion in cash. Shares in Myogen, based in the Denver area, soared after Foster City s Gilead said it will offer $52.50 per
AIDS bill meets major resistance from Sen. Clinton: Boxer, Feinstein drop objections after assured of funding: San Francisco Chronicle - September 30, 2006; Edward Epstein, eepstein@sfchronicle.com.; Washington - Over the objections of Bay Area members, the House has passed legislation that would slash the millions of dollars San Francisco gets annually to care for thousands of HIV/AIDS patients. With the 325-98 vote late Thursday to renew the 16-year-old Ryan White AIDS care program, the focus shifts to the Senate
What's so funny? 'My Pet Virus' Shawn Decker sprinkles jokes through his memoir of growing up with AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle - September 28, 2006; Ragnar Carlson, rcarlson@sfchronicle.com; Twenty years after Eddie Murphy s paranoid rant in Delirious about catching AIDS from a secondhand peck on the cheek, AIDS still kills too many Americans. But in this era of retroviral cocktails, ever-extending life spans and glossy lifestyle magazines for the HIV-positive set, we re a long way from the days when peopl
U.S. authorities call for wider testing for HIV: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, September 22, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer; Federal health authorities formally called Thursday for a vast expansion of AIDS testing in the United States in an effort to find the estimated quarter-million Americans who are infected with HIV but do not know it. Three years in the making, the new guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventio
House panel votes to slash S.F. AIDS funds: New federal formula would give more to suburban, rural areas: San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, September 21, 2006; Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau; Washington -- A House committee voted Wednesday for a new federal HIV/AIDS treatment funding formula that would slash grants for San Francisco and prompt a crisis for local AIDS care agencies. The vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee reflected a dilemma for members faced with redistributing scarce federal do
Lee moves to provide condoms for prisoners: Lawmaker's intent is to slow HIV spread: San Francisco Chronicle - September 17, 2006; Christopher Heredia, cheredia@sfchronicle.com.; Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, unveiled legislation Saturday aimed at putting condoms in the hands of federal inmates, a move she said she hopes will help break the silence about sex in prison and the disproportionate toll of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections upon African Americans. Lee said the legislation w
SHADOW OF RAGE: Despite high hopes, South Africa has failed to create a racially blind society: San Francisco Chronicle - August 20, 2006; Louis Freedberg, lfreedberg@sfchronicle.com.; For decades in South Africa , nonracialism -- a vision of a society in which racial categories would cease to be important and even fall away -- was a central principle of the anti-apartheid movement. It was a breathtaking notion: that perhaps the most explicitly racist society on the planet could be transformed into a
South Africa's AIDS efforts assailed in keynote speech: Canadian also says sexual violence must be confronted: San Francisco Chronicle - August 19, 2006; Sabin Russell at srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Toronto - A man known as the conscience of Canada closed the 16th International AIDS Conference here Friday with a blistering critique of the South African government for its singular failure to come to grips with an epidemic that has afflicted more people there than in any other country on the stricken continent.
Cash crunch still curbs AIDS fight: As conference ends, activists call for sustained political pressure: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, August 18, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer; Toronto -- New York activist Eric Sawyer stood on the stage of the 11th International AIDS Conference in Vancouver a decade ago and challenged delegates to do the impossible: Make the newly found HIV drugs that were saving his life available to the world s poor. This week, as he quietly strode the hallways at the 16th
Common thread sought where HIV is undetectable: Infected 'elite controllers' may hold clues to checking virus with immune system: San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, August 17, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer; Toronto -- Loreen Willenberg tested positive for HIV in 1992 and has never shown the least sign of illness from the virus that has killed 25 million people around the globe. The 52-year-old El Dorado County landscaper has a robust supply of CD4s, the infection-fighting white blood cells that are ordinarily depleted in
Clinton greeted as a star for work fighting epidemic: San Francisco Chronicle - August 16, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Toronto - Nearly six years out of office, former President Bill Clinton found himself a revered elder statesman and a bit of an AIDS superstar as he held court here for two days at this 16th international conference on the global epidemic. His chosen role as a former head of state is to devote much of the work of his W
AIDS meeting spotlight on circumcision: Despite promising research, it may be 'trouble' to adopt: San Francisco Chronicle - August 16, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Toronto - At a conference often dominated by high-tech research from the world s most sophisticated labs, a medical practice dating back to biblical times is emerging as potentially the most powerful weapon available to curtail the modern scourge of AIDS. Male circumcision -- the surgical removal of the foreskin from t
Black leaders call for more HIV testing: Disease disproportionately affects African American women: San Francisco Chronicle - August 15, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Toronto - A broad coalition of African American leaders, increasingly alarmed by the disproportionate rates of HIV infection among blacks in the United States , on Monday called for an urgent campaign to increase testing and general AIDS awareness in their communities. Now is the time for us to face the fact that AIDS
PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE: Laughing in the face of AIDS: San Francisco - August 14, 2006; Louis Freedberg, lfreedberg@sfchronicle.com; PIETER-DIRK UYS has the uncomfortable habit of making people laugh at the seriously unfunny. First, he took on apartheid, South Africa s vicious system of racial rule. Now, he is using humor to attack AIDS, which is taking an estimated 900 lives each day in his country, more than anywhere else in the world. I first met
INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE: A look at HIV - where are we now? 20,000 expected at meeting that begins in Toronto today: San Francisco Chronicle - August 13, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; At least 20,000 medical researchers, clinicians, patients and political activists from around the world are converging on Toronto this week for the 16th International AIDS conference, which opens today and will spotlight the progress and shortcomings of global efforts to battle the disease. Former President Bill Clinto
INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE: Russia waking up to AIDS, finding flaws in its response: Reliable access to drugs, education among challenges: San Francisco Chronicle - August 13, 2006; Michael Mainville; Moscow - When President Vladimir Putin announced a 20-fold increase in funding to fight HIV/AIDS late last year, it seemed to Mikhail Rukavishnikov that his country was finally taking notice of the epidemic in its midst. It felt like, after all these years, something was at last being done, said Rukavishnikov, the head
HIV medical pioneer resigns to focus on alternative medicine: San Francisco Chronicle - August 9, 2006; Carl Hall, chall@sfchronicle.com.; Dr. Donald Abrams spent his last day seeing patients at San Francisco General Hospital s famed HIV clinic Tuesday after 23 years at the forefront of AIDS research and clinical care. Abrams, 56, is leaving his HIV practice to begin a new role as head of a complementary medicine program at UCSF, where the focus is on alt
'Listener' Tells The Truth About The Lies: San Francisco Chronicle - August 6, 2006; Hugh Hart; Los Angeles - The compulsion to construct elaborate lies as a way of attracting sympathy from strangers is common enough to merit official status as a psychological dysfunction clinically known as factitious disorder. Who knew? Certainly not Armistead Maupin. Long before JT LeRoy and James Frey rocked the literary worl
China finally taking steps to fight its HIV problem: Methadone clinics, condoms in hotels, free testing offered: San Francisco Chronicle - July 30, 2006; Sabin Russell at srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Changsha, China - They line up here every day, at the new Tianxin district storefront clinic, and wait patiently for their methadone. Among them, a man who identifies himself as Wang swirls a clear plastic cup of lime-green liquid, brings it to his lips and swallows. At the site of this pilot project in HIV prevention,
Top researchers in China, U.S. are old pals: Beijing HIV specialist is longtime colleague of UCSF doctor among first to isolate virus: San Francisco Chronicle - July 30, 2006; Sabin Russell at srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Beijing - Dr. Yiming Shao is one of China s chief scientists in that nation s battle against AIDS, but his skills as an HIV researcher were honed in a long collaboration with UC San Francisco that began nearly two decades ago. I met him in 1987, when he was in his late 20s, recalls renowned UCSF virologist Dr. Jay Levy
Mixed reaction greets Bush at NAACP meeting: In first convention visit since election, he vows cooperation: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, July 21, 2006; Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer; Washington -- President Bush on Thursday made his first appearance before the NAACP since he was elected, acknowledging the Republican Party s rocky relationship with African Americans and vowing to work with the organization on issues ranging from HIV to voting rights. The president s words were met with a mix of supp
HIV researchers get $287 million in Gates grants: 16 groups to collaborate to develop vaccine: San Francisco Chronicle - July 20, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, delivered their largest gift yet to HIV research Wednesday, awarding $287 million in grants from their foundation in Seattle to spur AIDS vaccine research. A package of five-year grants will be distributed among 16 research organizations that have pledged to coord
Politics, voting in spotlight at NAACP convention: Group's new chief urges more action at the state level: San Francisco Chronicle - July 18, 2006; Leslie Fulbright, lfulbright@sfchronicle.com.; Washington - The leader of the NAACP used his first keynote address as the organization s president Monday to emphasize what he sees as the most relevant issues for African Americans: voting rights, HIV/AIDS, and closing racial gaps in education and poverty. Bruce Gordon, a former corporate executive who was elected pr
NAACP confronts AIDS crisis in black community: Convention opens with HIV tests, health symposium: San Francisco Chronicle - July 16, 2006; Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer, lfulbright@sfchronicle.com; Washington -- The leader of the NAACP turned the spotlight Saturday on HIV and AIDS. During the opening day of the organization s national convention, he participated in a panel discussion on the epidemic, begged members to address the disease in their communities, and called for everyone attending to get tested. Then,
Treatment's better but the throngs still walk for a cure: San Francisco Chronicle - July 15, 2006; Erin Allday, eallday@sfchronicle.com.; When Steven Sams attended his first AIDS Walk in San Francisco almost 20 years ago, he was young and vibrant, a little bit reckless -- and lonely. At 25, he d already lost more than a dozen friends to AIDS. It was gray and dark that morning, and foggy, said Sams, 54, recalling that first walk in 1987. It wasn t really
FDA OKs new pill to fight AIDS: 1-a-day dose of 3-drug combination marks a milestone in 25-year history of the disease: San Francisco Chronicle - July 13, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; A quarter-century after the discovery of AIDS, the Food and Drug Administration approved for the first time on Wednesday a single pill that can be taken just once a day by some patients to keep their HIV infections in check. A combination of two AIDS drugs made by Gilead Sciences Inc. of Foster City and a third antivi
To Michael Thomas Ford, it's all about capturing the essence of today, not just the pretty prose Gay-themed essays filled a void, looking at everyday guys and life: San Francisco Chronicle - July 11, 2006; David Wiegand, dwiegand@sfchronicle.com; When Michael Thomas Ford says he s a working writer, that doesn t mean he sits around waiting for inspiration to strike, or drinks himself into a Wertherian stupor when the muse is napping. What it means is that Mike Ford works at writing, and he has 52 books to show for it. I am a working writer, in the way that there
Doctors face dearth of data on effects: San Francisco Chronicle - July 9, 2006; Erin Allday, eallday@sfchronicle.com.; San Francisco s new pot club regulations underscore the broader issues surrounding the medical marijuana industry, including the complications doctors face in recommending a drug they often don t know a lot about. Medicinal marijuana has been legal in California since voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996. There are on
Children scapegoated as witches in fallout from Congo's civil war: Abandoned turn to shelters; most live on the street: San Francisco Chronicle - July 9, 2006; Paul Willis, Chronicle Foreign Service; Kinshasa, Congo - Jocelyn Mbwenza does not believe in witchcraft. I have never seen it happen, so how can I know it is true? asked the 13-year-old Congolese girl, sitting on the hard concrete floor of a children s home, nervously hugging her arms. Nevertheless, Jocelyn is a child-witch -- or so her family claims.
