Life in the Later Lane
Former art galley president helps people craft their deepest feelings in ‘lasting letters’ to loved ones
Looking out at Monterey Bay from Santa Cruz early one morning last year, a pair of silhouetted...
September 1, 2026
S.F. protest’s Tin Man has a history of making good trouble on behalf of empathy and kindness
Arthur Persyko loves to make trouble. The good kind, that is. As a young man, he protested...
August 24, 2026
Born to dance: Tammy Thornton struts her stuff with the Warriors’ senior dance team
It’s game night at San Francisco’s Chase Center and the Golden State Warriors are not the only...
August 10, 2026
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
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
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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SPEAK TO US: Here’s what I love about San Francisco. What about you?
I’ve lived in San Francisco for 35 years. The one thing that has been a constant pleasure is the weather. Where else can you enjoy the outdoors year-round in the U.S. without freezing in the winter or sweating to death in the summer? I covet my temperate climate where many sunny days, in the 60s, ...
Early Catholic roots returns nurse who joined the corporate world to her ideal job: hospital chaplain
Louise DiMattio spent 20 years in the business world, working for Dow Chemical and PacBell. She capped off her working life as a chaplain at the California Pacific Medical Center. That might seem an abrupt switch, but it was a natural conclusion for someone who spent 12 years in Catholic schools, she said. Personal service ...
Historic center keeping records and creating community for the Irish-born, Irish-Americans and the Irish-at-heart for last 45 years
In her latest YouTube video, Jennifer Drennan, wearing protective gloves, holds up an original program from the 1898 Irish Fair, held at the Mechanic’s Pavilion at the San Francisco Civic Center. This is the kind of memorabilia and Irish history found in the J. Patrick Dowling Library at the “United Irish Cultural Center of California” ...
Child of Jim Crow era finds opportunities, advancement, protection ‘from the outside world’ in the U.S. Army
Hunger is something Lavern Simon is familiar with. Not for food but for learning. Born into a segregated Washington D.C., her education was less than inspiring. Her school had few resources. You had to bring your own pencil to school or pay for one, she said. Children went home for lunch each day. Reading lessons ...
From the jungles of Bolivia to On Lok Senior Center, social justice advocate promotes nutritious meals and healthy programs
The knowledge was hard-won, but over the years Valorie Villela discovered the link between nutrition, health and survival. Villela struggled with bulimia from her teens to her 20s. Painful as it was, her conquest of the disorder put her on a path of service and adventure that took her from her native Oregon to the ...
For retired couple, helping out the kids means setting up their house as a pre-school for their grandson
Two-year-old Asher loves trains. So, his grandfather, David Goldberg made him one. Crafted from cardboard, it was big enough for Asher to sit in and move around. “Grandparenting is so different these days,” said David as he pushed and pulled his grandson around, with Asher making train sounds. “I don’t remember my grandparents getting down ...
