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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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 and became an accountant. But while they labored at low-paying jobs, Yow’s parents drilled one lesson into her: “Education is your key. Do well in school!” It was a lesson she took to heart. The first in her ...
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 fancy new restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, where her Great Aunt May was treating her to a meal. Dahl was five at the time. The woman was playing the piano. “I was thunderstruck when I looked up at the ...
The biggest, best walk – and bath of a lifetime.
SENIORBEAT GUEST COLUMN – I love San Francisco, and I love to walk. So when a friend told me about a group walk tracing the 32-mile perimeter of San Francisco, I decided to try it. This was in March of 2023. We would start at the Ferry Building, loop south, west, north, and return to ...
‘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 flip from a diving board into a swimming pool and broke his neck when he hit the water. Both arms and legs were paralyzed. Not only could he no longer walk but couldn’t feed himself or talk. A ...
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. I was fortunate to have played bridge with him at SF’s Aquatic Park Senior Center. He loved to teach us what he knew, and we appreciated his great New York sense of humor. By the time he was ...
A lucky phone call steered him into a 54-year career as a shipping executive.
Tony Hanley felt stuck. He’d flunked out of San Francisco City College and was working at an unsatisfying job as a stock clerk at Jackson Hardware and Houseware in the Sunset District. For three years, he shelved merchandise, made deliveries, and swept floors. He was 20 years old and had no idea how to find ...
