• Nonprofits supporting the transgender community are bracing for the impact of potential cuts in federal funding after months of lawsuits blocking Trump’s cuts in federal funding, along with looming cuts in the city budget — all while the community needs them most. [Mission Local]
• San Francisco is facing a projected $644 million deficit over the next two years, which is $234 million less than previously projected due to decreased spending on retirement funds and increased revenue from city hospitals and hotel, sales and transfer taxes. [Chronicle]
• Napa Police pulled over a woman who was in possession of multiple stolen IDs, credit cards, mail, and other documents, as well as burglary tools. [KRON4]

National:

• President Trump Donald Trump shared his plans for a high-rise presidential library in Miami, and it sounds as gaudy as you’d expect. [NPR]
• Authorities confirmed that Ted Bundy was the killer of Utah 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime in a 1974 cold case. [NBC News]
• Trump signed an executive order Tuesday restricting mail-in voting and creating a list of verified eligible voters, which voting law experts say is unconstitutional. [Associated Press]

Video of the Day:

Some folks organized a “Hole Party,” which consisted of simply digging a giant hole at Ocean Beach and then filling it up, while making a bunch of new friends along the way, presumably.

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Since 2016, UC Berkeley professor Juana María Rodríguez has been assigning her students the task of creating and updating over 300,000 Wikipedia entries, with the goal of preserving queer and trans history and celebrating the intersectionality of the BIPOC LGBTQ+ community.

As the Daily Californian reports, Juana María Rodríguez, an ethnic studies, gender and women’s studies, and performance studies professor at the University of California Berkeley, began the project in 2016 with the support of the local nonprofit Wiki Education, which aims to fill knowledge gaps on the site around gender, racial, and ethnic diversity. Per the Daily Cal, Rodríguez’s students have made over 300,000 updates and 3,000 citations to Wikipedia to date — totaling more than 96 million views, while spotlighting in particular the lives of queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.

“I want my students to think of themselves as not just consumers of knowledge but as being able to produce knowledge as well,” Rodríguez told the Daily Cal.

Per the Daily Cal, some of the people Rodríguez’s students have highlighted include Indigenous drag queens, transgender activists Adela Vázquez and Karla Avelar and Oakland gay landmark, the White Horse Bar.

As the site Them reports, students have also documented LGBTQ history in Chinatown and international sex worker movements.

“It becomes particularly important to document these subcultures within these communities,” Rodríguez told Them. “Because it’s not just queer Latinas — it’s queer goth Latinas, it’s queer comics of color, it’s African American slaying, right?”

“It’s very specific topics that might really vary by region, by historical moment, and of course at different places around the world,” Rodríguez continued, per Them. Those topics, in Wikipedia and in real life, remain really under-studied and really under-researched.”

Per Them, preserving BIPOC and LGBTQ+ history is now more important than ever as the federal government moves to erase queer and transgender people from its historical programs and websites, including the stripping of Harvey Milk's name from a US Navy ship last June, as reported by SFist.

“Right now, the Trump administration is trying to erase the very existence of transgender people, so having information about those histories, as well as present challenges facing queer and trans communities, is particularly urgent,” Rodríguez continued, per the Daily Cal. “Queer and trans people have always been here, and adding that information to the world’s largest open access encyclopedia is one way to make sure that these stories remain available.”

