Life in the Later Lane
Writer of science fiction for the young tries to impart their simultaneous sense of wonder and danger
The path to success for many novelists is paved with rejection slips, but not for Ellen Klages,...
Wattusi Trio dancers embraced by U.S. jazz greats and European club scene of the ’50s-’70s for their fantastical, “exotic Africa” perfomances
An animal trainer from Barnum and Bailey Circus trained Deloris Perlmuttter, center, to use a whip in...
Noted landlord for the down, out and addicted admits to a tough job but still worries she hasn’t done enough
The family’s money was tight, but Kathy Looper, then a teenager, headed to Union Square and a...
SENIORS TALK: How did you spend New Year’s Eve?
On a cool, clear winter morning, the Noe Valley Town Square is a fine place to sip...
From Kezar to Levi’s stadiums, No. 1 49ers fan has kept the faith – and the facts
Martin Jacobs at age 13. (Photo courtesy of Martin Jacobs) Martin Jacobs’ love affair with the San...
After the ‘food shock’ and a challenging beginning in U.S., Mexico City emigre finds her way back to her life of art
When Esperanza Villanueva arrived in Lake Tahoe from her native Mexico City in 1994, her hardest adjustment...
What’s in a memory? And why these – random, insignificant things and events – not the big, more important ones?
SENIOR BEAT COLUMN Over 30 years ago, my mother caught sight of her reflection in a shop...
Social worker turned fiduciary finds meaningful career in protecting seniors from scammers
The battle to protect seniors from scammers after their savings or property is a never-ending one. Tom...
Intent at eight years old on making art everyone can see, Mexican artist forges path to widespread public acclaim
When he was eight years old, Victor Mario-Zaballa told his family he was going to be a...
San Francisco podcaster and sister-city advocate earned his news chops freelancing for BBC in South America
Jim Herlihy spent years managing investments for major banks in South America. While stationed in hotspots like...
Concert pianist gets a surprise from the past: One of her own compositions, performed in 1980, pulled from university archives for publication
It was 1980 and Katrina Krimsky prepared to perform at the Piano Creative Music Studio in Woodstock,...
Apiarist, Aquatic Park swimmer, and volunteer first-responder is as busy as the bees in her backyard
Beekeeper Gigi Trabant remembers vividly that spring day 11 years ago in the backyard of her Outer...
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High school programming prodigy keeps engaged in retirement with bridge, tennis and little spaceships
Bill Char was a tech bro before it was cool to be a tech bro. He learned to program a minicomputer when he was still in high school – back in the late ’60s, and early ’70s. He was so devoted to Star Trek that he conceived and helped develop a first-generation computer game called ...
Longtime business owners committed to keeping neighbors happy with chocolates from around the world and quirky packaging
Enter Jack Epstein’s cool, narrow shop and you walk a chocolate gauntlet down a central aisle: bars from around the world line the walls on either side. Individual confections, truffles, and foil-wrapped hearts perch on the lower shelves. No wonder the longtime Noe Valley business is called Chocolate Covered. He sources the sweet-smelling wares from ...
Alcatraz docent wants you to know there’s something special to see on the island – and it’s not just the cells of jailbirds
The 1.7 million tourists who visit Alcatraz every year are typically here to traipse through the cell block that held famous jailbird Al Capone. But in summer, there’s something special few are aware of. “Tourists don’t know this is a bird sanctuary,” said Kimberlie Moutoux, a 61-year-old retired elementary school art teacher and grandmother to seven ...
Retired AT&T exec and architect of local online literary review has a passion for nurturing other people’s talents
When he was young, Joe Catalano loved to “play with words,” and some of his earliest childhood memories, he said, are of writing. But college, a career, and family intervened and he “put down his pen” for decades. Now 76 and retired after a long career practicing law, Catalano can be found writing, editing, and ...
Only views from his window: Artist overcoming shyness shares paintings reflecting a life of chaos converted to calm
Though Glenn Stultz has evolved from pencils and watercolors to acrylics and oil, his pictures depict the same view: backyards and houses seen from the windows of his Section 8 apartment in San Francisco’s Ocean View neighborhood. Too shy to enroll in a drawing class, he taught himself by studying big, coffee table books. His ...
Sock hop celebrates first in-person event for LBFE since Covid amid director’s City Hall win to keep the seniors program going
Poodle skirts, Elvis tunes, and peppermint candy all combined to create a modern-day version of a ‘50s sock hop. But it wasn’t an event for teenagers. Dozens of seniors strutted their stuff on the dance floor, played bingo, and snacked on sweets. The sock hop was the first in-person event Little Brothers – Friends of ...
