Who, Where, and WTF?

• SAN FRANCISCO, California - Rumors have been circulating for a while that the national strip-club chain Deja Vu will be taking over the Market Street Cinema and the New Century Theatre. According to a source, the takeover is to be effective March 1, 1999.

  I guess we'll know shortly if it's the end of an era at these clubs, with the possibility that Deja Vu will bring their McDonald's-like timed-lap-dance-with-clip-board-counters style to the clubs. If they do, let's at least hope that they compensate by upping the quality of the dancers.

1/18/99 - Attempt to Shut Down Topless Club in Citrus Heights

• This story about Citrus Heights' (a suburb of Sacramento) attempts to shut down its only topless club appeared in yesterday's Sacramento Bee. BTW, the "national chain of 'genetlemen's clubs'" referred to in the story is Deja Vu.

  For five years, Mai-Lee Le worked as a dancer at Hiphuggers, a bikini club in Sunnyvale. "I made very good money," said the 5-foot-2 Vietnamese immigrant, who saved her cash, dreaming of one day buying her own cabaret. Her dream came true in November 1995, when she bought a closed Citrus Heights nightclub for $275,000. After obtaining a license from Sacramento County, she reopened it in the spring of 1996 as Cheerleaders, a club featuring exotic dancers, which eventually began to turn a profit. But when Citrus Heights incorporated as a city on Jan. 1, 1997, Cheerleaders began to feel unwanted, Le said.

  Now, the club and the city are locked in a legal war that will determine to what extent Cheerleaders and other adult-entertainment establishments can operate in the fledgling city. In a suit filed in U.S. District Court last month, the club challenged the city's original ordinance regulating adult-entertainment businesses. A judge, acting on the complaint, threw out the city's measure on Dec. 14, calling parts of it unconstitutional. But the battle is far from over.

  The club's attorney, George W.M. Mull, has vowed to sue anew if the city adopts two proposed ordinances to replace the one the judge tossed out. He contends that the measures could be detrimental to Cheerleaders, which is currently the city's only adult-entertainment club and is seeking a city license. Meanwhile, as last week's City Council meeting demonstrated, many residents in and around Citrus Heights vehemently oppose adult- entertainment purveyors. Seventeen speakers went before the council, decrying what they called the "corruption," "immorality" and "lewdness" of adult-entertainment venues.

  "These businesses bring in ... corruption," said Richard Sherman, senior pastor of Sunrise Community Church in Fair Oaks. "They degrade women. They degrade men. They degrade families." Sherman, who said many members of his congregation live in Citrus Heights, demanded "the strongest possible law you can adopt" to ban adult-entertainment firms in the city. Claiming that no judge can dictate a community's way of life, some speakers urged the council to "take on" the courts, even if it means higher taxes.

  Others said the proposed ordinances don't go far enough. Noting that one of the measures would require a 300-foot buffer between an adult- entertainment business and the nearest church, park or private home, some speakers called for a 1,000-foot requirement. Such a step would make it difficult for a club such as Cheerleaders to function in the city. "We don't need any more (adult-entertainment clubs)," said Lisa Ulseth, of the Association of Private Christian Educators. "We have too many already."

  But equally adamant was Le's new partner, Cheerleaders' co-owner Al Sol, who defended the business. "I'm not trying to push my morals on anybody else," Sol told the council. "At Cheerleaders, we don't allow anyone under 21 ... We've been very clean. "We haven't put up distasteful signs," he added, explaining that the neon sign outside the club bears the words "exotic dancers" instead of more graphic terms. His arguments appeared to have little sway on the council, which opted to delay action on the new ordinances until Jan. 27 to allow staff members time to explore toughening the measures.

  Le was not at the council meeting. Instead, she remained in her club, across the street from the Rusch Park Community Center where the council was meeting. "People think we are low-level. ... I don't understand," she said, smoking a cigarette in a back room during an earlier interview. The club's main lounge was shaking with pounding music -- the driving beat for the scantily clad performers, whose dresses reflected the bright, flashing lights.

  "Cheerleaders isn't as bad as everybody thinks it is," said one dancer, who would give only her performing name of Tessa. "It's just a bar where dancers take off their tops just as guys do (in the summer). "I don't see why anyone has the right to say what I can and can't do for employment," said Tessa, 22. "The city should just lay off." Tessa said she began dancing at Cheerleaders a year ago. She now earns $80 to $300 a night in tips. And, like Le, she is saving her money. "I want to enroll in school, hopefully at Sacramento City College this spring," she said. "I want to be a child psychologist. I want to help children who've been through abuse."

  Guests at the club are greeted by two signs: "Leave your attitude behind this door" and "No touching the ladies," a reference to the 22 dancers whose number includes nurses, dental assistants and college students. Mull, the club's attorney, contends that adult entertainment of the type featured at Cheerleaders is protected by the First Amendment and that the club would not be able to operate under the city's proposed regulations. "My goal is to have the city obey the Constitution," he said. "The goal is to have Cheerleaders continue as a lawful business."

  Mull also represents a national chain of "gentlemen's clubs" seeking to open a Citrus Heights juice bar featuring non-alcoholic drinks and all- nude dancers.