Image: Landa Lakes, SF-based Indigenous drag queen/Facebook

• Despite informing patients it will soon be ending gender-affirming care for transgender youth last month, Sutter Health has reversed course. Families were relieved to discover that their trans children could continue receiving care through the network, despite the federal administration’s continued pressure to ban it. [KQED]
• The Vallejo City Unified School District voted to close three elementary schools this week, which include around 1,000 students and 100 staff members. The district cites a swift decline in enrollment rates, as the number of students in the district has gone down from 20,000 students in previous years to 10,000 currently. [KPIX]

• Hazie’s restaurant in Hayes Valley has seen a significant boost in business following a viral video involving the antics of an unfortunate drunk woman last week, which ultimately got her fired from her job at Strava. [KRON4]

National:

• Thousands gathered Thursday to honor the people killed and injured during a Hanukkah celebration last weekend at Australia’s Bondi Beach, the first day the park reopened after the attack. [Associated Press]

• Applications for Trump’s new gold card opened last week, geared toward enabling wealthy foreigners to bypass US immigration laws to the tune of $1 million, plus a $15,000 processing fee. [CNBC]
• After New York Governor Kathy Hochul banned phones in public schools in September, students have gone analog in the cafeterias, including playing Dominos and poker and listening to CDs via Walkmen. [Boing Boing]

Video of the Day:

The stunning City Hall Winter Lights display kicked off December 6 and runs through January 2, featuring a 10-minute show that begins with an homage to the history of City Hall, including the original architectural drawings by architect Arthur Brown Jr. projected onto the magnificent Beaux Arts structure. The presentation then transforms into a carousel of holiday-themed visuals that “fill the façade with warmth and color.”

Amplified sound is available every night except Christmas and Christmas Eve. Spectators can also access the playlist through the app. The show runs every half hour from 5:30 pm to midnight, every night through January 2, visible from Polk Street and Van Ness Avenue. — via Secret San Francisco

Image: SF Office of Protocol

This week: Protecting newt migrations, returning the Tule elk to their land, and remembering Humphrey the Humpback whale. Also, Joan Baez in Alameda, mentors for trans youth, 20 years of MoAD, calendar and puzzle fundraiser by East Bay creatives, and a 1912 tugboat for sale.

Big top music

Joan Baez has joined The Soiled Dove at Alameda Point, lending her voice to a circus set in 1890s San Francisco along the Barbary Coast. The show blends live music with acrobatics and dinner-theater, creating a lively mix of spectacle and story.

Originally set to close last weekend, its run has been extended through November 15 due to popular demand. — NBC Bay Area

Hearts in conversation

A new series, Love You for You, follows trans and nonbinary kids as they talk with the people who support them. In one conversation, an 8-year-old navigates school, family, and teasing; in another, a 16-year-old shares his coming-out story with a close family friend.

The episodes highlight small but meaningful ways mentors and relatives affirm identity — from correcting pronouns to celebrating creativity. Across generations, the series captures how guidance and care shape these young lives. Three episodes feature six conversations, all focused on thriving with love and understanding. — KQED

Woven galaxies

Museum of the African Diaspora’s Continuum marks 20 years of showcasing Black art and culture, bringing together two decades of exhibitions, programs, and artists into a living archive that celebrates creativity, resilience, and community. Among the works, Ramekon O’Arwisters’ sculpture Bitten 8 channels imagination and reckoning, using shards — discarded, jagged, and marginalized—to confront anxiety, anger, and the permanence of White-body supremacy. Continuum runs through March 1, 2026.

Additionally, O’Arwisters is hosting one of his regular CrochetJam events at MoAD on Saturday, November 6, where community members stitch together connection with the same care and energy he brings to his work. — 7 x 7

East Bay talent

East Bay creatives have turned their lens and craft toward community care with Oakland Leaves No Crumbs, a 2026 calendar and puzzle that highlight local businesses while raising funds for Centro Legal de la Raza. The project brought together photographers, stylists, and artisans who donated time, food, and props to capture everything from Lunar New Year and Day of the Dead imagery to neighborhood roasters and bakeries.

Pre-orders are open through November 11 with a launch event on December 13 showcasing food from the featured businesses as well as limited calendars and puzzles for sale. — Oaklandside

Migration under moonlight

Each winter, the California newts of Tilden Park make their perilous pilgrimage across South Park Drive, drawn toward the creeks where they breed. To spare them the wheels of passing cars, the East Bay Regional Park District closes the road from November through March — a tradition more than 25 years old.