New philanthropy isn't just about big bucks: Giving wisely to get the greatest social benefits: San Francisco Chronicle - July 9, 2006; Jonathan Curiel, jcuriel@sfchronicle.com.; Lost amid the hoopla over Warren Buffett s $31 billion gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are some important points about the evolution of philanthropy. Much of Buffett s big-ticket bequest will go toward large-scale programs fighting AIDS, malaria and other major scourges around the world, but it will also
Man may have to disclose sexual past in HIV suit, state Supreme Court rules: San Francisco Chronicle - July 3, 2006; Bob Egelko, begelko@sfchronicle.com.; SAN FRANCISCO - A man who is accused of infecting his wife or longtime sexual partner with the AIDS virus may have to disclose his past sexual activities to determine whether he should have known he was HIV-positive, the state Supreme Court ruled today. Emphasizing that the ruling applied to married or monogamous coupl
Social services in line for extra funds: San Francisco Chronicle - July 1, 2006; Charlie Goodyear; A Board of Supervisors committee has authorized $28.6 million in additional funding for various social and recreational services for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The money -- drawn mostly from higher-than-expected property tax revenue -- includes $4.5 million for affordable housing and homeless services, $4 millio
Health agency won't stop circumcision studies: Leaders of Africa program not disappointed, will continue HIV risk-reduction experiments: San Francisco Chronicle - June 29, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Hopes for early and stunning results in a closely watched AIDS experiment in Africa were deflated this week after a National Institutes of Health panel ruled there was no reason to stop two ongoing studies of male circumcision as a means of reducing risk of HIV infection. AIDS-prevention experts were wishing for a repl
Eric Rofes -- scholar, educator, gay men's health activist: San Francisco Chronicle - June 28, 2006; Wyatt Buchanan; Eric Rofes, a leading scholar, author and activist in the gay community who lived in San Francisco, died unexpectedly Monday in Provincetown, Mass., where he was on a writing sabbatical. He was 51 and appears to have died from a heart attack, friends said. For more than 30 years, Eric was our movement s visionary, sai
Buffett's gift lifts hope for elusive AIDS vaccine: San Francisco Chronicle - June 28, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer, srussell@sfchronicle.com; Billionaire Warren Buffett s donation of most of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is potentially good news for AIDS vaccine research, but the scientific challenges facing that effort are as daunting as ever. More than two decades after Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler proclaime
Students will spend summer on goodwill trip to Africa: San Francisco Chronicle - June 24, 2006; Simone Sebastian, sisebastian@sfchronicle.com.; A biology lesson at Berkeley High School has turned into a mission for 11 students who will spend their last summer of high school helping build an addition to a schoolhouse in the East African country of Tanzania . Inspired by a teacher s monthlong course on the global effect of communicable diseases such as AIDS, the
Anderson and Angelina: San Francisco Chronicle - June 22, 2006; Debra J. Saunders, dsaunders@sfchronicle.com; CNN hit a new low in smarmy as it hyped a special edition of Anderson Cooper 360 Tuesday night: Angelina Jolie: Her Mission and Motherhood, featuring Cooper s big scoop, the first interview with Angelina Jolie since she had her baby. Start with Cooper, the glam, my-precious-feelings correspondent, whose ascent to cable
THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE: No legal status puts gay couples in limbo: San Francisco Chronicle - June 19, 2006; Wyatt Buchanan, wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.; Mel Terry and his partner have been together 28 years, but the federal government could split them up any day. Terry s partner is not in the country legally and because the San Francisco couple are gay, immigration benefits that allow heterosexuals to bring current or future spouses into the country are not available t
World's richest man turns to giving: Microsoft's Bill Gates phasing out his day job as software titan to focus more attention on his foundation's philanthropic work: San Francisco Chronicle - June 16, 2006; Benjamin Pimentel, bpimentel@sfchronicle.com and Jessica Guynn, jguynn@sfchronicle.com.; Bill Gates, the larger-than-life chairman of Microsoft Corp., often is criticized as the man who wanted to take over the world. Now he plans to work full time to save it. Gates, 50, will begin relinquishing most of his day-to-day duties at the technology giant starting next month to focus more attention on his philanth
FDA to crack down on fakes: Closer tracking designed to reduce drug counterfeiting: San Francisco Chronicle - June 10, 2006; Victoria Colliver, vcolliver@sfchronicle.com.; The federal government will start requiring drug wholesalers in December to track their products as they go through the supply chain in an effort to reduce counterfeiting, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The government has long delayed enacting the rules, which were approved in 1987, because of questions
AIDS At 25: The remembering continues.: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, June 9, 2006; Steven Winn, swinn@sfchronicle.com; The following names of Bay Area artists who have died from AIDS complete an imperfect list that began here Thursday. The gaps and omissions are not intentional, but they may be inevitable after a 25-year erasure of life and art. As the world spins on and art renews us, the absences remain. FILM Ken Coupland, died Jan.
