Special Project: City Budget Cuts
Seniors and people with disabilities fight down to the wire to save programs that serve them
As Yogi Berra once said, "it ain't over till it's over." The baseball legend was referring to sports, of course, but the adage...
Life in the Later Lane
Following in the footsteps of heroes: My visit to the cradles of Civil Rights
SF SENIORBEAT COLUMN – March 17, 1886. A date you probably never considered. Carroll County, Mississippi. A...
Nonprofit director is happy to bug you, whether you’re 2 or 92, about saving the wild
If you grow up in Los Angeles, where do you find the wild? Norm Gershenz is not...
Bass playing lawyer takes on the landlords when seniors call for help
During the day, you’ll find Thomas Drohan in court or at his law office on Mission Street....
Former SFSU teacher shifts to helping union workers build leadership abilities
Like some people need coffee, Joan Wong needs to walk – and talk. Mornings, she puts in...
Joe Edley, a three-time national champion, has been racking up great Scrabble scores for decades
Joe Edley tucks his co-authored book, “Everything Scrabble,” under his arm and surveys the room. Around him,...
Robert Wachter, the doctor who is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to treat patients
Robert Wachter is the doctor who oversees all the other doctors at the University of California, San...
Couple beat ‘fast furniture,’ pandemic and other challenges to keep upholstery shop going for nearly 50 years
J & G Upholstery stretches back farther than it looks from the sidewalk on Balboa Street. Stacks...
As the city’s older population swells, seniors who can no longer live at home face high costs, limited choices
EDITOR'S NOTE: See full profiles of the seniors interviewed by clicking links within the story. A panoply...
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...
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 ...