Cyclists and hikers still pass through, moving slowly while dogs are kept at a distance; the newts’ skin carries a potent toxin. Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Wildcat Canyon Road serve as detours through migration season. — Berkeleyside

Seasoning the earth

The chaos-gardening enthusiasts at SFinBloom are inspiring the public to scatter native wildflower seeds with the casual flair of seasoning a meal — letting color and pollination make their way into nearby alleys, on medians, and other forgotten corners.

Armed with custom parmesan-style shakers filled with seeds, “Mr. Bloom” encourages people to fight “plant inequity” and climate gloom through small acts of restoration. His key advice: don’t wait for spring — plant now, and let the wild things take the lead. — SFinBloom

Returning the hills

After decades away, Tule elk have stepped onto the Sierra foothills once more, roaming lands recently restored to the Tule River Tribe. The 17,000-acre Yowlumne Hills connect tribal territory to forested corridors, opening space not only for elk but for beavers, waterways, and wildfire-resilient ecosystems.

Tribal members and supporters gathered to release the elk last week, part of broader stewardship that blends cultural knowledge, prescribed burns, and habitat restoration. The land is envisioned as a place to gather, heal, and witness the deep ties between people, wildlife, and the ancestral landscape. — SFGate

Tidelines and time machines

A 1912 wooden tugboat that once hauled cargo in Alaska has, for more than 40 years, served as the floating home of Stewart Brand — founder of The Whole Earth Catalog and co-founder of the Long Now Foundation — and it’s now for sale in Sausalito for $1.4 million.

The Mirene was converted into a one-bedroom retreat with a gourmet kitchen and library, reflecting Brand’s lifelong ethos of reuse and reinvention. Its deck faces the San Francisco skyline, a fitting view for a vessel built to endure and adapt. The 64-foot boat also includes its own tender for short trips across the Bay. — Bay Area News Group, Dwell

Riverbound whale

Forty years ago, a humpback named Humphrey took a wrong turn into the Sacramento River and turned a small Delta town into the center of the world. Rio Vista’s residents watched the 40-ton visitor thread through sloughs and levees, stuck at times, stubborn at others, as scientists, volunteers, and onlookers scrambled to guide him safely back to the river.

Kids in local classrooms today still follow his story through whale-themed reading charts and plush mascots, a reminder that his journey was both spectacle and shared memory. On November 4, 1985, Humphrey finally returned to the Pacific, leaving behind a trail of stories, flare-lit celebrations, and a town that keeps him alive in song and spirit. — KALW

Top Image: Matt Knoth/Flickr

Previously: Field Notes: Capybara Pups, Falcons, Supermarket Dance Parties, and Living on a Shellmound

This week: Making use of rotten pumpkins; dancing at the Filipino market; growing up on an Alameda shellmound, and reclaiming the past through kids’ books. Plus, SF Trans Film Festival, teen inventors, the art of falconry, capybara mania, and a serendipitous City Hall photo-op.

New water walkers

At the Sacramento Zoo, a first-time mother named Peppermint Patty just gave birth to five capybara pups — a small herd of newcomers already paddling around the zoo’s pond like seasoned pros. The keepers say the babies are walking, eating solid food, and keeping close to their patient mom.

Additionally, fans can also find a charming pair of capybara sisters at San Jose’s Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, who transferred from Texas through a species survival plan in 2022. Visitors can spot them lounging poolside or nibbling bamboo from Wednesday to Sunday. — FOX40 Sacramento, Bay City News

Flight school

In Yuba County’s Marysville, former West Marin resident Kate Marden runs West Coast Falconry, where guests can step into the old world of falconry — leather glove, hooded bird, and all. Her 14 raptors, from Harris hawks to Siberian eagle owls, live in mews designed for their health and temperament, tended daily with raw meat and steady hands. Marden, who founded the school in 2006, calls falconry a lifelong “virus” — a mix of obsession and devotion that requires love for creatures who might fly away.

