San Francisco author and co-owner of the city’s iconic club known as The Stud, Marke Bieschke also has the dubious honor of seeing one of his books torched by a political candidate with flame-thrower on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.  

In the video, Missouri secretary of state candidate Valentina Gomez props up at least two LGBTQ+-friendly books on a metal stool, stands back a few feet, then lets loose with a makeshift flame-thrower.  

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Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.