Life in the Later Lane
Childhood bond with an older neighbor steered law officer’s choice of career and community work
A tarnished silver coin from 1964, likely worth only $10 to any dealer, reminds Richard Lyons Corriea...
August 2, 2026
As a teacher, playwright & screenwriter, Cary Pepper has lots of inside Hollywood info to share
You probably stream most of your movies. But if you happen to rent a film on old-style...
July 15, 2026
All-women punk band still on stage thanks to leader’s career, which started in a mortuary
Invite Klara Lux somewhere, and she’ll always show up early – except on the rare occasion when...
July 6, 2026
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?”...
June 29, 2026
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...
June 4, 2026
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...
May 28, 2026
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...
April 29, 2026
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...
April 14, 2026
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....
April 5, 2026
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...
March 25, 2026
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,...
March 16, 2026
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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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, ...
Professional dancer adds props and humor to her repertoire and senior caregiving to her career accomplishments
Helen Dannenberg came onstage wearing a beige jumpsuit then danced a duet with a large, old-fashioned, collapsible ironing board. It was part of her first 90-minute solo performance, staged at the San Francisco Repertory Theater. It was 1983 and Dannenberg – modern dancer, choreographer and skit writer – was 41. “Old and New, Borrowed and ...
Babysitting dilemma helps carve career path for S.F. Chronicle writer Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein’s parents unwittingly imbued her with a love of the movies, a romance that would lead to a lifelong career. Her dad, beleaguered with the responsibility of caring for his daughter on Saturday afternoons, would drop her off at one of Chicago’s giant movie houses. “The movies were his babysitter,” Stein said. “He never checked ...
Former supervisor and judge – and unstoppable voice of conservatives – Quentin Kopp retains his signature querulousness
The welcome sign at Quentin Kopp’s office is hardly welcoming. “Attention” it says. “You are being watched.” Beyond the sign is a path that flanks the side of a nondescript, one-story professional building on West Portal Avenue. Kopp’s office suite, which he shares with several other attorneys, is in the back of the building. There’s ...
