The Brief

Today, a simple internet search lets those in the LGBTQ+ communities find each other and welcoming establishments. But it wasn't always so easy.

Even as gay culture was beginning to gain wider visibility in the 1960s and '70s, especially in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, knowing who would be friendly was hard. That’s where gay travel guides came in.

They worked like the Green Book guides designed to make travel safer for Black people or the vacation guides to steer Jewish people to friendly locations. For gay people navigating potentially fraught encounters, these pocket-sized guidebooks listed bars, hotels, restaurants, and even churches across the United States that were either frequented by the gay community or accepting towards gay patrons.

The most well-known guidebook of the time was the Bob Damron Address Books. These yearly guides were published by its eponymous author, a Los Angeles native who penned the first issue in 1964.

A picture of Bob Damron, the man behind the Damron Address Books, on display at the Muzeo in Anaheim

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Courtesy atomicredhead.com

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About the Damron Address Books

There were several different types of gay travel guides throughout the 1960s. By far the most popular, and the one to set the standard for the genre, was the Damron Address Book.

Bob Damron was born in Los Angeles in 1928 and later moved to San Francisco where he opened several gay bars, becoming a prominent businessman in the community.

The guides he would later become known for, which started as a side project, were of a collection of gay bars he would visit on his trips across and outside of San Francisco. The first Damron Address Book was published in 1964, and Damron would add new listings of LGBTQ friendly spaces every year.

An issue of one of the Damron Address Books, a 1991 issue of the Gayellow Pages, another well-known gay travel guide, and a ticket from the San Diego Eagle, a gay bar

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Courtesy Clark Silva

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Damron's guides were distinguished from his contemporaries, especially in the early years by one key difference: He made a point to visit every location he included.

Eric Gonzaba, assistant professor of American Studies at Cal State Fullerton, said that gave Damron a connection with owners and patrons and made it possible for him to keep the new editions of the book as up to date as possible.

Another unique feature of Damron’s guides was his letter coding system.

If a bar listed in the guide had a “B” next to it, readers would flip to the front of the guide and see that “B” indicated that that particular bar was “frequented by Blacks” or gay African American men. Other letters would notify if a place was more popular with lesbians (what was originally signified with a “G” for “girls”, but has been updated to an “L”) or if customers were both gay and straight with the signifier “M” for “mixed clientele,” said Gonzaba.

“His letters didn't always have to do with clientele,” said Gonzaba. “Sometimes it was very practical information. If you were a gay person and you wanted to go to a bar and play pool, he included the letters “PT” for there being a pool table there.”

A national project to map the gay guides

The entrance to the Mapping the Gay Guides exhibit at the Muzeo in Anaheim, Southern California

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Courtesy atomicredhead.com

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And it's that level of detail that's now the basis for a new digital history project called Mapping the Gay Guides. The joint project between Cal State Fullerton and Clemson University is using every business and place mentioned in the Bob Damron Address Books from 1965 to 2005.

“We're building these online maps to see if we can learn something about the gay community and the history of the LGBT community in the United States,” said Gonzaba.

Gonzaba said Damron's guides provide great context, giving those studying the history a better understanding of both these gay spaces and the cities they were in.

Along with Amanda Regan, his project co-director and a Clemson University assistant history professor, Gonzaba has already mapped Damron’s books through to the 1980s, publishing the results online for public viewing.

Where to see an exhibit on these guides

Mapping the Gay Guides is also the focus of a new exhibit at the Muzeo in the city of Anaheim. The exhibit, now open through June 23, specifically showcases LGBTQ+ friendly spaces cited by Damron that are located in Southern California, including Orange County, Long Beach, and San Diego.

“I think a lot of people maybe know, or expect, a lot of gay history from Los Angeles,” said Clark Silva, co-curator for the exhibit. “But I think it was good for us to show kind of the gay history of the communities that we're in and around” outside of Los Angeles.

The exhibit starts with a prehistory of gay culture before the guides were in print. This includes information about police raids and the difficulty of navigating through life while in the closet, said Silva.

After the Supreme Court ruling of One, Inc. vs. Olesen in 1958 that gave free speech protections to the gay press and gay publications, travel guides and other LGBTQ+ print material exploded, including the Damron Address Books.

A display of other gay and lesbian print material at the Mapping the Gay Guides exhibit

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Courtesy Clark Silva

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However, Gonzaba said that what visitors of the exhibit will notice is that these gay guides have very little indication that they are for the gay community.

