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
Crocheting and quilting – a bounteous habit that buoys the crafter, as well as babies, the homeless, veterans and friends
Becky Gordon made lanyards holding keys and charms in the Girl Scouts. In college, she taught herself to crochet and made necklaces of fine gold thread and beads. After moving to San Francisco in 1975, she became an avid quilter and fabric collector. “As far back as I can remember I’ve done some sort of ...
Military kid was no brat; she watched over 10 siblings, later saved herself from drugs and distinguished herself helping others
When her two older sisters left home, 15-year-old Brenda Washington began caring for her two younger brothers, babysitting nieces and nephews and cooking for the family. And the standards were high; things had to be done just right. “My dad was military. We were saluting kids. The nickel had to bounce off the bed.” Mostly, ...
Flight surgeon breaks barriers in ophthalmology career: treating cataracts and president of Taiwan
Wayne Fung visited the doctor twice a week when he was 10. Intravenous injections kept his asthma under control. He warmed to the office nurse, whom he called “Ducky,” because she was the best at hitting the arm vein in his thin torso. Watching these events, his mother proclaimed, “I think one day YOU will ...
You name the dance; she taught it. Afro-Haitian her favorite, but educator finds inspiration in all cultures.
Valerie Watson started dance lessons at age four and a half. At nine, she created her own choreography, charging friends a nickel for Saturday morning tap classes. “My parents didn’t know that by giving me dance lessons they were preparing me to follow my destiny,” she said. Now 80, she’s still dancing. “As long as ...
‘Street-wise, fast mouth’ made this teacher perfect for preparing under-achieving kids for college
The year was 1963 in Sacramento, Calif. Irving Rothstein was pushing, shredding and pushing more paper in a job he didn’t find very interesting. But, as he recalls, “sometimes out of boredom comes birth.” He followed an ad and nailed a tutoring position. That was the incubator from which he realized his life’s work — ...
It started with sleeping in the bedroom then attic then garage: Exploring unexpected uses of space spurs architectural career
At an early age, Wendy Bertrand developed a fascination with the use of space in and around buildings, particularly the out of the ordinary. It all started with sleeping arrangements in her childhood and summers spent in Mexico. When she was six, her divorced mother bought a vintage 1918 cottage in La Jolla, Calif. Initially, ...
