Life in the Later Lane
Three generations of a San Francisco family thrived running popular oceanside eatery overlooking Sutro Baths
It was, you might say, the last breakfast. On a summer Saturday in 2020, dozens of family...
Art and science vied for Sarah Young’s heart: Both found a place
Few who end up in the hospital are likely to be thinking about whether there’s a sufficient,...
Baking for bodily autonomy: Nan Wiener tackles controversial end of Roe v. Wade with brownies, macaroons, muffins and more
SENIOR BEAT GUEST COLUMN – Many years ago, I spent a year baking desserts in a restaurant...
New author and former drinker embracing alternative therapies to help others break the habit
Seated in the backroom of a café on Polk Street, Kevagne Kalisch leans against the wall and...
From fisherman to cook to inmate to owner: Frankie Balistreri’s odyssey to opening his dream restaurant
When his mother, Lucrezia, was diagnosed with cancer, then 25-year-old Frankie Gaetano Balistreri cared for her at...
Wisdom of the Japanese Tea Garden helped volunteer Chrisie Giordano come to accept a child’s absence
It’s an overcast summer morning, and Chrisie Giordano is leading a tour of Golden Gate Park’s Japanese...
It’s the little things that count for Margaret Lew, swept up in the world of miniature craftmanship
If you think dollhouses are just for children, you haven’t met the artisans and collectors, like Margaret...
Desire to learn mah-jongg helped Stephanie Riger overcome her own biases toward seniors
SENIOR BEAT GUEST COLUMN – Even though I’m 78 years old, I have resisted seeing myself as...
Retirement can be scary. Library worker hoping the end of his career will be the start of a happy new chapter
Seventy-one-year-old Richard Marino is on the cusp of retirement. And it’s making him anxious. He’s gone through...
German Gonzalez, the maestro of Golden Gate Park, has spread music and joy for more than 50 years
He was in the sixth grade and really wanted to be in the school band. But his...
At 67, Lauren McNamara has embarked on a new career and she’s charming customers at a downtown hotspot.
Lauren McNamara makes sure to remember where the regular clientele at Sam’s Grill like to sit. She...
You can get — almost — anything you want at Joseph Omran’s Nob Hill grocery store
LeBeau Market calls itself Nob Hill’s Community Grocery Store, where you can get almost everything: from Lay’s...
Deborah Drysdale: social justice evangelist, bridge instructor, and amateur mixologist
Summers for Deborah Drysdale meant idyllic days at her grandparents’ cattle ranch in the Blue Ridge mountains...
Jonah Raskin: Tireless Bay Area peace activist, prolific writer, and educator
Jonah Raskin was 10 in 1952, during the height of the anti-communist fervor of the Cold War....
She brought the magic to the screen, finding the perfect San Francisco location to shoot movies, TV shows, and commercials
If you’d been walking along one of the steepest streets in San Francisco one sunny afternoon in...
She relives history as a guide on the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, one of the WWII Liberty ships that brought troops and cargo to Normandy beaches
Eve Maher hands out programs to visitors boarding the SS Jeremiah O’Brien for a tour and memorial...
Pen pals from afar build rich relationship over 60 years through old-fashioned correspondence – no WhatsApp about it
A SENIOR BEAT GUEST COLUMN – My correspondence with Jutta Mengersen (now Brockhaus), the “World’s Ideal Pen...
This Mexican immigrant fought in the ring, started a dozen restaurants, raised five children, and never let defeat wear him down.
When 17-year-old Jose Heriberto Garcia came courting the young girl who’d become his wife, his future mother-in-law...
The ghosts of San Francisco’s past are still there if you only look and listen
SENIOR BEAT COLUMN: I got my first job in San Francisco nearly 40 years ago, in the...
Mutual support but separate hobbies and workshops keep crafty couple’s marriage going strong
A stained glass window by Bill and a "fishing" quilt Etta made for him adorn a hallway...
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Bay Area Senior Games: Running, swimming, you name it, San Franciscans are winners
Partners in life Bob Callori, 75, and Chris Goodwin, 66, also share a passion for Track and Field. Both competed in the 2018 Bay Area Senior Games in May – and both were front-runners. Both ran in the 400-meter and the 800-meter sprints, but in their different age groups. “I won Gold in both and ...
Celebrating Mexican Independence Day – at a mostly Asian senior center?
OUR COLUMNS Most of the 60 or more seniors who regularly attend the OMI Senior Center are Asian, but that didn’t prevent Tiffany Huynh, the program coordinator, from organizing a celebration for Mexican Independence Day. Five, maybe 10 of our members are Latino, but everyone enjoys celebrations,” Huynh said. “We love celebrating everyone’s holiday. The ...
Little Free Libraries sprouting up in Outer Mission neighborhood
You may have passed a little free library in your neighborhood on your way to the bus stop: a small house-shaped box atop a post in someone’s front yard. A sign, “Take a Book; Leave a Book,” invites passers-by to pause and unlatch the clear front door to more closely inspect the books inside. Little ...
Impromptu barbecues, book sales and flea markets bring Inner Sunset neighbors together
Nothing brings a community together more than a neighborhood party where everyone is invited. And none so much as the eclectic and sometimes eccentric gatherings hosted by Inner Sunset residents Barbara and Paul. No one was surprised earlier this year to hear that Barbara was throwing another shindig. Barbara and her late husband started hosting ...
When designing products for older adults, senior supervision is advised
The walking sticks Dr. June Fisher uses buffer her struggles with severe arthritis. And they might just give her an inside edge on the usefulness of products for older adults and those with disabilities. One of those retired but busy people, she spends a lot of time mentoring design students and professionals. And she is ...
West of Twin Peaks: In love with her neighborhood, writer explores its history
Jacqueline Proctor’s love of her neighborhood inspired her two books: “San Francisco West of Twin Peaks” and “Bay Area Beauty: the Artistry of Harold G. Stoner, Architect.” Proctor’s first foray into writing started in 2001. “I was experiencing ‘empty nest syndrome’ with my son having left for college. In addition, I was suffering anguish as ...