Another thing Gonzaba wants people to notice is their size.

“They're meant to be tiny so they can fit in your pocket, and that tells you, one, that they were meant to be traveled with,” said Gonzaba. “But another thing that it tells us is that they were meant to be hidden, right? Because it was quite dangerous to be openly gay in the 1960s and even into the 1970s.”

The exhibit also displays the rich gay history of Southern California. Separated into specific cities, visitors can learn about the gay bars in L.A., the gay friendly hotels in Palm Springs, the bathhouses in Long Beach, the cruising culture in San Diego, and the gay churches in Orange County.

“I think people who come to the exhibit are surprised that it's not just a list of gay bars,” said Gonzaba. “That the gay travel guides talk about all sorts of businesses, all sorts of places of gathering that a lot of people just are unaware of.”

Both Gonzaba and Silva note that most of the Damron Address Books come primarily from the point of view of a gay, white, cis-male perspective.

"Bob Damron didn't make racial designations for places until later, so very early places aren't going to make the distinction between who comes to them," said Silva.

How to see the exhibit

When: The Mapping the Gay Guides exhibit is open now through June 23

Location: Muzeo, 241 S. Anaheim Blvd. Anaheim

Phone: 714-765-6450

Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost: General admission $10 | Anaheim residents $8 | Seniors and children 4-15 $7 | 3 and under are free

The importance of mapping one’s history

The advent of the internet and other cultural shifts have made the Damron Address Book, and gay travel guides on the whole, somewhat obsolete. Silva says those changes have fundamentally changed gay life.

“One of the issues that we talk about is the disappearance of places, and it's mostly through a mainstreaming of gay and lesbian and queer culture,” said Silva. “You don't have to have the gay bar anymore. Lots of bars, especially out here in Southern California, kind of move in between, straight bars having gay clientele, gay bars having lots of straight people come to them.”

Gonzaba said that by looking back at these guides, people can learn a lot about the different trends and historical geography of the gay community in the United States, something he says too few people know.

Gonzaba said when he travels, he finds a lack of historical knowledge about gay people in cities across the U.S. and abroad.

When he asks tour guides if they know about any of the local gay history there, most of the time people respond by saying there just isn’t any. Which Gonzaba, and most people in LGBTQ+ communities know isn’t necessarily true. People just haven’t been looking for it.

“These gay travel guides, they really show us that, at least for a lot of gay men and women, visibility was something that they wanted,” said Gonzaba. “They wanted to find one another for camaraderie, for friendship, and sometimes for sex. And that's a really important lesson that these gay guides tell us, is that people were constantly yearning to find one another.”

Grand Prix Association of Long Beach president and CEO Jim Michaelian died on Saturday, just four weeks before the street race was scheduled to roar again along the city’s shoreline, association officials said. It was to be the last race he would oversee before passing the reins to incoming CEO Jim Liaw.

Michaelian was 83. His cause of death was not released.

Michaelian wore increasingly larger hats during the past 51 years of the annual race, serving first as the Grand Prix Association’s controller, chief operating officer and then being named president and CEO in December 2001.

“Jim didn’t just lead the Grand Prix — he lived it,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. ”His passion, warmth and dedication turned an event into a tradition, and a tradition into a source of pride for generations of Long Beach residents. Under his leadership, the Grand Prix became a global event and a defining part of Long Beach’s identity.”

Michaelian graduated from UCLA with a BS in Physics and an MBA. He was a competitive sports car racer for more than 25 years and competed in endurance events at tracks including Le Mans, Daytona, Nürburgring, Dubai and Sebring.

Penske Entertainment acquired the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach in November 2024.

Penske Corporation chairman Roger Penske reflected on Michaelian’s contributions.

“Jim was a leader of a small, passionate group who believed in the concept of bringing elite open-wheel competition to Long Beach in the 1970s, worked tirelessly to make it happen despite steep odds and then helped nurture the Grand Prix of Long Beach into becoming America’s premier street race,” Penske said. “His vision and energy surrounding this great event remained boundless for 50 years, as no task was too small for Jim, even while he served in numerous leadership roles.”

Michaelian is survived by his wife, Mary, and sons Bob and Mike.

“A loving and devoted husband, nothing meant more to Jim than his family,” the Grand Prix Association said in a statement. “He especially treasured the time he spent with his two boys, creating memories that will be carried forever.”