SAN FRANCISCO: Daly wants more social services funds: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, June 9, 2006; Charlie Goodyear, cgoodyear@sfchronicle.com; Supervisor Chris Daly kicked off a campaign with community advocates Thursday to give social programs a larger share of the budget submitted by Mayor Gavin Newsom for the upcoming fiscal year. Daly and the advocates, who held a lunch-hour rally on the steps of City Hall, want $25 million more for child care and after-s
STANFORD: Kyoto Prize goes to Stanford geneticist - Herzenberg to receive prestigious achievement award: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, June 9, 2006; David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor, dperlman@sfchronicle.com; Leonard Herzenberg, a Stanford geneticist and immunologist who developed the cell-sorting technology that is now a crucial tool for research into AIDS and other infectious diseases, will be named a winner today of the prestigious Kyoto Prize for lifetime achievement, Japan s equivalent of the Nobel award. Herzenberg, 7
San Francisco: Patients duped by ex-doctor to get free tests: San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, June 8, 2006; Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer, thendricks@sfchronicle.com; San Francisco s Department of Public Health will offer free medical tests and immunizations to immigrants duped by an unlicensed former doctor who recently pleaded guilty to performing hundreds of fake exams over several years. Public Health Director Mitch Katz, a doctor, and District Attorney Kamala Harris announced W
AIDS At 25: San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, June 8, 2006; Steven Winn, swinn@sfchronicle.com; First of two parts. They were tenors and trumpeters, playwrights and dancers, novelists and record producers, actors and printmakers. The roster of Bay Area artists who have died from AIDS over the past 25 years carries a poignant double message. It reminds us of all the light these men and women brought ? and how much
Remembering Victims Of AIDS: Recalling the past to enlighten the future: San Francisco Chronicle - Wednesday, June 7, 2006; Hundreds of people gathered Sunday evening in San Francisco s Castro neighborhood to remember those who have succumbed to the complications of HIV and AIDS. Each person at the corner of Market and Castro streets held a candle and an iris. The flower -- which is symbolic of life, hope, healing and strength in many cultu
AIDS AT 25: How to respond to the devastating disease? Live theater -- more than any other art -- has asked the most profound questions.: San Francisco Chronicle - Wednesday, June 7, 2006; Steven Winn, swinn@sfchronicle.com; A full carton of milk falls and breaks open onstage in Larry Kramer s 1985 alarm-bell AIDS play The Normal Heart. It happens during one of the many furies by the main character, Ned Weeks, a gay activist modeled on the playwright himself. Raging against everything from an indifferent New York City government to a priml
DISEASE DENIAL DEVASTATING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS - BLACKS ARE MOST VULNERABLE: Group sustains more than half of new U.S. infections, deaths, but effort to inform intensifies: San Francisco Chronicle - Monday, June 5, 2006; Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer; When AIDS emerged 25 years ago, it was branded a gay white man s disease. Millions of dollars poured into research and prevention efforts have reduced the number of diagnoses and deaths in the United States over the years. But that success hasn t touched African Americans, many of whom have remained reluctant to acknow
DISEASE DENIAL DEVASTATING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS - DELIVERY OF DRUGS IMPROVING: World's commitment to help ramps up, but antivirals still reach just 1 in 5 who need them: San Francisco Chronicle - Monday, June 5, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer; There are 10,000 people infected with HIV in and around Mbarara, a small university town just south of the equator, three hours by car from the Uganda capital Kampala. Remarkably, 2,400 of them are currently taking antiviral drugs, most of it supplied by the Ugandan health ministry with money from international program
AIDS AT 25: San Francisco Chronicle - June 4, 2006; Sabin Russell,srussell@sfchronicle.com.; On June 5, 1981, Dr. Michael Gottlieb, a young immunologist at the UCLA School of Medicine, reported five cases of a rare pneumonia among gay men in Los Angeles. Each had a profoundly depressed immune system. Two were already dead. His report in the weekly bulletin of the Centers for Disease Control was the first medic
Prevention evolves into wider array of options: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer: srussell@sfchronicle.com; Since the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic, campaigns to change risky sexual behavior have been the cornerstone of HIV prevention. But today, dismayed by the shortcomings of efforts to change human nature, researchers in the field are starting to talk of a newer, medical model of AIDS prevention -- in which condoms,
AIDS Timelines: Deaths And Developments: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; 1981 Medical -- On June 5, the CDC reports five cases in Los Angeles of a rare pneumonia among five gay men. -- In July, the CDC reports 26 cases of a rare cancer, Kaposi s sarcoma, among gay men in New York and California. Political -- New York author Larry Kramer organizes fundraiser for what is to become Gay Men s H
Survivors with HIV challenging science: Immune systems may hold clues to virus: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer: wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com; When Lanz Lowen first learned he was HIV-positive 21 years ago, he was not surprised; he had frequented San Francisco s gay bathhouses in the 1970s and picked up sex partners at discos. What has surprised Lowen, 53 -- who knows from blood samples tested later that he was positive in 1978 -- is that he is still alive.