Visitors can book lessons or walks through the surrounding oak forest, watching the birds swoop between gloves and trees. West Coast Falconry offers year-round public classes, private sessions, and apprentice programs. — Chico Enterprise-Record

Return to the earth

When the jack-o’-lantern grin fades, most pumpkins end up in the trash, releasing methane as they decompose in landfills. Yet every part of a pumpkin can serve another purpose — seeds can be roasted, flesh can be cooked, and leftovers can feed farm animals.

Even the soft, moldy ones can be composted to nourish the soil instead of adding to waste. — Associated Press

Aisles of light

At Seafood City in Daly City, the fluorescent aisles have turned into a dance floor. What began as a playful idea from Vallejo-born DJ JP Breganza — spinning sets in grocery stores — has become an ongoing series of Filipino supermarket dance parties across the country.

Organized with the SF Kollective, the “Late Night Market Madness” events bring line dances, pancit, and barbecue to the aisles, where remixed love songs and disco hits spill out into the parking lot. The event’s Halloween and Filipino American History Month edition continues through Saturday night. — KQED

Through a different lens

The world’s longest-running transgender film festival returns to San Francisco this month, bringing stories that stretch far beyond visibility — from animated features to intimate documentaries and sharp-edged comedies.

Each program draws on the experiences of trans and gender-nonconforming filmmakers, shaping cinema that reflects, questions, and reimagines identity in motion. Screenings run November 13–15 at the Roxie Theater, followed by a week of online programming through November 23. — San Francisco Transgender Film Festival

City Hall serendipity

Outside San Francisco City Hall, newlyweds Haley Drexler and Pilar Dizon, stars of Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Queer Love, were shooting photos of there special day when they spotted California Governor Gavin Newsom descending the steps and called out “Daddy Newsom.”

ABC7 political reporter Monica Madden, who had just finished an interview with the governor inside, was also there to capture the moment as Newsom, who famously defied marriage bans in 2004, paused for a photo alongside a same-sex couple tying the knot two decades later. — KGO

Breath of possibility

Three Bay Area teens are testing a new way to detect lung cancer early, using a portable breath analyzer that reads chemical signals in exhaled air. The device, developed with a mix of biology, AI, and circuitry, recently showed 96% accuracy in trials with 46 patients in India.

Alongside the tech, the process has been a crash course in teamwork, patience, and problem-solving, from hospital coordination to hardware tweaks. The group hopes their low-cost prototype could one day reach clinics, giving patients earlier detection and a better shot at survival. — KPIX, Patch

Time travel library

San Francisco-born historical archaeologist Dr. Cheryl LaRoche welcomes young readers to step into the past with her new series, The Resurrectors. Through vivid illustrations and time-traveling storylines, children can witness moments from America’s freedom struggles, from the oratory of Henry Highland Garnet to the courage of everyday Black heroes.

LaRoche’s Kickstarter campaign keeps the project independent and interactive, letting readers and educators engage directly with the books before they hit Amazon in early 2026. The series blends imaginative adventure with real history, offering a chance for kids to see themselves reflected in the figures who shaped the nation. — The Bay View

Shellmounds and shadows

Walking Alameda today, the layers of time are almost tangible. Beneath streets and houses, Muwekma Ohlone ancestors lie in shellmounds that have marked this land for over 10,000 years, quietly shaping the city long before anyone called it Alameda.

