Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:00:32] I mean, I can’t believe it’s already halfway through the year here, which is really crazy. We’ve got a lot of news going on around the world and also around the Bay, but also we’ve got some big news from our team this month, which I’ll get to shortly, but just a quick look back at some of the stories that we’ve done this month. I mean obviously immigration has really been the big story. Nationally and at the local level, we talked about the role that local soccer leagues have been playing for immigrant youth coming here to Alameda County in particular. We talked about Berkeley’s approach to probably one of the more challenging forms of homelessness in the Bay area, folks living in RVs, and this really successful program they’ve been running there, offering money to people living in RVs to get them on the path to more permanent housing. We talked about Suisun City’s effort to potentially grow by nine times its current size, and we also talked about local theater in a free fall here in the Bay Area. So as always, quite the range from us at the Bay, but there’s really been a lot going on.
Jessica Kariisa [00:01:52] Yeah, I mean, it’s been a really crazy month. You know, there were a lot of protests, spontaneous protests that happened all across the country, especially here in the Bay Area. And there was obviously the huge, you know, King’s protest. We’re all in different parts of the Bay, but we were texting each other that day, like, oh, wow, like in every corner of the Bay, something is going on. Alan was in Chicago and there was obviously a lot going on there too. So it’s definitely been an active month.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:02:21] Also just a lot kind of going on for us here on the Bay team. This month is our intern Mel Velasquez’s last month with us on the show. Mel has been a really, really huge part of the team. You all don’t get to see it, but for us in the background, Mel brings this really just fun energy and so much light to the team. It really, I think, helped us get through these last couple of weeks in the news cycle. Honestly, Mel, how are you feeling? How are you thinking about the last couple of months working with us on the show?
Mel Velasquez [00:02:59] It’s been incredible. I mean, you guys are like the best team I’ve worked with. Everyone has just been so helpful and I look forward to coming here and like working with you all. I’ve had some great experiences like when we went to Six Flags for the thousandth episode that was so much fun. And then actually the more recent one that I had a lot of fun with was going to Aurora Theater in Berkeley for that episode. That was also really fun. It’s been nice to work with you all and I’m very sad that this will be my last episode. I’ve had such a just a really incredible time. I can’t emphasize that enough.
Jessica Kariisa [00:03:49] I mean, I can’t believe that the six months is already up. Like, I can’t wrap my head around that. But I also want to point out that Mel also produced her own episode for us on Central American students at Berkeley, pushing for a department. And to see you work through that process of, you know, getting the idea and really pushing through and getting to produce such a great episode was just like a joy to watch and I hope that everyone who hasn’t already listened to it goes and listens to it.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:04:20] Yes, definitely listen to it if you haven’t already. That’s also another one of the stories that we covered on the show this month. I should also mention that in addition to Mel leaving us, we are preparing to take our July break from producing new episodes. We’ll be spending that time just kind of regrouping and reflecting and cooking up some other things that we want to make for you all when we get back. So we will be taking a break from making episodes. We’ll be back in August. But more news on that later. But in the meantime, Mel, this episode is definitely a love letter to you. We appreciate you so much. And we really enjoyed working with you. Thanks for everything.
Mel Velasquez [00:05:12] Aw, thank you guys for everything.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:05:19] Well Mel, before we let you go, we want to start off with you and the story that you’ve been following this month.
Mel Velasquez [00:05:26] Well, I feel like I’ve been following this for a lot longer than June, but the first women’s sports bar in the Bay Area opened on June 11th, right in time for Pride Month, and it’s called Rikki’s, and I mean, it’s been getting a lot of attention right now, but yeah, I got to go, and it was really fun.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:05:51] Yeah, I mean I feel like their timing is, I mean, is perfect. It’s Pride Month. We’ve also been covering on this show, you know, the Bay Area getting a pro women’s basketball team. We talked about Bay FC and I know you talked with the actual owners of Rikki’s. What did they tell you about, like, why they wanted to open this bar?
Mel Velasquez [00:06:13] Yeah, so I got to talk to one of the co-founders of Rikki’s, Sarah Yergovich, and the other co-founder, her name is Danielle Tho, but they just wanted a place where they could watch women’s sports. I know that for a lot of like women’s-sports fans, and in particular, my partner has had this experience often. Where they go to a sports bar, they wanna watch a game, whether that be the WNBA championships or just an important game, like a Bay FC game. It was hard for them to find a place where they could go into a bar, sit down, and have the game on the TV. And if they do let you change the TV to a women’s sports game, oftentimes the volume isn’t gonna be on, so you’re kind of just watching a muted game. And sometimes they just won’t play it. This is like a place exclusively for women’s sports and also just a place that everyone can feel welcome and safe and I know that women’s sport is a huge part of like the LGBTQ community here and they really want to emphasize that inclusivity part.
Jessica Kariisa [00:07:31] Definitely heard about Rikki’s. I haven’t had the chance to go. I’m actually going to my first Valkyries game on Sunday. I’m really excited about that. But I’m curious about your experience at Rikki’s, what was it like when you went there?
Mel Velasquez [00:07:44] It was crazy because there actually wasn’t like a game from like a Bay Area team on any of the TVs, but there were like a lot of people. I went last Sunday. There’s tons of like sports memorabilia from Bay FC and the Valkyries. A lot of people had this like combo of like Bay FC hat and Valkyrie’s shirt. I feel like that was a pattern that I saw a lot. But yeah, there is a full bar. I had like this roasted cabbage dish. It was kind of fancy for a sports bar, but it was like really good.