Looking back on the AIDS crisis, 25 years on: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Editor -- I was on the front line in the emergency department as the AIDS crisis unfolded in the 1980s. I know we were all wondering what it was and why it was happening. The unknown challenged us to give great treatment to every person who arrived, yet not expose ourselves to whatever it was. The Centers for Disease C
Maitri hospice is last of its kind in San Francisco: Palliative care provider only one of its kind left in S.F.: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer, srussell@sfchronicle.com; Peter Curran entered the Maitri hospice in San Francisco in February, worn out from a four-year battle with AIDS and knowing he was unlikely to leave the place alive. He died there on May 3, with his parents at his bedside. A former accountant, record store clerk, bicycle messenger and waiter -- among many other occupa
Gay Men's Chorus carries on: A quarter-century after the start of the epidemic, the group has suffered the deaths of 257 members: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer, mmay@sfchronicle.com; There is a common saying backstage before the curtain rises on the San Francisco Gay Men s Chorus: I sing for two. For each man standing, one chorus member has died of AIDS. A quarter-century into the epidemic, the list of the dead is longer than the living: there are 210 singers and 257 obituaries. As AIDS devastated
Doctors fought fear and affliction: In early '80s, San Francisco volunteers set standards for research of the new disease and care of patients: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer, srussell@sfchronicle.com; In the earliest years of the AIDS epidemic, there were few doctors willing to take on patients stricken by this baffling new disease, even in San Francisco. The fear was palpable, and the risk for doctors and nurses alike was unknown. For those who volunteered, AIDS became an all-consuming crisis that defined their car
Editorial: Staying a step ahead of AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; VOTERS in Tuesday s elections would be hard-pressed to find a single candidate who has made AIDS a priority issue, even in San Francisco. The disease has not gone away by any means, even if at times it seems to have vanished from the center stage of U.S. concerns. SARS, bird flu and mad cow disease, which together have
TWO CENTS: How has AIDS touched you?: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Julie DiGiulio, San Ramon: Two of the most vibrant, amazing people I will ever know lost their lives to this disease. Watching that happen and knowing there was nothing I could do to stop it was devastating. AIDS didn t touch my life -- it obliterated almost 10 years of it. Richard Goldman, San Francisco: The day I tes
Battling AIDS - A Man on a Mission: Physician Robert Scott is split between a busy practice in Oakland and another treating AIDS patients in Zimbabwe: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Louis Freedberg, lfreedberg@sfchronicle.com; Hold me close Africa Fill my soul Africa Let me grow old Africa And remember me Lyrics by Johnny Clegg and Savuka When Dr. Robert Scott first traveled to Zimbabwe seven years ago, he wasn t thinking about AIDS. Perhaps it was because he needed to escape the grimness of his work treating AIDS patients in Oakland. Or may
How AIDS Changed Us: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer; When AIDS began devastating San Francisco s gay community, it silenced what had been a giddy, almost boundless celebration of sexual freedom. Thousands of men had come from across the country to the vibrant community growing along Polk Street and in the Castro. South of Market bathhouses and gay bars across the city we
Survivors with HIV challenging science: Immune systems may hold clues to virus: San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 4, 2006; Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer; When Lanz Lowen first learned he was HIV-positive 21 years ago, he was not surprised; he had frequented San Francisco s gay bathhouses in the 1970s and picked up sex partners at discos. What has surprised Lowen, 53 -- who knows from blood samples tested later that he was positive in 1978 -- is that he is still alive.
Outdated forms pledge HIV results are private: Forms pledging privacy on HIV are outdated - City Clinic to inform clients of new law: San Franciso Chronicle - Saturday, June 3, 2006; Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer; SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco City Clinic has been giving clients outdated forms promising that their HIV test results will remain anonymous, despite a state law enacted six weeks ago that requires the clinic to provide names of those who test positive to the county public health department. The health department does
More adults are dying of AIDS as drug access improves, U.N. reports: San Francisco Chronicle - May 31, 2006; Dave Perlman, dperlman@sfchronicle.com.; A record number of adults worldwide are dying of AIDS today, even as infection rates appear to be slowing and drugs to fight the disease are becoming available to more people around the globe, United Nations officials reported Tuesday. The annual report from UNAIDS also noted that women in greater numbers than ever are
A look at drug firm's story of supplying AIDS patients: San Francisco Chronicle - May 21, 2006; Anne-christine d'Adesky**; Earlier this month, shareholders in Gilead Sciences , one of the world s largest pharmaceutical companies, met in Burlingame to discuss accomplishments and areas for growth of the company. They were met by AIDS protesters carrying signs that said the Foster City-based company has done a poor job making sure its life-sa
City health agencies move to streamline HIV testing: San Francisco drops counseling requirement: San Francisco Chronicle - May 18, 2006; Erin Allday, eallday@sfchronicle.com.; San Francisco s public medical clinics and hospitals will no longer require written consent and counseling sessions before HIV tests, and public health officials say they hope the easier, less time-consuming process will prompt more people to get tested. The shift in policy, which took effect Tuesday, follows a similar
Message wall in Castro to mark AIDS epidemic: San Francisco Chronicle - May 11, 2006; Jason Riggs from the Stop AIDS Project uses 150 live irises Wednesday to decorate an interactive message wall, which will be at the corner of 18th and Castro streets through May to commemorate the 25th year of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. There also will be real and fabricated irises throughout the Castro neighb
Evangelicals who 'repent' on HIV: Big Orange County church's ministry draws skepticism: San Francisco Chronicle - Monday, May 8, 2006; Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com; Lake Forest, Orange County -- Kay Warren first said she was sorry. Sorry that she, wife of one of the nation s most influential pastors, and many of her fellow conservative evangelical Christians took more than two decades to start helping people with HIV and AIDS. In front of her 22,000-member Orange County congregati
