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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Recology driver not ready to recycle his customers, though he’s eligible for retirement
Bernard Lewis walked to his car, opened the door, unlocked the glove compartment and pulled out a Ziploc bag. “These,” he said, “are some of the letters and photos my customers sent me.” Crayoned notes from young children, photos of smiling families on vacation, ‘thank you’ letters. He handled them carefully. Lewis drives for Recology ...
Coping with Covid-19: Futon maker shifts SF factory production to masks; and she’s ‘frankly overwhelmed’
During World War II, auto plants stopped making cars and instead churned out tanks. Factories designed to produce washing machines retooled and started manufacturing aircraft parts, and clothing manufacturers turned out uniforms by the millions. That’s what a country does when it faces an existential crisis. Now there’s another crisis: the coronavirus pandemic that has ...
Coping with Covid-19: A previous disease flattened him; helping create the Sunset Neighborhood Help Group lifted him up
Covid-19 has changed everyone’s life in some way. But Frank Plughoff’s most life-altering experience dates back two years – to another disease. It was a bad experience. Little did he know that the disease currently ravaging the world would provide him with a good one. Two years ago, a rare neurological illness robbed the 63-year-old ...
Summers of Love and a once unlikely relationship: Couple bonded over rhythm & blues and music nightlife
When a black man asked her out in San Francisco in 1960, interracial dating just wasn’t being done and Marty Harper was no pioneer. But as the ’60s rolled on, things were being done that hadn’t been before. Young people were bucking the establishment’s war, work and cultural ethics. The Civil Rights movement spotlighted racial ...
Acting was her desire; burlesque jobs kept her employed, honed her theater skills and earned her respect in the industry
Judy Roe didn’t choose stripping; it chose her, she says. It was the fallback that filled the gaps in much of her working life. Gigs in burlesque and nightclubs, along with other work, kept her fed and helped her hone a wide array of stagecraft skills that garnered respect and credibility in what was once ...
Work remains a passion for labor activist, union organizer and community builder
We are living in difficult times, said Conny Ford. So, at 70, she has no intention of sitting back and putting her feet up. “I continue to work because it is what I have done for almost 40 years and what I believe in.” Nationally, things are pretty messed up, but locally, she said, “I ...
