Any of you who (okay, both of you) have ever tuned in to watch the public comments at a Board of Supervisors meeting have probably seen the “singing guy.” He frequently offers comments and is a genuine local treasure whose name is Walter Paulson.
At Monday’s Land Use and Economic Development Committee meeting, supervisors Carmen Chu, David Chiu and Sophie Maxwell considered new legislation aimed at making it easier to punish those who own and run brothels under the guise of massage parlors.
Here are the two ordinances: Download Massage Parlor Regulations, Download Massage Parlor Penalties.
Adding to the discussion of prostitution in San Francisco (and whether it’s safer for sex workers to be inside a parlor or on the street) was Walter with his remarkably apropos medley. First was a version of Patsy Cline’s “Walking”:
Go out walking after midnight, out in the full moonlight,
If you go out walkin’, searching on your job, you might find danger on the street there,
You gotta be careful like you used to do...
Next up was Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”:
Don’t fall into a burning ring of fire, you’ll only go down and the flames will only go higher,
And it burns, burns, burns, that ring of fire, that ring of fire...
Y’all can just use your imaginations on that second one. The law will be considered by the full board in the coming weeks. I’m sure Walter will be there, regaling us with his beloved serenades.
ONLINE BONUS: Here's the video!
Walter at June 8 Land Use Meeting from Melissa Griffin on Vimeo.
Check out Happy Endings? a documentary on Asian massage parlors in Rhode Island where prostitution is legal.
http://www.happyendingsdocumentary.com
Rhode Island changed the prostitution law in 1980, making prostitution legal behind closed doors and illegal on the street after being sued by 5 women from COYOTE who were arrested. Now there is not much street prostitution in RI, but there are a bunch of AMPS. This year they are trying to change the law and make prostitution illegal again.
Posted by: Happy Endings? | June 12, 2009 at 09:27
Walter is one of the few good things going on at City Hall. I always tune in to the BOS to enjoy his musical interludes (and to hear what the supes have to say, too). I've also been lucky enough to run into him a number of times in random circumstances. Thanks for your tribute to him!
Posted by: Eric | June 14, 2009 at 22:01