Safer sex info goes high-tech: Health department answers questions via text messages: San Francisco Chronicle - Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer; The condom broke. You think you could be pregnant or been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease. So you turn to your cell phone for help: if u hve sex, u can get an STD + not know it. Chlamydia, gonorrhea=no symptoms most of the time Dropin get chcked FREE, reads the text message tip, followed by an address and hou
EDITORIAL: Fair AIDS relief: San Francisco Chronicle - April 26, 2006; NO ONE would claim that the AIDS epidemic has ceased to have an impact in California. Nor can anyone deny its fast-growing incidence in Southern states. But some Southern activists are lobbying Congress for changes to the funding structure of the Ryan White CARE act -- and that could mean an enormous loss for Californi
Ex-doctor in S.F. sentenced to nearly 8 years: San Francisco Chronicle - April 25, 2006; Bob Egelko, begelko@sfchronicle.com.; SAN FRANCISCO - A former doctor who admitted performing fake medical exams on more than 1,400 immigrants and giving hundreds of vaccinations with salt water has been sentenced to seven years and eight months in state prison. Stephen Brian Turner, 51, of Hayward was also ordered Monday to pay $138,510 in fines to the st
Pets on a pedestal for benefit of humans: Dog will be an 'idol' at annual fundraiser for PAWS group: San Francisco Chronicle - April 20, 2006; Patricia Yollin, pyollin@sfchronicle.com.; It could have been a canine version of Cheers. Everybody at the San Francisco party seemed to know Sumo s name -- even though the vizsla had no more than 20 human friends until she became a pet idol. The soiree in a South of Market design store earlier this month was part of Sumo s new life: She is the poster dog for P
BENEFITS: Eat out to fight AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle - April 19, 2006; Dine out on April 27 at restaurants in San Francisco and the East Bay participating in the national Dining Out for Life event, and 25 percent of your food bill will go to AIDS service organizations. In San Francisco, donations benefit for the Stop AIDS Project. In the East Bay, donations will benefit Vital Life Service
Moms pay big for other mothers' milk: But doctors warn non-nursing women of health risk to babies: San Francisco Chronicle - April 9, 2006; Janine DeFao, jdefao@sfchronicle.com.; Christine Bartels has spent more than $25,000 to feed breast milk to her baby. What s free for most moms has come at a high cost for the 44-year-old Palo Alto mother, who wanted her adopted son, Milo, to have the undisputed health benefits of breast milk. So she paid the Mothers Milk Bank in San Jose $3 an ounce for do
High hopes for AIDS research: Experimental treatment fortifies the body's own stem cells with an enzyme that may block the relentless advance of the virus: San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, April 7, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer; Michael DeLane is about to celebrate a rare anniversary. On Saturday, it will be one year since he stopped taking all his drugs for AIDS. Many patients have experimented with breaks from their AIDS medications, and a few of these have been able to keep their virus levels in check for a year or more. What makes DeLane s
BERKELEY - Conference at Cal about spirituality as research topic: First public talks on scientific study of the inner life: San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, April 6, 2006; Rick DelVecchio, Chronicle Staff Writer; Spiritual transformation is much more than being born again. It s a usually subtle but profound human experience that researchers say seems to play a part in helping individuals fend off disease, among other things. That s the hopeful gist of the early results of what s billed as the first-ever public conference devote
Justices hear privacy issues in HIV case: High court to decide if infected partner must tell spouse: San Francisco Chronicle - April 5, 2006; Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.; A lawsuit by a woman with AIDS against her ex-husband confronted the California Supreme Court on Tuesday with the task of defining the line between one partner s sexual privacy and the other s right to know about the risk of exposure to a deadly disease. The hourlong hearing in Los Angeles involved an appeal by a Los A
One-stop outreach event helps out young homeless: Services include medical and dental tests, advice on jobs: San Francisco Chronicle - April 4, 2006; Jason B. Johnson, jbjohnson@sfchronicle.com and Carolyn Jones, carolynjones@sfchronicle.com.; Dexter, a soft-spoken, pierced 24-year-old who lives in a homeless shelter in Berkeley, has one less problem today. After suffering through months of toothaches, Dexter has seen a dentist. It s helpful, definitely, he said before eating a hot dog. Next, I m going to get a new pair of glasses. Dexter, who declined to gi
Thorny legal issues in case of HIV in marriage: State's top court to weigh privacy right, liability for harm: San Francisco Chronicle - April 4, 2006; Bob Egelko, begelko@sfchronicle.com.; The California Supreme Court will sift through the ruins of the marriage of an AIDS-infected couple today to decide what information partners must tell one another about past high-risk sexual activity. At a hearing in Los Angeles, the court will look into the legal consequences of a woman s claim that her husband -- a
Decrease in new HIV infections smaller than expected: San Francisco Chronicle - March 31, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; San Francisco health officials are preparing to roll back their estimates of the number of new HIV infections occurring each year -- but not nearly as much as they had hoped when the downward trend was first spotted last summer. In a draft recommendation being prepared for a city panel that periodically adopts a consen
U.N. falls short of getting AIDS drugs to 3 million: San Francisco Chronicle - March 29, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; A two-year push by the United Nations to bring AIDS drugs to 3 million people by 2005 fell far short of its goal by the time it ended, but the program nevertheless started 900,000 new patients on the life-saving medicines, most of them in hard-hit sub-Saharan Africa. In a final report on its 3-by-5 program, the
More black teens get gonorrhea: San Francisco Chronicle - March 29, 2006; Erin Allday, eallday@sfchronicle.com.; The San Francisco Department of Public Health advised the city s health care providers Tuesday of an increase in gonorrhea cases, particularly among African American teenagers. About 100 cases of gonorrhea were diagnosed among black 15- to 19-year-olds in 2005 -- more than double the previous year, health department of