Major League Baseball season kicks off this Wednesday, with the New York Yankees going up against the San Francisco Giants.

For our reigning world champs Dodgers, their home opener is on Thursday, playing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chavez Ravine.

This year, the Dodgers are looking to make history for the franchise with their pursuit of a back-to-back-to-back win. So how are their chances? We take these questions to LAist's resident sports expert, Matt Dangelantonio.

How's the Dodgers looking this year?

In a word? Great. Almost the entire 2025 World Series team is returning, with a couple of major additions in the outfield and bullpen. The Dodgers are Vegas' favorites to win it all at +230 far ahead of the next team up -- the New York Yankees at +1000. The Dodgers remain the team to beat in the National League West, and really in all of baseball. They are a blueprint for what can go right when you have a lot of money to spend and invest right.

The team's biggest assets?

Biggest assets are the names you already know: Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Muncy, Teoscar, Yoshi... the list goes on. There are also two new names folks will want to watch. One is slugging outfielder Kyle Tucker, who the Dodgers gave a four-year deal worth a whopping $240 million. He's a four-time All-Star who can hit 30 home runs, and is a strong defensive outfielder with a Gold Glove (2022) under his belt. One thing the Dodgers lacked last year was a de-facto closer, though rookie Roki Sasaki took on that role during the postseason. Now, the Dodgers have a true closer in Edwin Diaz, a former New York Met with a proven track record of locking things down in the ninth inning — if he can stay healthy. The bullpen will also benefit from the return of past mainstays like Brusdar Graterol, Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia, who missed the World Series after the death of his newborn daughter.

The biggest concerns?

Age and health, pretty much the same as usual. Offensive woes caught up to some of the team's elder statesmen like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy in the World Series, though Muncy did redeemed himself with the clutch 7th inning homer in Game 7 of the World Series to make it 3-2 and set the table for Miggy Ro's 9th inning game-tying homer. But those guys aren't getting any younger. Health was also an issue for the pitching staff in particular last year. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both missed big chunks of time with injuries.

The archrivals?

In the NL West, it's the Padres as usual. They have a solid combination of veteran experience and youth in their lineup, a strong pitching rotation and arguably one of the best bullpens in baseball. The Mets and Phillies are likely to be the biggest potential threats to the Dodgers' reign, though both clubs have bad track records of winning when it matters. And then league-wide the Yankees, Mariners and Blue Jays should all be very good and are each good bets to be on the opposite side should the Dodgers make it back to the World Series.

So, 3-peat?

Nothing is certain in baseball, but what I'll say is...it's their World Series to lose. I think in the eyes of owner Mark Walter and GM Andrew Friedman, anything short of a World Series win would be considered a failure given how much money they've spent on their roster. They have absolutely no excuse not to make it back to the World Series this year if they stay healthy. They are in a unique position before the year even starts to be on cruise control through the regular season and really play their best baseball in October.

It's spring break season in the U.S. — and travelers are facing long airport lines as security screeners work without pay while the Department of Homeland security is shut down.

Congressional Democrats have declined to fund the agency in an attempt to force reforms of federal immigration enforcement practices.

Wait times at major hubs in Houston and Atlanta reached two hours on Friday, while New Orleans's Louis Armstrong International Airport advised passengers to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departures. In Philadelphia, airport officials closed three security checkpoints entirely this week because of short staffing.

On Saturday, President Trump threatened to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to staff airport security lanes if Democrats don't "immediately" agree to fund DHS. A bipartisan group of senators has been negotiating with the White House over immigration enforcement and ending the shutdown.

"I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country," Trump posted on Truth Social. In a follow-up post he said he told ICE to "GET READY" to deploy to airports on Monday.

Why are wait times so long?

Officials say wait times are unpredictable and can fluctuate sharply as airports struggle with Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages.

TSA staffers are considered essential workers, so about 50,000 have been working without pay due to the shutdown that started Feb. 14. Last week, they missed their first full paychecks. The Department of Homeland Security says more than 300 TSA officers have quit. More than half of TSA staff in Houston called out sick and nearly a third called out in Atlanta and New Orleans last week, DHS said.

The staffing shortage comes as travel has also been disrupted by severe weather, and as schools across the country close for spring break.

Some 2.8 million people were projected to travel on U.S. airlines each day in March and April, adding up to a record 171 million passengers, according to the industry group Airlines for America.