Gabriel Duncan, a Native American two-spirit adopted at birth and raised in Alameda, threads together personal memory and archaeology — from a vertebra unearthed in a basement to the haunted echoes of childhood homes — through the Native History Project, which seeks to reclaim and share Indigenous histories. — Native History Project

Top image: West Coast Falconry

Previously: Field Notes: Filipino Tea Party, Candelabra Redwoods, Fog and Folklore, and Mezcal Lineage

• The slow-moving Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to become a major hurricane centered over the northern part of the Caribbean Sunday. Experts anticipate multiple days of heavy rain — between 25 and 35 inches in Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, resulting in life-threatening flash flooding and landslides. [Associated Press]
• A large-scale investigation spearheaded by the Mountain View Police Department resulted in the capture of Franklin Enrique Sarceño Orla, 35, who’s suspected of drugging and raping over 60 men in the South Bay dating back to 2018. Sarceño is scheduled to appear in court Monday on 43 felony sexual assault charges after being brought back to Santa Clara from Guatemala where he fled. [KGO]

• A professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University, Daniel Palanker, has created a device that has successfully helped about 30 people with advanced age-related macular degeneration gain their ability to read again during a clinical trial. [SFGate]
• Newsom signed a bill on October 13 that requires the launch of a state commission on the inclusion of trans youth in sports, following backlash over his podcast with Charlie Kirk in March discussing the “unfairness” of allowing trans athlete AB Hernandez to compete in the state track and field competition. [KQED]
• Experts think Prop 50, which would temporarily redraw California’s US Congressional districts before the 2026 midterm election, is sure to win, as Democrats supporting the measure have out-spent opponents, one of whom single-handedly donated $30 million to squash it. [Bay Area News Group]
• Halloween Lovers and Television News Enthusiasts: Now’s your chance to get on the big screen — send pics of your costumes to KRON4 by October 29 to be featured on next Saturday’s broadcast. [KRON4]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Events are planned throughout August celebrating Transgender History Month, which opened with a flag-raising ceremony at City Hall last week. Mayor Lurie presided, with guest speakers honoring the trans community.

As the Bay Area Reporter writes, the gathering took place on the second floor balcony of City Hall on Tuesday, marking the city’s fifth annual Transgender History Month — and Lurie’s first.

It wasn’t his first public encounter with the trans community, though. In June, he was booed out of Dolores Park ahead of the Trans March during Pride Weekend — something of an informal tradition in the community, as reported by SFist.

“The world, as it always has, is looking to us to be the beacon for the trans community. San Francisco remains steadfast — we will continue to stay true to our history and cherish our trans community for making San Francisco the city we know and love today,” Lurie said.

As the Bay Area Reporter writes, trans activist and DACA recipient Jupiter Peraza led the push to make Transgender History Month legally recognized in San Francisco, a declaration signed by London Breed in 2021. In 2023, it became a statewide proclamation.

“Many of us cannot afford to remain silent. We must wake up every single day and fight for society to recognize our humanity, not only because we are trans, but because we are also immigrants,” Peraza told the Bay Area Reporter.

As Axios writes, the trans community in San Francisco has a long, rich history, culminating in the historic Compton's Cafeteria Riot in August 1966, in which trans and gender-queer patrons stood up to police harassment.

In 2017, the area around the riot site became the world’s first transgender district, founded by Honey Mahogany, Janetta Johnson, and Aria Sa'id — three Black trans women. Earlier this year, the Turk and Taylor Street site received two official historic designations, as reported by SFist.

Other local trans milestones highlighted by Axios include Dr. Joel Fort and trans activist Wendy Kohler revolutionizing trans health care through the SF Department of Public Health in 1965; Jamison Green, Kiki Whitlock, and other activists working with the Human Rights Commission in 1995; and Theresa Sparks becoming the first openly trans city department head as president of the San Francisco Police Commission in 2007.

See the lineup of Transgender History Month events here.

