Top Stories
Vermont voters deliver LGBTQ+ rights victory with constitutional protections
Vermont voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday explicitly protecting LGBTQ+ people against discrimination, delivering a victory for civil rights advocates seeking stronger state safeguards against unequal treatment. The Associated Press called the result just after 11 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. Proposal 4 adds explicit equal protection guarantees covering sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, along with race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability and national origin. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. The amendment builds on Vermont’s existing constitutional principles of equality by spelling out protections […]
A Blue Tsunami and a Rainbow Wave: How the Midterm Results Will Impact LGBTQ People
A blue wave? Forget about it. Last night, Democrats had such a lopsided victory with wins in Republican strongholds that months ago were thought to have been untouchable. The results have been described as a blue tsunami, an “earthquake” and a seismic triumph. In doing so, they flipped seven Senate seats and the House in an election that is already being touted as a rebuke of President Donald Trump. The results will have major implications for LGBTQ progress. So far, at least 20openly LGBTQ candidates have won their races. Vermont and Virginia passed ballot measures safeguarding LGBTQ rights. The most transphobic and bigoted candidates overwhelmingly […]
FDA Approves Generic Injectable HIV Preventive Med
STAT News reports: After months of anticipation, the Food and Drug Administration gave tentative approval to Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories to make a generic version of a groundbreaking HIV prevention medicine, a key step in widening access for dozens of low- and middle-income countries. The company, one of the world’s largest generic drugmakers, plans to start shipping the medicine next month as part of an effort propelled, in part, by several global health organizations to ensure the drug becomes available in lower-income countries as quickly as possible. The annual cost per person will be $40, comparable to daily tablets. Known as lenacapavir, […]
Local News
Transgender History Presentation at Finding History Day Happens Saturday in Santa Rosa
There will ba a discussion of a chapter of transgender history in Sonoma County from 1947–48 this coming Saturday at Finding History Day, held at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building (details below). The presentation highlights the marriage of a transgender man and a cisgender woman, David and Thelma Warren. In 1947, they obtained a marriage license in Sonoma County and were married in San Francisco. Later that year, David’s sex assigned at birth was discovered, and the couple was reported to the District Attorney’s office. On Thanksgiving Day, as Thelma and David were preparing to host their neighbors for […]
Voting Assistance for Seniors in Sonoma Valley
Free voter assistance for seniors in Sonoma County The Sonoma County Democratic Party is offering free assistance to help senior voters return their ballots and participate in the November 3, 2026 General Election. Free Services for Seniors Speak with a live volunteer during these times: Outside those hours, leave a message for Bill. IMPORTANT BALLOT RETURN REMINDER The program recommends that voters not depend on U.S. mail for on-time ballot delivery after October 17, 2026. If you need help returning your ballot, call to ask about rides to official drop boxes or authorized ballot return. This is a public service for […]
Arts & Entertainment
Electric Tumbleweed at Occidental Center for the Arts Friday November 6
Friday, November 6 @ 8 pm: Electric Tumbleweed at Occidental Center for the Arts. One of Sonoma County’s finest bands returns for our listening and dancing pleasure. Electric Tumbleweed is a psychedelic outlaw country group based in Sonoma County, California. Founded in 2019 by members rooted in bluegrass, country, and psychedelic rock, the music is a hard driving mixture of twangy guitar and psychedelic noise, held together by a steady rhythm section with the cry of pedal steel layered in between it all. Tickets are $20/$15 for OCA members @ www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org; or at the door. Doors open at 7:30 PM. […]
Historians straightwashed a 1600s poet. A new book captures the true legacy of “the Welsh Sappho.”
When the Welsh government in 2021 embarked on what Deputy Minister of Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn described as a project to make Wales “the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe,” Welsh scholar Norena Shopland was commissioned to help train librarians, museum staff, and archivists on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ history. In 2022, Shopland served as founding researcher in an inspiring and beautifully done countrywide effort to write a local LGBTQ+ open-access online history for each of the twenty-two counties of Wales, providing, she wrote, “a means by which local people, allies and events can be celebrated instead of replicating mainstream narratives and […]
State News
Who Can Vote in California
You must register before you can vote in California. You are eligible to vote in California if you meet all of the following requirements: You cannot register to vote in California if: Voter Registration Requirements To register to vote: If you don’t provide any of these numbers or the state can’t match the number you provide to official records, you will have to show an accepted form of ID the first time you vote. You can use any unexpired photo ID or a non-photo document with your name and address. Common examples include: Same Day Registration California allows voter registration […]
Polyamorous relationships in West Hollywood now offered extra protections
People in “multi-partner domestic relationships” in West Hollywood have just been granted extra protections. The move, which has been in the works for months, was officially adopted at a 2 November, 2026 City Council meeting, after a 5-0 vote. It will go into effect 30 days after it was adopted. West Hollywood, which is in itself an independent city and can enact local legislation, will now recognise and protects the rights of people in polyamorousrelationships with an official register. A “multi-partner domestic relationship” is officially defined as having all individuals involved: being 18 or older; not being related by blood that would bar marriage in […]