What do officials say?

Transportation officials are warning the situation could get worse if the shutdown isn't resolved. A second missed paycheck would put even more strain on TSA workers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN on Friday.

"If a deal isn't cut, you're going to see what's happening today look like child's play," Duffy said. "Is it still safe as you go through the airport? Yes, but it takes a lot longer because we have less agents working." He added that some smaller airports may be forced to temporarily close if more staff calls out.

In the U.K., Foreign Office officials are also warning travelers of "travel disruption" caused by "longer than usual queues at some U.S. airports," and recommended passengers check with their travel provider, airport, or airline for guidance.

On Saturday, billionaire Elon Musk weighed in with an offer to personally pay TSA staff.

"I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country," Musk posted on X early Saturday morning.

U.S. law generally bars government employees from receiving outside compensation for their work.

Even with disruptions, travel demand is still high

On top of long security wait times and weather impacts, travel is being affected by the war in Iran, which is driving up global oil prices.

On Friday, United Airlines said it would cut some flights over the next six months after jet fuel prices doubled in recent weeks. Capacity cuts are likely to send airfares even higher, even as ticket prices are already rising, said Clint Henderson, a spokesperson for the travel website The Points Guy.

Still, he said, none of that seems to be deterring Americans from flying.

"The appetite for travel is insatiable," he said. "People seem willing to endure a lot of stuff to travel. And I don't see any signs of that decreasing."

How can travelers prepare?

Travel experts say it's not just long wait times that travelers should prepare for — it's the uncertainty.

"Every day this goes on, it's getting worse and worse and worse," Henderson said.

Here are some tips on how to prepare for upcoming air travel:

1. Know before you go

Many airport websites list estimated security wait times. That should be the first place you check to get a sense of how long lines might be, Henderson says. (TSA also estimates wait times on its website and app, but that's not being regularly updated because of the shutdown, he added.)

"Knowledge is power," Henderson said. "You should know what's going on at your local airport."

He noted there are 20 U.S. airports where security screening is done by private contractors, not the TSA — and they are not experiencing staffing shortages or long waits. Some are smaller regional airports, but the list also includes some larger hubs, including San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport.

"There's big, big, big metropolitan areas where it's not an issue at all," Henderson said.

2. Budget extra time

If you're someone who shows up at the airport when your flight starts boarding, think twice, says travel writer Chris Dong.

"I'm the type of traveler who usually arrives pretty last minute," Dong said, "but I think that that advice would not be sound for the current situation."

Even if wait times are listed as short, things can change on a dime. Dong recently flew out of John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and found the TSA PreCheck line unexpectedly closed.

"So then everyone that was funneled through the regular line, it was an extra like 20, 30 minutes," he said. "I was sweating it out because I usually arrive super last-minute. And those levels of uncertainty are just higher now with the shutdown."

3. Consider biometric screening

Henderson typically recommends signing up for TSA PreCheck or the Global Entry program to move through airport security more quickly — and to opt in to biometric screening. That has to be done in advance, and travelers also have to choose biometric screening in their airline apps.

"Make sure if that's an option that you're opted in for that, because that will save you so much agita," he said.

For those who haven't signed up in advance, there is a last-minute alternative: the private CLEAR program, which allows people to enroll at the airport. Henderson notes it's pricey — annual membership costs $209 — but that some credit card companies will refund that fee.

"For me to skip a three-hour line is probably worth the membership fee, especially if you know your credit card will pay you back for it," he said.

That said, expedited screening lanes are not always faster than regular screening, both Henderson and Dong warned. Always check what all the lanes look like when you arrive at the airport.

4. Make a plan B

If you miss a connection or your flight is canceled, be proactive about rebooking. "Have all the tools available to you in the toolbox in case things go wrong," Henderson advises.

That includes installing your airline's app on your smartphone and writing down their customer service number, so you aren't scrambling to find it.

"And then, you know, obviously have a plan B," Henderson said. "Know what other airlines fly the route that you want to take in case, you know, you missed your Delta flight and American is offering a flight you can take later that day."

He says while airlines don't generally like to rebook passengers on competitors' flights, it's worth asking. He also recommends having the information at hand to give to customer service agents, including flight number, airline and departure time.

And if an airline cancels your flight in the U.S., you're entitled to a refund, according to the Department of Transportation.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Updated March 21, 2026 at 17:36 PM ET

Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel who led the high-profile investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, died on Friday at 81.