OPINION: Charity begins at home, ends at City Hall: San Francisco Chronicle - March 26, 2006; Debra J. Saunders, dsaunders@sfchronicle.com; THE LAST time the Roman Catholic Church and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors squared off on same-sex marriage, the Special City s thought police essentially forced Catholic Charities to renounce Catholic doctrine in order to continue receiving city funds it needs to care for the sick. With a similar battle loomin
CDC concerned about drug-resistant TB San Francisco has highest rate of disease in country: San Francisco Chronicle - March 24, 2006; Erin Allday, eallday@sfchronicle.com.; A new strain of drug-resistant tuberculosis that is virtually untreatable is raising alarm among public health officials, even as the less virulent, and much more common, form of TB continues to decline in the United States . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported for the first time Thursday on the eme
'Unsing the Song': Dance work focusing on Rwandan genocide catches on, becomes artistic collaboration: San Francisco Chronicle - March 23, 2006; Reyhan Harmanci, rharmanci@sfchronicle.com; Although dancer and choreographer Anne Bluethenthal is premiering her Unsing the Song as part of a body of work on the Rwandan genocide, to say it s about Rwanda would miss the point. Biographically speaking, I m Jewish, says Bluethenthal, whose dance troupe has been performing in the Bay Area for 22 years. I was born
Change in HIV reports in works: San Francisco Chronicle - March 20, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; California lawmakers this week are preparing to ditch a rule that for two decades has been a pillar of California AIDS policy: that the names of those who test positive for HIV would not be reported to the state. The rule afforded an extra measure of privacy and protection from discrimination for those who were infecte
Meth is HIV hazard among straight men: Study finds users in low-income areas engage in risky sex: San Francisco Chronicle - March 17, 2006; Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer; Risky sexual behavior under the influence of methamphetamine -- an HIV hazard often spotted in surveys of gay men -- is also occurring among meth-using heterosexuals in Northern California, according to a new state study. Researchers in five counties found that straight men who reported recent methamphetamine use were
Robin Ortiz-Young -- AIDS, school activist: San Francisco Chronicle - Wednesday, March 15, 2006; Carol Ness, Chronicle Staff Writer; Compassionate, magnetic and driven to spur social change, Robin Strong Ortiz-Young of Berkeley had a talent for reaching people. During more than a decade of AIDS work, mainly in San Francisco, Mrs. Ortiz-Young trained some 2,000 HIV counselors. She also trained companies to embrace their diversity. And she taught othe
The Global Fund's top leader stepping down: Nonprofit able to put only $2 billion into key health programs: San Francisco Chronicle - March 7, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Richard Feachem, the British-born UCSF professor who has run the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria almost since its inception in 2002, is stepping down as executive director when his latest term ends in July. He announced his decision in a written statement issued Friday from the Global Fund headquart
Ex-doctor to undergo psychiatric exam: San Francisco Chronicle - February 23, 2006; Tyche Hendricks, thendricks@sfchronicle.com.; A Hayward man accused of performing fake medical exams and bilking hundreds of people out of almost $250,000 pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court Wednesday. Stephen Brian Turner, 51, whose medical license was suspended in 1998, remained in custody after a judge refused to lower his $1.45 million bail.
Avian flu crippling Nigeria's poultry industry: Farmers destroy birds, fire workers, lose valuable trade: San Francisco Chronicle - February 23, 2006; Christian Allen Purefoy, Chronicle Foreign Service; Kano, Nigeria - With only their bare hands and a single knife among them, three young Nigerian men set about the work of destroying thousands of chickens infected with avian flu. Young children emerging from a dusty, infected coop brought more chickens to be killed -- the blood from the carcasses spilling onto their ba
'Rent' opens up Broadway version: San Francisco Chronicle - February 21, 2006; Ruthe Stein; Rent Revolution Studios PG-13 $28.96 In the glory era of the Hollywood musical, audiences didn t question how Gene Kelly could blithely sing and dance in the rain and not be put in a straitjacket. But today s younger generation has trouble suspending disbelief when characters spontaneously burst into song - although no
In a twist of fate, Olympic spirit is in the medals money: San Francisco Chronicle - February 20, 2006; Gwen Knapp, gknapp@sfchronicle.com.; Turin, Italy - The second time around, Joey Cheek didn t beg for attention or throw down a challenge. He won a silver medal, then quite casually gave his money away. And that s another $15,000 for Right To Play, the American long-track speedskater said Saturday night, as if he were looking over a checklist. Cheek o
Change in HIV reports in works: San Francisco Chronicle - February 20, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; California lawmakers this week are preparing to ditch a rule that for two decades has been a pillar of California AIDS policy: that the names of those who test positive for HIV would not be reported to the state. The rule afforded an extra measure of privacy and protection from discrimination for those who were infecte
D.A. says ex-doctor duped patients: Harris says man performed phony tests on immigrants: San Francisco Chronicle - February 17, 2006; Tyche Hendricks,thendricks@sfchronicle.com.; A Bay Area man who lost his medical license eight years ago faces more than 100 felony charges for allegedly performing fake medical exams on immigrants, giving them phony vaccinations and bilking more than 1,400 people out of almost $250,000, San Francisco prosecutors said. Stephen Brian Turner, 51, was being held Thu
Homes for the homeless: 2 new supportive housing residences open in Tenderloin: San Francisco Chronicle - February 15, 2006; Kevin Fagan, kfagan@sfchronicle.com.; The city of San Francisco inched 194 units closer this week to its goal of creating 3,000 new units of housing for the homeless when it opened up two big residential hotels in the Tenderloin. The 84-room Boyd Hotel on Jones Street started taking residents Monday, and the 110-room Aranda Hotel opened its doors on Turk S
A Serosorting Story: Dating within the HIV positive or negative population has reduced the HIV infection rate in San Francisco. It also allows for an intimacy previously missing: San Francisco Chronicle - February 12, 2006; Christopher Heredia,cheredia@sfchronicle.com.; San Francisco lovers James Nykolay and Brian Basinger met in 2002 at the testosterone clinic at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center s Ward 86. Both long-term HIV survivors, the men had appointments every Friday for treatment for AIDS-related wasting. It took several times seeing each other before Basinger got
