Special Project: Senior Housing
As the city’s older population swells, seniors who can no longer live at home face high costs, limited choices
EDITOR'S NOTE: Full profiles of the seniors interviewed will be published each day after today's introductory story. Publishing dates are noted in the...
Life in the Later Lane
Stephanie Ernst-Scott runs the last tackle shop in San Francisco. It’s been in her family for 60 years.
Walk through the doors of Gus’ Discount Fishing Tackle, and you’ll likely be greeted before you even...
City College café owner customizes and caters to make students, staff and professors feel at home
Thanks to Alberto Campos, students at City College of San Francisco’s Mission Campus can get an affordable...
One bold step opened up education and a career charting demographics in low-income countries
Sara Seims, an 18-year-old British girl, walked into the admissions office at New York University and knocked...
K.D. Sullivan: From Park Bench to Publishing House
At 15, K.D. Sullivan was homeless, hungry, and sleeping on park benches in Honolulu’s Aina Haina neighborhood....
Retired conference consultant embraces San Francisco and its history with tour of her own neighborhood
As she strolls toward the smallest park in San Francisco, Bonnie Wallsh calls back to the group...
Farm life couldn’t compete with the excitement of big cities and the challenge of the executive life
In college, Bob Britt worked as a night auditor at a roadside Holiday Inn in Southern Illinois....
Successful sous chef finds equilibrium and support after career sidetracked by health and hard times
Jon Insco has been a go-getter most of his life — always hustling for his next adventure....
Being an ‘old soul’ isn’t just about age but an attitude – best nurtured by intergenerational contact
SF SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – There’s a corner of Gen Z internet culture that has popularized the...
How a dedicated teacher of young children became a dedicated civic volunteer.
Sharon Yow’s father drove a truck and tried his hand at farming. Her mother worked a switchboard...
Famed boogie-woogie pianist embroiders her performances with her own hand-crafted art
Caroline Dahl has never forgotten the glamorous, red-haired woman in a sequined dress she saw at a...
The biggest, best walk – and bath of a lifetime.
Tina Martin SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – I love San Francisco, and I love to walk. So when...
‘So hard, all the losses and pain:’ Personal and world tragedies led daughter of Holocaust survivors to life of helping others help others
Juliet Rothman was living in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1992 when her 21-year-old son Daniel attempted a double...
Rock ‘n’ roll and diamonds shaped the life of Arthur Indenbaum
WRITER'S NOTE: Arthur Indenbaum died on November 28, 2025, with his wife and daughter by his side....
All Posts
With Elvis as a mentor, Salesian Boys & Girls Club leader makes sure all the kids get a ‘big hunk of love’
Randal DeMartini is growing out his sideburns. It’s not just a fancy for a new look. It’s to raise money for the Salesian Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco. He’s the executive director but also a pretty accomplished Elvis impersonator, though he doesn’t call himself that. The fundraiser will be held Aug. 26 at ...
Gigantic miniature train layout resurrected at Randall Museum by retired seniors, a student and an engineer who ‘thought they could’
If you like trains, why not take a ride on the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Railroad, or as railroad buffs call it, the SN&P? It will take you over bridges, through mountain tunnels and snow sheds as you head to the foothills of the Sierra, passing through Napa, Richmond, Fairfield, Lodi, Stockton, Sonora, Summit, and ...
No more hugs since Covid, but caregiver to chronically ill compensates with art projects, interesting activities, and for himself, a filmmaking sideline
The last 20 of Stan Stone’s nearly 70 years have been devoted to the lives of the chronically ill and dying. It’s a job that can present more than a few heart wrenches. Luckily, Stone is not only caring but upbeat. He’s got a sense of humor. He’s good-natured. If there’s anything that bothers him, ...
‘Dean Scream’ did little to deter first-time campaigner from a life of political activism for social justice and now elder issues
In 2004, when political hopefuls were lining up to challenge incumbent President George W. Bush, Maxine Anderson yearned for someone to really push a progressive agenda. But she’s not a Democrat. “He oversaw the expansion of universal health care for children and pregnant women in his state, which made me feel we could get to ...
Opera veteran helps wartime veterans with PTSD by guiding them to create their own music and poetry
Richard Harrell has studied and thought about the power of music and the human singing voice for much of his 70 years. “There is nothing in life that fires up your brain as much as music—nothing!” he’s concluded. After decades of singing on the opera stage and directing professionally, that insight led him to found ...
Uncle’s stolen Buick, used in gang killing, triggered lifelong interest in crime, for ‘Notorious San Francisco’ author and Crooks Tour operator
The average armchair sleuth or true crime addict thinks he or she knows something about humans breaking the law. They haven’t met Paul Drexler. The Ingleside Terrace man can spew details of a crime that happened almost a hundred years ago, half a world away. But his specialty is San Francisco. “San Francisco has a ...