"With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away," his family said in a statement Saturday shared with NPR. No cause of death was given.

Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years ago, his family told The New York Times in August.

Trump, who openly despised Mueller and his investigation, celebrated his death on Saturday.

"Good, I'm glad he's dead," the president posted on social media. "He can no longer hurt innocent people!"

WilmerHale, the law firm where Mueller served as a partner, remembered Mueller as a "friend" who was "an extraordinary leader and public servant and a person of the greatest integrity."

"His service to our country, including as a decorated officer in the Marine Corps, as FBI Director, and at the Department of Justice, was exemplary and inspiring," a spokesperson for WilmerHale told NPR in a statement. "We are deeply proud that he was our partner. Our thoughts are with Bob's family and loved ones during this time."

Former President Barack Obama on Saturday called Mueller "one of the finest directors in the history of the FBI, transforming the bureau after 9/11 and saving countless lives."

"But it was his relentless commitment to the rule of law and his unwavering belief in our bedrock values that made him one of the most respected public servants of our time," Obama wrote on social media. "Michelle and I send our condolences to Bob's family, and everyone who knew and admired him."

Path to public service

Born on Aug. 7, 1944 in New York City, Mueller was raised in Philadelphia and graduated from Princeton University in 1966. He received a master's degree in international relations from New York University.

Mueller, throughout his career, ran toward tough assignments. Following the lead of a classmate at Princeton, Mueller enrolled in the Marines and served in the Vietnam war. He earned the Bronze Star for rescuing a colleague. Mueller said he felt compelled to serve during that conflict, an idea he returned to throughout his life.

Law professor and former Justice Department lawyer Rory Little knew Mueller for many years.

"Bob is kind of a straight arrow, you know, wounded in Vietnam," Little said. "You keep wanting to hunt for where is the crack in that façade — 'Where is the real Bob Mueller?' — and after a while you begin to realize that's the real Bob Mueller. He is exactly who he appears to be. This kind of sour-faced, not a lot of humor, sort of all-business guy. That's him."

But with his closest friends, Mueller let down his guard. They teased him — saying Mueller would have made an excellent drill instructor on Parris Island, where Marine recruits are trained.

Instead, Mueller went to law school at the University of Virginia. He joined the Justice Department in 1976. There, he prosecuted crimes, big and small, for U.S. attorneys in San Francisco and Boston. He was a partner at Hale and Dorr, a Boston law firm now known as WilmerHale.

He later became a senior litigator prosecuting homicides at the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C.

Head of the FBI

In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated him to serve as the director of the FBI. Mueller was sworn in a week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I had been a prosecutor before, so I anticipated spending time on public corruption cases and narcotics cases and bank robberies, and the like. And Sept. 11th changed all of that," Mueller told NPR during an interview in 2013.

He shifted the bureau's attention to fighting terrorism. He staffed up the headquarters in Washington. He pushed those agents to try to predict crimes and to act before another tragedy hit.

"He directed and implemented what is arguably the most significant changes in the FBI's 105-year history," said his former FBI deputy, John Pistole.

Along the way, Mueller drew some criticism when his agents erred. During the investigation of the deadly anthrax attacks, the bureau focused on the wrong man as its lead suspect.

Mueller left the bureau in 2013.

Return to the national spotlight

After Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Mueller in May 2017 was appointed by then Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as special counsel to oversee the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible connections to Trump associates.

Trump called the investigation "a witch hunt" and Republicans in Congress started to attack the investigators.

When then the investigation eventually concluded in March 2019 with the more than 400-page "Mueller report," the special counsel said the investigation did not establish that Trump's campaign or associates colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. The report did not take a position on whether Trump obstructed justice.

Mueller said the report spoke for itself. But Democrats wanted more and insisted he testify. A reluctant witness, Mueller once again fulfilled his duty. He was visibly older than at the time of his appointment and kept his testimony restrained.

He said Justice Department guidelines would not allow him to charge a sitting president with criminal wrongdoing. But he also refused to exonerate Trump.

"If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," Mueller later told Congress.

In the end, the team charged 37 people and entities, including former campaign chair Paul Manafort, national security adviser Michael Flynn and 25 Russians.

Trump went on to grant clemency to or back away from criminal cases against many of the people Mueller's investigators had charged.

Copyright 2026 NPR