Clips of the hearings will be posted below as they become available.

For the unacquainted, Tales of the City is a classic fish-out-of-water “tale” about a young midwesterner named Mary Ann Singleton who after visiting San Francisco suddenly decides to make the city her home. Growing up in Cleveland though couldn’t prepare her for life in San Francisco in the mid 70s. The culture shock and non-stop debauchery the city is famous for is almost more than she can handle. But thanks to her new friends Mona, Mouse and Bryan, and her eccentric joint-rolling landlady Anna Madrigal, Mary Ann eventually comes out of her shell, adopting the city as her own.

Tales of the City A New Musical is directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q) with music and lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears and John Garden, and Libretto by Jeff Whitty. Back in 2006 Whitty came up with the idea of taking the beloved novel and turning it into a musical after watching the critically-acclaimed 1990s mini-series, and fortunately for us the show survives the transition from book, to mini-series, to stage, its spirit intact.

Betsy Wolf brings a sweet, unassuming innocence to the role of Mary Ann, and its a pleasure to watch her character grow and transform on stage as she finally takes a bite out of the lotus that Tennyson wrote about and that her landlady Ms. Madrigal so fondly quotes.

While Mary Ann may be the heart of the show, Anna Madrigal is its soul. Played by Tony-award-winner Judy Kay, the almost ephemeral landlady steers the denizens of Barbary Lane through the turbulent 70s, offering her tenants pearls of hippy, counter-culture-infused wisdom, and providing them with the sense of family they never had.

There are many standout performances including Mary Birdsong who plays the exuberant and occasionally bare-breasted Mona Ramsey, Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleon as Dede Halcyon-Day, and Richard Poe as Edgar Halcyon, who shares an amazing chemistry with Anna Madigral on stage which is simultaneously full of both joy and sadness.

The show runs nearly 3 hours but moves briskly and hardly feels its length. Early in the first act the transitions between character introductions and musical numbers did seem a tad uneven, and the mild applause by the audience seemed to bear that out. But by the time Mona rips with abandon into the “Crotch” song during a presentation with a sexist client, the show finally finds its footing and the audience responds in kind. It’s clear sailing after that.

Like the books and the miniseries that preceded it, Tales of the City A New Musical is a story about family. And not necessarily the one that brought you into this world. Sometimes its the one you create  yourself.

Tales of the City A New Musical can be seen at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco through July 31.

On a more personal note, Armisted Maupin’s Tales of the City played a small but significant role in drawing me to San Francisco in the mid 90s. It seemed a rather idyllic place where people were accepted for who they were, and could lead the lives they wanted rather than those demanded by society, or even family.  And while San Francisco had changed a great deal by the time I had arrived, and further still today, the heart at 28 Barbary still beats, and its rhythm is what keeps me here, and keeps me hopeful for the future.

In a decision just handed down to lawyers for both sides, Walker ruled in that Proposition 8 is “unconstitutional under both the due process and equal protection clauses.” The court, therefore, “orders entry of judgment permanently enjoining its enforcement.” We’re staying tuned for more updates and details on the 136-page decision, but these two sentences from the conclusion are critical:

“Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples.”

The supporters of Proposition 8 will of course appeal the decision.

Prop 8 “Day of Decision” rallies are occurring through out the nation later today. A list of them can be found here.

Mike, with all those daughters, there’s a good chance one of them doesn’t like your country very well either.

Fiorina voted in favor of Proposition 8 in 2008. When she announced her bid for Boxer’s seat last November, Fiorina reiterated her stance against gay marriage saying she “believes in the sanctity of a marriage between a man and a woman.” Fiorina has been relatively quiet on the issue since.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God’s family. And of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal, and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi, men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say, threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counseling services to all members of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.

Uganda’s parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been debated in Rwanda and Burundi.

These are terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa.

Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear.

And they are living in hiding — away from care, away from the protection the state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era, when all of us, especially Africans, need access to essential HIV services. That this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where Christ said “Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones.” Gay people, too, are made in my God’s image. I would never worship a homophobic God.

Archbishop Tutu has a long standing record supporting LGBT human rights. In 2008 he was honored in San Francisco by the International Gay and Lesbian Rights Commission for that support. Watch:

Researchers analyzed data from lesbians, gays and bisexuals who were interviewed in 2001-2002 and 2004-2005 for the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. The participants lived in states that instituted constitutional amendments banning gay marriage following the 2004-2005 elections.

The researchers found a significant increase in the prevalence of mood disorders, generalized anxiety Researchers analyzed data from lesbians, gays and bisexuals who were interviewed in 2001-2002 and 2004-2005 for the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. The participants lived in states that instituted constitutional amendments banning gay marriage following the 2004-2005 elections.

The researchers found a significant increase in the prevalence of mood disorders, generalized anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorders among lesbians, gays and bisexuals after the states banned gay marriage. The greatest increase — more than 200 percent — was seen in generalized anxiety disorder.

The study found among gays and lesbians the following outcomes: mood disorders (36.6% increase), generalized anxiety disorder (248.2% increase), any alcohol use disorder (41.9% increase), and psychiatric comorbidity (36.3% increase).

H/T to JoeMyGod.