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: See full profiles of the seniors interviewed by clicking links within the story. A panoply of health issues, including slow-moving Parkinson’s,...
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
San Francisco women at mid-age and older find tattoos an eye-catching way to celebrate values, memories and independence
Cecile DeForest never pictured herself sporting a tattoo, but when she changed her mind at 67, the San Francisco-based educator had no doubt what she wanted imprinted on the nape of her neck: Om. DeForest is part of an eye-catching trend captivating women in their 50s and beyond. They’re flocking to tattoo parlors and decorating ...
Age no barrier to firefighting, says SFFD retiree, but staying in shape is essential
Starting a new career at 50 isn’t unusual these days. But when he reached the half-century mark, Steve Muller decided to leave his good-paying job as a painter and become a firefighter, one of the most physically demanding jobs you can imagine. It turned out to be a good career move. Muller retired from the ...
Unbound by silence closeting his early years, first chair of City College LGBT Department offered students a symbol of support
Jack Collins found his calling in 1980, when he started teaching “Gay Literature” at City College of San Francisco. “I had come out of the closet in 1974 while doing graduate studies in comparative literature at the University of Cambridge,” he said, “and I couldn’t think of anything better than teaching the literature I loved ...
Grandfather’s dementia solidified decision to specialize in geriatrics, says On Lok chief medical officer
“Gomer, get out of my emergency room.” Gomer was the code language for ailing seniors used by Jay Luxenberg’s fellow trainees at Albany Medical College in New York. The cruel dismissal, out of earshot of any patient, was Luxenberg’s call to duty. His grandparents, he thought, could be “gomers” in the eyes of these classmates. ...
ARE YOU GRATEFUL? Giving thanks doesn’t have to wait until the 4th Thursday of November.
Being that it’s November, my thoughts turned to Thanksgiving. Visions of past family gatherings flit through my mind when each of us in turn said what we were thankful for. Expressing gratitude, such a lovely tradition. Then I think, “Why wait for Thanksgiving when I can express gratitude anytime?” I immediately pulled up a recent ...
New director of S.F.’s disability and aging services’ department wants to make its vast array of programs more accessible to public
Shortly before the pandemic shut down the city, Kelly Dearman and her 90-year-old father left their Cole Valley home and headed for Rosa Parks Elementary School. The father and daughter duo were at the school to read stories to a group of second graders. But the elder Dearman, retired Judge John Dearman, has vision problems, ...
