Last week, the NYT wrote this rather provocative piece about the collision between evangelical Christians and transplanted LGBT people in Vallejo -- which as you should know is right in our backyard and closer than wine country. A goodly sized gay segment moved into the North Bay town during this last economic cycle, lured by decent real estate at bargain prices and, until last year, a gay bar. An openly gay man, Gary Cloutier, was actually elected mayor in 2007, but a contentious recount and a minor scandal involving an arrest for public drunkenness ended with Mayor Osby Davis winning by less than five votes and taking office only a few days after Cloutier's first day.

The economy has not been kind to the city, and with economic hardship comes increased tension between the town's Christian mayor and the gay citizens who are now locked into mortgages there. "I don’t know what the fear is about considering Vallejo as a city of God," Mayor Davis says. Well, first of all, Vallejo was the first California city to file for bankruptcy last year, and Vallejo's only gay bar, the R Bar, closed not long after. An openly gay student sued the impoverished Vallejo School District for discrimination and won a $25,000 settlement earlier this year.