Archives - 2026
January 2026
By Joan Lacktis
Another year finished and a new one to look forward to. We saw the year out with two repeats of holiday events from past years — dancing at our annual holiday dinner dance and sampling mandarins on a tour of Thundering Herd mandarin ranch. We also did our first horse-drawn wagon ride to see holiday decorations in the Fabulous Forties in Sacramento. There were about 40 of us in attendance and many of us are hoping this becomes one of our year-end traditions.
Now it’s time to get back to business. Our January biannual business meeting will be held on Jan. 24 at 3:00 p.m. Members, be sure to mark your calendar so you can be part of the decision-making process for our club. And stay for our post-meeting pizza party and partake of some food and conversation. Watch the Weekly for more details and the agenda.
As to the future, our Activities Committee Extraordinaire is making plans for more fun, food and friendship in 2026 (Will alpacas be involved? Wait and see). We wish you all a happy, healthy new year with new adventures awaiting.
Lavender Friends is a club for LGBTQ residents and their allies.
LF Members Meet with Councilwoman after Her Controversial Remarks Draw National Attention
A proud and passionate crowd of 72 Lavender Friends members packed into a City Hall conference room on Saturday, Jan. 10, to share their anger and their stories with Councilwoman Holly Andreatta. The issue: Her homophobic and abusive comments made during a speech to a right-wing Christian student club being formed at Twelve Bridges High.
Her talk has sparked a national backlash from a broad spectrum of citizens who not only took exception to saying a sexual trauma turned her daughter gay and marriage is between and man and a woman, but her revisionist history about the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., employment inclusion and white Christian nationalism.
Holly apologized repeatedly for the hurt she may have caused by what many considered hate speech — but the contrition did not come with any promises of accountability or change. The exchange was polite, emotional and adamant. Will it do any good? We shall see. As Dr. King used to say, change does not happen overnight but by steady persistence.
President Sandi Dolbee closed the meeting by suggesting what she admitted was an unusual but not unprecedented move: That at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, which is expected to be packed with contention, Holly step up and ask to be censured, acknowledging her conduct was unbecoming an elected official and a violation of her oath of office.
Afterward, the pride and energy among those who showed up and spoke up lasted beyond just that meeting. As one member wrote the next day: “For me, the biggest takeaway I took from the meeting is that we have such a wonderful group of people in the Lavender Friends Club. I feel very blessed and fortunate to be a member and to be associated with such wonderful people.”
