The first weekday of June is LGBTQ Families Day! Many of you know I’m a proud father with a daughter, Alexandra, who is now grown. I served on the Board of Family Equality for six years when she was younger. We attended many conferences and Family Pride Weeks, mostly in Provincetown, Massachusetts. That is where this first picture was taken for the “Love Makes a Family” photo-text exhibit that traveled the world. I’m so proud of that in particular.
Shea (and others, including a bit of my profile) made it to the front page of the Vallejo Times-Herald! This was from the City of Vallejo proclamation recognizing June 2025 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Tom Bilbo’s Vallejo Pride Proclamation Acceptance Speech
Mayor Sorce, members of the City Council, City staff, and residents of Vallejo, the proclamation just read reminds us of the importance of the alliances we foster within and beyond the LGBTQ+ community. Your allyship and friendship are essential to our collective wellbeing, especially in challenging times like these. Our community faces significant challenges, with members being targeted by political figures and individuals spreading hate. These moments underscore the fragility of our democracy and the critical need for strong alliances to protect and uplift one another. Simply living an authentic life can make us targets on both national and local levels, but having a hometown like Vallejo where we are valued and seen as an integral part of the community means the world. This year, we are proud to host over 17 events in and around Vallejo that celebrate pride and unity. From the flag raising at City Hall next Monday to Pride Night at the Museum, the Solano County Pride Picnic on Mare Island, and our celebration at the Solano County Fair, we warmly invite everyone to join us and partake in these vibrant moments.
These events are spaces for our community to come together and celebrate, and we treasure the support and presence of allies who stand with us in these spaces we call our own at this time of year. Finally, I am honored to present this new flag, which symbolizes our City’s unwavering commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Again, thank you.
First emergency grooming of the day for HSNB yesterday was for an elderly male Pomeranian mix. “Pommy” was sweet and patient, but hopefully he’ll be a great candidate for Muttville. He meets the age requirements and he gets along very well with other dogs. Shea graciously agreed to wash him as that’s his department. I’m the one that clips and puts the dog hair into compost. Here are the before and after pictures:
When we returned “Pommy” to HSNB they said, “we have another one for ya.” We met “Moppy” who was in even worse shape than the first one today. This female Maltipoo was very scared in her crate, having arrived just hours earlier. However, she was very patient with Shea’s thorough bath and my long trim. She wasn’t super fond of the buzzer, so I mostly clipped her manually with scissors. The difference in her appearance is really profound with this one. Like Pommy she had hundreds of burrs (it’s the season). She’s a fraction of the size she appeared to be with all the matted fur. She was so dirty, matted and covered in burrs that she was probably out on the streets for a while. I sure hope she is claimed by someone. Otherwise, she’ll hopefully eventually be adopted. She’s got quite a bubbly personality when she’s not in a kennel.
We attended the Vallejo City Unified School District (VCUSD) 2025 Pride Resolution and Flag Raising this evening. We joined the LGBTQ Community as the Vallejo City Unified School District made a resolution to recognize June as Pride Month, and raise the LGBTQ Pride Flag ceremonially. The flag will fly at the school district office for the month of June. We brought our dogs Bonnie and Snoopy together with the two fosters, Penny and Jonah. Great minds think alike because Peter brought his sweet dog (also a rescue), named Harlem.
For the third time, I attended the Jesse Bethel High School’s annual Mental Health Fair with colleagues from LGBTQ Minus Tobacco during lunch. We were well received by the students and staff. We were there with many excellent local programs set on making this city better. The kids seemed eager to learn about the harms of tobacco-related illnesses and cessation services.
I was very frustrated by these bumpers with the amazing Quinta Brunson from a recent Saturday Night Live episode. Then I received an email touting “Black excellence” with this third picture, which reminded me of an opinion letter I wrote back in 1996. I was still a law student and made sure to write articles about the tobacco industry for my law school newspaper regularly, but The National Jurist is a nationwide periodical that still exists today.
I include the picture I complained about on the cover. They published my complaint in a subsequent issue. Nothing has changed in thirty years! While I would have worded it differently, the targeting of the Black community, women, queers and other marginalized community by commercial tobacco is unending.
For anyone who thinks that my efforts to fight Big Tobacco stem from a more recent passion, this should be evidence that I have been consistent about it for decades.
So there’s an update on the foster situation at our household. The puppies were a full-time job and full of love, but I could not work and take care of my own two dogs with everything they required. Shea worked very hard to keep up with their laundry needs, but we have too much going on for a young puppy schedule. They are back at the shelter, but other Board members and staff and I are working on better ways to get the puppies outdoor time that does not put them at any risk for Parvo while they await a second vaccination. The other good news is that someone is fostering their two brothers. I got to see them today, and they seemed to remember me. They are just as joyous as ever. If anyone has the time to foster ANY animals at the shelter, remember that HSNB will pay their medical bills, provide food and supplies, and there is no obligation if the animals don’t ultimately fit with your schedule or family.
Since I was at the shelter giving a tour to a prospective new board member of HSNB today anyway, I inquired about fostering any adult small dog that was not thriving. After a little time together, I brought home this little shy girl, Penny, who is super fond of Jake. I thought she looked uncannily like my Snoopy, at least until they were standing next to each other. She is opening up at her own pace, but was extremely nervous, kennelled with the other dogs at the shelter. I think she’ll do much better in a home situation again since she was surrendered. To my pleasant surprise, she jumped up on my lap within minutes of arriving at the house and stayed in place for at least a half hour. Hopefully Jake will come visit her soon, which I’m sure will thrill her as she adjusts.
At the JFK Library here in Vallejo, when meeting fellow activists on commercial tobacco control issues, I saw a couple of signs I couldn’t resist taking selfies with. I’ve been to meetings at this room before, but never quite captured the appropriate signage. They must have known I was moving here when they named this years ago.