Top image: SF Office of Transgender Initiatives/Facebook

Related:

Compton's Cafeteria Site Receives Two Official Historic Landmark Designations

Compton's Cafeteria Riot Anniversary Marked With 'Black Trans Lives Matter' Mural in Tenderloin

SF To Designate Nation's First Transgender Historic District In The Tenderloin

• Oakland Animal Services is no longer required to accept all surrendered animals amid a 40% surge in intake and significant staffing cuts. [Bay Area News Group]
• Mark Jacobson, a professor at Stanford, says his self-built zero net energy home, which is powered entirely by solar, demonstrates how California’s clean energy goals are becoming reality. [KPIX]
• Firefighters quickly shut off water after a car slammed into a building at 24th and San Jose Streets in the Mission Friday, toppling a hydrant and causing minor structural damage. [Hoodline]
• Stanford robotics researcher Aaron Tan has unveiled Lume, a pair of $2,000 bedside “robotic lamps” that can also fold your laundry — set to launch next year. [KGO]

Image: Leanne Maxwell

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

A prom inside San Quentin, vintage treasure maps, librarians turned rock stars, trans quilts and immersive theater, pupusas in the Tenderloin, and a family recipe cook-off — this week’s Field Notes rounds up joy, art, and memory from San Francisco and beyond.

Pupusas, family roots, and Salvadoran art in the Tenderloin

What began as a Mission street cart is now Estrellita’s Snacks — a brick-and-mortar tribute to one family’s journey. Founded by Estrella Gonzalez and her son Angel, the Tenderloin shop honors Gonzalez’s mother, who once sold yucca chips outside local bars and restaurants.

Their pupusas, plantains, and pan con pollo fill a gap in the neighborhood’s food scene, while Salvadoran folk art and family photos fill the walls. — Mission Local

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Just beans, and other winners

Food critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan eats at top restaurants — but the Tenderloin Family Housing Cooking Competition is her favorite meal of the year. Families at 201 Turk dish out glutinous rice cakes, chicken masala sliders, and a Yemeni bean dish that claimed first prize. “It’s just beans,” the cook insisted. Not to the judges. — Chronicle

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Librarians by day, kids’ music icons by morning

Berkeley’s Story Time Band is turning toddler storytime into a full-fledged musical movement. Led by children’s librarian Michael Kwende (aka “Mr. Michael”), the all-librarian band fuses read-alouds with reggae, hip-hop, and global folk traditions — complete with plush animals, puppets, and dancing flamingos. — Berkeleyside

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Trans stories sewn into every stitch

Quilts, audio, and trans care come together in “Transmissions Quilts,” a multimedia exhibit at Berkeley’s Central Library, which runs through June. Curated by Cordy Joan and spanning three floors, the show honors trans lives through hand-crafted quilts, recorded stories, and collaborative art—each piece a testament to affirmation, resilience, and community. — Berkeley Public Library

Compton’s Cafeteria Riot play extends run

The Tenderloin Museum’s sold-out immersive play, Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, has extended its run through October. Set inside a recreated late-night diner, the show tells the story of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot — a landmark moment of trans resistance. A 12-person cast brings the uprising to life with “breakfast for dinner” and a front-row seat to history. — Tenderloin Museum

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Inside Ruth Asawa’s home studio, a legacy of art and family lives on

Ruth Asawa raised six kids in a Noe Valley home where art, parenting, and community blurred together. Her grandson Henry Weverka walked DrawTogether’s Wendy MacNaughton through the SFMOMA retrospective, where a recreated living room shows how family dinners and wire sculptures shared the same table. — DrawTogether

Treasure hunting gets a digital upgrade

Krystyl Baldwin, a former tech worker turned vintage guru, has mapped out San Francisco’s under-the-radar retro scene with SF Vintage Maps—an interactive guide to 90 vintage shops across the city. From etched shower doors to rare Art Deco furniture, Baldwin’s passion for history and design is tangible in both her own North Beach showroom and this growing online resource.