Reports on new type of AIDS drugs offer hope to patients Integrase inhibitors could help those with resistance to other medications: San Francisco Chronicle - February 10, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Larry Holmes at the age of 43 is lucky to be alive, but after battling AIDS for 14 years he is fearful that his luck is running out. Like thousands of other men who contracted the disease in the 1980s and were saved by the antiviral drug combinations that were developed in the mid-1990s, he has developed resistance to
2 promising new AIDS drugs: Strong results in studies, including one by Foster City company: San Francisco Chronicle - February 9, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; Prospects for a new class of effective AIDS medicines soared Wednesday when two drugmakers reported surprisingly strong results from clinical trials of their experimental pills. The drugs, known as integrase inhibitors, performed in small trials as well or better than most of the antiviral medicines that serve as the m
EDITORIAL: Bono, say it isn't so: San Francisco Chronicle - February 7, 2006; IRISH rocker-turned-global do-gooder Bono has been keeping busy lately, challenging the president to increase aid to the world s poor and launching his new Red campaign to fight HIV and AIDS in Africa. But behind the scenes, the New York Post reports that his firm, Elevation Partners, is in talks to buy Take-Two Intera
A helping curriculum: Students take a year to raise AIDS awareness -- and funds: San Francisco Chronicle - February 6, 2006; Carrie Sturrock, csturrock@sfchronicle.com.; It all started with Mama Katele. Three Stanford University students met the 45-year-old grandmother last summer while volunteering in a refugee camp in Zambia , a land hard hit by Africa s AIDS epidemic. Dying of the disease and extremely poor, Mama Katele Henriette cared for three grandchildren and a mentally disabled
PATIENTS SNARLED IN MEDICARE MESS: New prescription drug program plagued by delays and confusion over coverage: San Francisco Chronicle - January 26, 2006; Victoria Colliver, vcolliver@sfchronicle.com.; Sacramento resident Randi Sanford, 50, who has cystic fibrosis, had to go without the antibiotic infusions she needed to fight an infection because the new Medicare prescription drug benefit would not cover the procedure when administered at home. John Slack, 66, went to Kaiser Permanente s hospital in San Rafael earli
Black church conference spawns new network: Clergy, activists will work together to fight anti-gay bias: San Francisco Chronicle - January 22, 2006; Leslie Fulbright, lfulbright@sfchronicle.com.; Atlanta - As the first Black Church Summit ended Saturday, participants formed a new national network to fight discrimination against gays and lesbians in African American churches. More than 200 African American ministers and gay activists from across the country gathered at the two-day meeting near downtown to discus
Gilead HIV drug shows promise: New regimen posts promising results in clinical trial: San Francisco Chronicle - January 19, 2006; Bernadette Tansey, btansey@sfchronicle.com.; Gilead Sciences Inc. gained some ammunition for its long-planned new HIV drug regimen -- which would be contained in a single pill taken only once a day -- when the New England Journal of Medicine published favorable clinical trial results today. The three-drug combination that would be used in Gilead s proposed dail
Meeting of minds in Atlanta: Gay, lesbian leaders say it's past time for black churches to accept homosexuals into religious community: San Francisco Chronicle - January 19, 2006; Leslie Fulbright, lfulbright@sfchronicle.com.; A landmark meeting of African American clergy and members of the gay and lesbian community that begins tonight in Atlanta is the keystone of an effort to promote the acceptance of gays in black churches. The Rev. Al Sharpton from New York and Bishop Yvette Flunder of San Francisco s City of Refuge United Church of Chri
The Governor's Budget - A Closer Look At What The Numbers Mean Health Care: San Francisco Chronicle - January 11, 2006; Sabin Russell; PROPOSAL: The governor has loosened the belt a notch on Health and Human Services Agency spending, would draw an additional $1.2 billion from the general fund. Medi-Cal, which makes up just under half of the proposed $73.1 billion agency budget, would pull in $542 million more from the general fund than the current yea
PARKER, Katharine Leigh: San Francisco Chronicle - January 11, 2006; Katharine Leigh Ms. Kittie Parker Born April 22, 1953 in Bridgeport, CT. Died on December 30, 2005 at age 52. A bachelor s degree from Case Western Reserve University provided Kittie with years of travel as a registered nurse. She found her heart in San Francisco where she not only worked at San Francisco General Hospi
New clues in mystery story of elusive S.F. author JT LeRoy: San Francisco Chronicle - January 10, 2006; Heidi Benson at hbenson@sfchronicle.com.; Shock waves roiled the literary world Monday when new evidence surfaced that finally could prove San Francisco author JT LeRoy is not who he says he is. Instead of a former male hooker from a hardscrabble background, he apparently is a 40-year-old woman with middle-class roots. LeRoy, who has cultivated celebrity and p
Dreaded call becomes words to live by: Notifying partners of HIV-positive people an important weapon in fight against AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle - January 9, 2006; Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.; No. You do not want to get a telephone call from Luis Hernandez. It is his job to tell people that they might have been exposed to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. When a client at the San Francisco Department of Public Health s sexually transmitted disease clinic tests positive for HIV, Hernandez is often the one who
Druggists overwhelmed: New Medicare drug plan 'glitches' leave pharmacists struggling to fill orders: San Francisco Chronicle - January 6, 2006; Victoria Colliver, vcolliver@sfchronicle.com.; It s been a rocky start. Pharmacists say they have been unable to fill prescriptions or have given out drugs without knowing if they will be paid since Medicare s new prescription drug benefit began Jan. 1. Some customers lacked cards or notification from insurers about their coverage. Computer problems verifying a pat
Surprising opinions on sex education: Across-the-board support as a way to slow state's growth: San Francisco Chronicle - January 5, 2006; Patricia Yollin, Patricia Yollin, pyollin@sfchronicle.com.; As Californians proliferate with rabbit-like efficiency, the state s residents are surprisingly of one mind about how to deal with overpopulation. Whether they re liberal Democrats or evangelical Christians, they favor sex education and access by the young to birth control. This is one of the startling discoveries in a

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