  The new ordinances do not call for a moratorium on such establishments, as did the now-invalidated earlier ordinance. One proposed ordinance would require the 300-foot buffer. The other would provide for a public hearing any time a person applies to open an adult establishment. Mull said that neither ordinance provides for prompt judicial review should the city deny a license -- a fault the judge noted in ruling against the first ordinance. City Attorney Ruthann Ziegler maintains the new ordinances do meet the legal requirements. Michael Ross, a lobbyist for the adult-entertainment industry, said Cheerleaders' opponents are misinformed.

  "Most of the people opposed to this do not understand the industry in general," Ross said. "They think it's a negative industry that creates negative secondary effects" such as crime, prostitution and drug use. While some of that may have been true in the past, it's no longer the case today, he maintained. "In the last seven to 10 years, the industry has changed dramatically," he said. "Twenty years ago, there was an image that the industry was seedy and run by low-lifes. (Now) you don't have hookers, prostitutes or drug addicts working in the clubs. You now find women who are going to school, single mothers, high-caliber people who ... are looking to go to school."

  Le and Sol say they fit the mold of the new breed of owners. Before investing in Cheerleaders more than a year ago, Sol had spent a quarter-century in the corporate world. But for city officials, said Ziegler, the city attorney, the character of the people who own adult businesses is not relevant. "I have no idea whether such businesses are run by shady (characters) or not," Ziegler said. "That's not relevant to the issue."

  What is at stake, she said, is the city's obligation to impose restrictions that balance the rights of adult business interests with the vision Citrus Heights residents have for their new community. The goal, she said, "is to balance (the city's) obligation of allowing this sort of business with the concerns of the community."

1/20/99 - Go Joe!

• TAMPA, Florida - Holding a fundraising event at a strip club with a porn movie star as the main attraction would be the kiss of death for most politicians, but Tampa city council candidate Joe Redner may be an exception. Redner, 58, owns two of Tampa's best known strip clubs, Mons Venus and Club Flamingo. This Sunday, Deja Vu, a competitor's club, is holding a party to raise funds for him for the March 2 election.

  Adult movie actress and dancer Serenity will perform at the event and Redner will speak, Deju Vu general manager Hal King said. "We're showing support for someone in the same business in the same town," King said. He said over 400 of the $20 tickets had been sold.

  Redner has been fighting the city government and council for years over adult entertainment regulations and restrictions. He is running against city council incumbent Bob Buckhorn, who favors stricter regulation of strip clubs.

1/4/99 - Herbal Boob Job?

• BANGKOK -- A Thai biologist Monday claimed that he has proved that a plant stem, known locally as "kwao keur," can produce the female sex hormone estrogen in women and increase their bust size. Wichai Cherdshewasart, associate professor at Chulalongkorn University who said he spent almost a year conducting research on the kwao keur tuber (Pueraria mirifica), claimed that tests showed one woman's bust grew 2.5 centimeters in five days through using the substance.

  The biologist said he has applied for a patent to manufacture medicine from kwao keur and is now planning its production for the drug industry. But results are not guaranteed, said Wichai, as about 20% of test cases showed no response. "It depends on your health. If you are in good shape, between 20 and 45 years of age and have a rather big body structure, you will get good results," Wichai said. "It is impossible for a thin lady to enlarge her bust from 75 cm to 90 cm by taking kwao keur (Pueraria mirifica)."

  The effects of the tuber are the stuff of legend, as long ago in the northern province of Chiang Mai, the plant stem had the reputation of producing a rejuvenating effect on the elderly. According to the legend, an old lady began to menstruate again after regularly taking medicine made of kwao keur, while an impotent old man sired offspring thanks to the magic tuber.

  Scientists spent more than 10 years in their quest to track down the legendary kwao keur. In February 1947, they finally identified it as Pueraria mirifica.

  Wichai recommended that in some cases, women should drink milk while taking kwao keur. One thin lady enlarged her 72.5-cm bust to 77.5-cm within a month by drinking at least a liter of milk per day, he said. Besides enlarging bust size, the tuber can also widen hips, soften skin and darken hair for those who turn gray early, according to Wichai.

  Once the Thai Ministry of Public Health endorses the patent, he said, variations of the drug will be developed for menopausal women who suffer from hormone drain. "My idea is something like refilling a woman's hormones to adjust glandular organic function," he said.

  Pennapa Subcharoen, director of the ministry's National Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine, said users of drugs made from the tuber should seriously consider side effects since excessive hormone intake can cause cancer.

  "The study of Dr. Wichai shows Pueraria has a positive impact on the size of a woman's breasts, but we want to know more about whether it produces any other effects when a woman takes a large dosage over a long period of time," Pennapa said. According to Pennapa, a group of medical experts will conduct comparative research to cross-check the side effects of Pueraria in the next six months to one year. Even if the drug produces adverse side effects, however, the agency is powerless to stop its production. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Thailand, no permission is required to produce and distribute cosmetics.

  "After randomly picking samples from the market to check, a company will be ordered to stop manufacturing a product if we find it to be toxic," an FDA official said, adding that the FDA has yet to check any products made of Pueraria.