Whether you’re seeking Gaultier gowns, mid-century cookware, or museum-worthy posters, the map connects vintage lovers to SF’s scattered gems — one QR code at a time. — 7x7

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San Quentin fathers reunite with daughters at first parenting prom

Back in April, a group of incarcerated men organized a powerful event at San Quentin: a prom where 17 fathers danced with their daughters — some reuniting for the first time in over a decade. With corsages, cake, and slow dances to Luther Vandross, it was a night of joy, healing, and new beginnings. — Local News Matters

Saving nature’s soundtrack, one hike at a time

Soundscape engineer Martin Sanchez treks into the Bay Area wilderness to record moments of pure quiet—birdsong, breezes, frogs—before they disappear. With mics hidden in forest crevices, he captures audio that's later used in meditation apps and films, building a library of the sounds that keep us grounded. — Bay Nature

Top image: 'Bodies of Water' by Lunilah Project

Previously: Field Notes: Bold Films, Pride Hikes, Show-Tune Karaoke, and Skateboarding Legends

Trans athlete AB Hernandez medaled in all three events at the CA state track finals over the weekend—just days after a last-minute rule change aimed at appeasing the Trump administration diluted her wins with shared titles.

As SFist previously reported, the Trump administration targeted the Fresno-area event, threatening a Department of Justice investigation and potential cuts to federal education funding over Hernandez’s participation. In response, California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) implemented a new policy stipulating that if transgender athletes place first in any event, the cisgender competitor who placed second would also be awarded co-first and full team points.

That policy was put to the test almost immediately on Friday as Hernandez’s jump of 42' 2¾" in the triple jump was the day’s best, however she was declared co-champion with St. Mary’s-Berkeley’s Kira Gant Hatcher, whose jump was more than a foot shorter at 40' 5", according to Southern California News Group. In the high jump, Hernandez tied with two other athletes at 5' 7", again resulting in a shared title – despite clearing the height on her first attempt, which is typically a tiebreaker.

She also claimed silver in the long jump with 20' 8¾", just behind defending champion Loren Webster of Long Beach Wilson.

Hernandez was the only athlete at the meet to win three medals, though the CIF’s revised scoring format prevented her from standing alone atop the podium.

While the on-field action was relatively calm, the atmosphere around the venue was charged. According to Associated Press, A small group of anti-trans protesters gathered outside with signs and chants, and a plane flew overhead dragging a banner reading “NO BOYS IN GIRLS’ SPORTS,” funded by conservative advocacy groups. No organized counterprotest appeared, but many in the crowd cheered for Hernandez as they would any other standout athlete.

Inside the stadium, Hernandez chatted easily with competitors and appeared undeterred by the controversy. She declined media interviews, but her demeanor and performance were steady throughout the day.

Among those cheering her on was Bryn Williams, a high school senior from San Diego who competed in the 800-meter race. "This is still a high schooler," Williams said, according to CBS News affiliate KCAL. "She is learning, she is navigating the world just like we are every single day and that I know I would want grace if I was put in a situation where I had a bunch of light on me and what I was doing. So I encourage people to remember that. We are all human and at the end of the day we are all trying to navigate this world."

CIF defended its decision to uphold Hernandez’s eligibility, citing state law that protects transgender students’ rights to compete according to their gender identity. The new rule was framed as a "pilot entry process," a compromise intended to preserve inclusion while preempting federal retaliation.

Whether that compromise will satisfy federal officials remains unclear. As SFist Joe wrote last week, it’s likely that “reasonable compromises might not be possible or even desired.”

Hernandez’s success, and the highly visible effort to dilute it, underscores how the culture war over trans inclusion in sports is accelerating, with high school athletes increasingly caught in the middle.

Top image: CLOVIS, CALIFORNIA - MAY 30: Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa  Valley competes in the girls high jump during the CIF State Track and  Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in  Clovis, California. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

Previously: Trump Administration Goes After Fresno-Area Track and Field Competition Over Trans Athlete

In this new series, SFist highlights the uplifting stories of Bay Area residents and the communities they support, featuring Arthur Dong, San Francisco native and gay Chinese American filmmaker; Hafeth “Omar” Mansouri and his canine colleague Major of "Corner Stories;" and trans barber Santana Vasquez.

