The day this paper hits the stands, Six Degrees will be no more. And though the reasons why the longtime lesbian bar closed are clear – fewer patrons, less revenue – many of us are as troubled about its closure as we are sad.

Formerly Club Bombay, the longtime lesbian venue was the last of its kind after Carla Coshow sold The Flame in April 2004. Our news story on page 14 outlines the various incarnations the club at 3175 India St. underwent in its four decades of existence. And during that time, the club has hosted numerous fund-raisers, not just for events like Dyke March, organizations like WomenMoto and women’s sports teams, but also for community members in need and bar patrons who have passed away. Of course, women-centered fund-raisers have been and will continue to be held at “boy bars” and other venues, but to lose a GLBT bar is almost always to lose a major revenue source for charitable causes.

In the last few months, Gay & Lesbian Times columnists such as J.C. Porter and Abby Schwartz have waxed sentimental about their times at the Six. Comparing a dyke bar to the Arctic ice pack, Porter said “you just assume it will always be there.” And Schwartz bemoaned the loss of that “Cheers”-like spot “where everybody knows your name and you can go cry in your Red Bull and vodka over a girlfriend gone bad.”

But just like global warming melting the ice pack and “Cheers” ending its long TV run, when the masses turn a blind eye, things are bound to fail.

As of Wednesday, there are now officially no lesbian bars in San Diego, and that doesn’t sit well. It’s like Amtrak and Greyhound – though both transportation companies lose money every year, the government subsidizes them so Americans have access to a nationwide rail system and bus line. San Diego’s lesbian, bisexual and transgender women should have access to a lesbian bar seven days a week, just because. But no one’s offering to subsidize one.

A lot of people have theorized as to why San Diego’s lesbian bars have closed one by one over time. Is it that lesbians just don’t go out as much as gay men, preferring to nest with their partners and/or host dinner parties? Do venues like coffee shops and wine bars or organizations like The Center’s Women’s Resource Center and the Dyke Surf Club appeal to women more than bars? Are lesbians getting priced out of the city and migrating to other areas? Maybe it’s just that as our community gains acceptance, our women are increasingly comfortable socializing outside of traditional lesbian-oriented establishments and no longer need that “safe haven.”

Many folks have speculated that the increase in women’s nights at other bars – Bourbon Street’s ladies happy hour and Numbers’ Bad Kitties on Fridays, The Flame’s Candy on Saturdays and various mixed venues like Hamburger Mary’s/Kickers and the Beauty Bar – have contributed to the demise of San Diego’s lesbian bars. And there is probably some truth in that.

But regardless of the reasons why, we’ve got to wonder how long it’ll be before a handful of enterprising dykes or a savvy businessperson decide to capitalize on the void and open a new lesbian bar. Any takers?

And until then, the LBT community does have options. There’s the online social networking group Women Out and About S.D. (www.womenoutnaboutsd.com), the spoken-word monthly event Siren at The Rubber Rose in North Park, various women’s organizations and, of course, the aforementioned women’s nights.

Six Degrees was slated to close last spring, but the bar managed to remain open through Pride. When it became clear that closure was imminent, patrons were invited to scribble their memories of the bar and express their feelings about its closure on the wall with black markers.

The results that suggestion yielded are a literal testament to the bar’s significance. In the last few weeks, hundreds of messages were scrawled on the interior brick walls of the club, ranging from things like “Sarah loves Katie” to “I’ll miss my second home and all those I befriended here.” Another writer listed off 14 “Things I have done at Six Degrees (or because of Six Degrees),” which ranged from “danced on the bar” to “met the love of my life.”

So although women don’t have a shortage of options, come Labor Day weekend, many will miss spending a sunny afternoon on the Six Degrees patio.