Jessica Kariisa [00:08:24] That’s really cool, and I’m also curious, why is it called Rikki’s? Is it named after somebody?
Mel Velasquez [00:08:30] Yeah, so it’s named after Rikki Streicher, who was an LGBTQ activist, and she opened up a lot of lesbian bars in San Francisco, and was just like a huge advocate for equal rights before same-sex couples were able to get married.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:08:49] Well, I’m sure there will be lots to see at Rikki’s in the coming months and years to come. Mel, thanks so much for bringing this story.
Mel Velasquez [00:09:01] Of course, thank you.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:09:27] And welcome back to the Bay’s June news roundup where I sit down with the rest of the Bay team to talk about some of the other stories that we have been following this month. Producer Jessica Kariisa, I wanna turn to you first. What story have you been following?
Jessica Kariisa [00:09:41] I’m following a story down in Palo Alto specifically around Stanford Medicine and trans care and basically effective June 2nd in response to increased scrutiny at the federal level on gender affirming care, Stanford Medicine decided to pause gender related surgical procedures for patients under 19 years old as a way to avoid legal action and potential loss of funding. I should mention that I’m referring to reporting that was done by KQD’s Lesley McClurg and The Chronicle’s Catherine Ho.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:10:22] Yeah, I mean, what does this mean exactly? What kind of procedures are we talking about?
Jessica Kariisa [00:10:30] Surgeries for minors are on hold, but Stanford’s LGBTQ health program will continue to offer other services, including hormone therapy, behavioral health support, voice training, and primary care. But surgeries in particular, for people under 19 years old, that’s what’s going be on hold for now.
Mel Velasquez [00:10:56] So how did we get here in the first place? How did we to this decision?
Jessica Kariisa [00:11:03] Basically, back in January, President Trump signed an executive order that directed federal agencies to, quote, not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support so-called transition of a child from one sex to another. And this was going to affect hospitals and medical schools that receive federal grants. The order was blocked by a federal judge in March. But then in May, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, sent a letter to hospitals asking about, you know, how they treat gender dysphoria, asking about their protocols around consent and outcome tracking and financial data. And so I think a lot of medical centers figure that they might need to be proactive to avoid retaliation from the federal government. And it should be mentioned that, you, know, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association have said that, like, gender-affirming care, including surgery in some cases, is medically necessary and life-saving. And generally, surgery is not recommended for minors and it’s reserved for older teens with extreme gender dysphoria. The Chronicle reported, they said experts in transgender care have estimated that it’s really not that many surgeries that are actually happening every year. It’s just become a lightning rod issue, especially for the Trump administration, and so it’s unfortunately led to this decision.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:12:36] Where does this leave people seeking this care? I mean, do they have any other options here in the Bay Area absent Stanford?
Jessica Kariisa [00:12:48] Yeah, so UCSF actually is one of the few places that is still offering gender-affirming surgeries to teenagers under the age of 19. And it should be noted that, you know, in February, the attorney general of the state of California, Rob Bonta, did warn hospitals that like denying or pausing care for trans youth could potentially violate state law. Back in 2022, California passed a sanctuary law protecting families who travel to California for gender affirming care. So, you know, I think that it remains to be seen, but there are some things happening at the state level to try and protect trans youth who are seeking care. So we’ll just have to see how it all plays out with the friction with the federal level, but there a few options.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:13:44] Well, definitely something to follow as this story continues to develop. Jessica, thank you so much. And we are going to shift the tone a little bit with my story here. I have been thinking a lot lately about malls. I don’t know about you all and your hometown malls, but mine is just really not what it once was. I think this is really part of a national trend of retailers that have been really struggling with the rise of Amazon and COVID. And I think downtown San Francisco and the malls in downtown San Fransisco are probably one of the biggest representations of that. Union Square and San Francisco Center are really not doing very well, but I have been following this story from the San Francisco Chronicle about these San Francisco malls that are actually experiencing a renaissance that, in their words, really defies the doom loop narrative of San Francisco right now, and the really interesting story of their secret sauce, which is, they write, rising Asian cultural power.
Jessica Kariisa [00:15:03] I feel like, especially in my hometown, back in North Carolina, it’s just kind of sad to see empty malls. And over here, I’ve definitely seen a lot of them. But tell us more about this secret sauce. What exactly is happening in these malls?
Ericka Cruz Guevarra [00:15:20] As far as successful malls experiencing a renaissance right now. Stonestown in San Francisco and also the Japan Town shopping center are doing amazing. Stonestown which is near SF State, a bunch of high schools, you know, it’s really concentrated around a lot of students. That mall has experienced a record high traffic last year. It’s up by 6% in just the last 12 months. And sales per square foot at that mall are up by 20% since 2019. Japantown similarly has been experiencing record high foot traffic. That mall’s parking garage has also become the agency’s busiest last year. So those are just some of the numbers that show just how successful they’ve been. And the secret sauce is really this new wave of Asian retailers. At these malls, at Stone’s Town in particular, you’ve seen the rise of Pop Mart, where you could get blind boxes. There’s a Miniso there now, a Daiso. And then, I mean, not even to mention the food, there’s Supreme Dumpling, there’s Hot Pot, there’s Vietnamese food. And a lot of the folks who are running these mall are saying that even the legacy businesses at some of these mall have been really following suit and trying to appeal to Gen Z, which is really the folks who are really coming out and supporting these malls.
Mel Velasquez [00:16:57] We used to be a proper country and we used to have flourishing malls where we could walk around and browse. I love to browse, personally. Um, so, like, why are these other malls struggling?
