Life in the Later Lane
Playwright Lynne Kaufman, the author of two dozen plays and five novels, is still going strong, despite some hiccups
The day after Lynne Kaufman retired in 2005, she woke up in tears. “What had I done?”...
A win for people power: Supervisors and mayor restore millions of dollars in cut to services for city’s most vulnerable
A months-long campaign by advocates for seniors, the disabled and other vulnerable populations has convinced San Francisco's...
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...
Couple’s script for their own movie? Shared creative passions and a bent for banter
“I'm Chiquita Banana, and I'm here to say, bananas have to ripen in a certain way,” Margot...
Social justice lawyer and activist infusing others with her love of SF’s Great Blue Herons and dedication to conservation
One day in 1993, on her daily walk from her Richmond District home to Golden Gate Park’s...
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...
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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 ...
Launched by a friendly job counselor he still remembers, lensmaker finds the perfect fit for a lifelong trade
When Jose Minor was 16, his Mexican-born parents sent him from his hometown of Richmond, California, to Mexico, where he had never been. It was 1969. They were worried he was getting into trouble at home,” he said. “So, they sent me and my younger brother to Grandpa to get straightened out.” Minor has four ...
Writer unearths family ancestry in novel exploring Pacific Northwest when fur traders and American settlers collaborated and clashed on Indian lands
You might say Alix Christie’s first historical novel was inspired by her interest in words. “Gutenberg’s Apprentice” charts the creation of the printing press in medieval Germany and the men behind it. She began her writing career as a journalist. She was a reporter and columnist for the Oakland Tribune and foreign service editor for ...
As kids, we want to be older; when we’re older, not so much. Contemplating our mission as we experience the stages of aging.
GUEST COLUMN My husband’s older cousin, Stuart, told an amusing story some years back. It went like this: As was his usual Saturday custom, he went into his local McDonald’s restaurant and ordered a coffee. The cashier took his order and rang him up. “That’ll be $1.09, sir.” Stuart was surprised. “No, I think you ...
Potrero Avenue ‘collective’ soup kitchen is the hostess with the mostest: Everything’s free, no government paperwork or religion attached
It’s lunchtime at Martin de Porres House of Hospitality, and the Potrero Avenue soup kitchen is abuzz with activity. A few dozen people are sitting down to a meal of macaroni salad, vegetable soup, and tea. Others are lined up for a shower. A volunteer is distributing socks and other clothes, and a few guests ...
Retired teacher who is legally blind memorizes the streets she travels to avoid “trippers”
It’s a walk of only about two-tenths of a mile from Meg Gorman’s apartment on Laguna Street to Geary Boulevard, which she crosses on her way to the Japan Center. But Gorman is legally blind and must contend with more than a dozen places where the sidewalk is broken or raised by tree roots. She ...