Arthur Dong, a San Francisco native and Oscar-nominated filmmaker, has built his career on telling powerful, often untold stories from the heart of his own lived experience. As a gay Chinese American, Dong brings a deeply personal lens to his work, exploring the intersections of identity, community, and justice.

Bay Area Reporter writes that the newly re-released Arthur Dong Collection features every film Dong has made—from his 1970 teen debut to his most recent documentaries. Forbidden City, USA (1989) explores the all-Chinese San Francisco nightclub, which operated from the late 1930s until 1970 and provided many Chinese performers the opportunity to work at a time when Asian American entertainers were barred from working.

Coming Out Under Fire (1994), highlights male and female veterans from World War II who had to keep their sexuality a secret, and "Outrage '69" (1995), the first installment in the PBS series, The Question of Equality, explores the divide between white male-dominated activism and women and people of color during the Stonewall Riots.

Hafeth “Omar” Mansouri and his canine colleague Major have gained celebrity status with an Instagram account boasting over 86,000 followers and a 2024 “Best of the Bay” award from SFGate. For the past 20 years, Mansouri’s Lower Haight corner store has served as a community hub for the neighborhood. The interesting people who come through Mansouri’s store every day inspired him to launch his "Corner Stories" Instagram account last June, providing glimpses into his customers’ colorful lives.

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Additionally, Mansouri’s altruism runs even deeper in the form of a community shelf consisting of free food, water, and toiletries for anyone who needs them. A recent post by Mansouri says that he’s never once reported a shoplifter.

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Santana Vasquez, a trans barber in San Francisco, is creating a welcoming space for queer and transgender men and offering free haircuts to trans men in need. Inspired by his own struggles with finding a safe, affirming place to get his haircut, Vasquez uses his barber chair to foster community and support.

KQED reports that Vasquez’s initiative, sparked by a flyer offering free haircuts in March, has been shared widely, and he continues to connect people in the trans community. Vasquez believes his work goes beyond grooming—it's about building relationships and supporting others in the face of societal challenges.

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Nominate an interesting human in the comments. Be sure to provide details on what makes them interesting!

Image: Poster from Arthur Dong's Forbidden City, USA (1989)

Top image: Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images

The Tenderloin Museum is celebrating its ten-year anniversary with some big moves — tripling its size, adding a vibrant neon gallery, and relaunching its immersive play, Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in April — all to celebrate the neighborhood’s legacy as a hub for nightlife, immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, and a variety of social movements.

The expansion will take over an adjacent space in the museum's existing residence in the Cadillac Hotel building at Eddy and Leavenworth, once home to Newman’s Gym, where boxing legends like Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, and Sugar Ray Robinson trained. The new space will house an expanded permanent collection featuring exhibits on the California Labor School, Newman’s Gym, and the Tenderloin Times newspaper, while also creating room for youth and educational programs.

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A key focus of the new space will be preserving the oral histories of the Tenderloin’s diverse residents, beginning with an upcoming exhibit celebrating the influence of Indian-American hotel owners in the Tenderloin over the past 50 years.

Another major highlight is the return of Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, an immersive play that brings to life the 1966 trans uprising at 101 Taylor Street, which recently received two historic landmark designations.

With anti-trans legislation on the rise nationwide, museum director Katie Conry sees the play as more vital than ever. “The Tenderloin has always been a place of resistance,” she says.

For architect June Lee, a trans woman leading the renovation, the project is deeply personal. She first worked on the building 30 years ago as a teenage intern during a seismic retrofit—now, she’s shaping its future.

While the neon gallery is expected to be a major draw, the museum’s deeper mission remains clear: honoring the stories of a neighborhood that has long been a refuge for those who refused to be erased.

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Previously: Tenderloin Museum Opens In Former Sizzler Steakhouse Space

Update: A few clarifying details about the exhibits were added to this post after publishing