Special Project: City Budget Cuts
Seniors and people with disabilities fight down to the wire to save programs that serve them
As Yogi Berra once said, "it ain't over till it's over." The baseball legend was referring to sports, of course, but the adage...
Life in the Later Lane
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...
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...
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...
All Posts
Too many Americans are lonely, not just the elderly. But the costs may be higher.
CREATING COMMUNITY – A 2018 survey by Cigna found that nearly half of Americans feel lonely sometimes or all of time. And the loneliest group, according to the study, is Generation Z, adults ages 18 to 22. And social media use alone is not a factor. By comparison, in a national poll of 2,000 adults aged ...
Senior center in the cloud creates family of friends across 41 states
Thursdays are Nicolette Noyes busiest days. She’s on the phone from noon to 7 p.m. And when she’s not at home, she’s listening all day. “I listen in the car. I hear it in the background when I’m folding laundry or just doing stuff around the house, said the San Francisco senior. You could say ...
City College professor and new author mostly just wants to keep on teaching
Alexandra Nickliss is thrilled to have published her first book – and even more thrilled to still be teaching U.S. History at City College San Francisco. That puts her in good company with other older adults who want to keep working, such as U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, 85, television journalist Lesley Stahl, 77, and U.S. ...
Well-made products and funny frogs brighten collector’s home – and the weekly lunch crowd
Larry Boysen’s 1919 yellow Inner Sunset bungalow holds collections of radios, phonographs, records, kitchen appliances, furniture, light fixtures and telephones from the early 1900s. “I love the craftmanship, history and engineering of items from the 20th century – the everyday stuff that made people’s lives easier.” He also has hundreds of new and old glass, ...
Study proves harmonic: Lonely newcomer fills her life with one choir then two
CREATING COMMUNITY – Five years ago, Judi Lewis moved to San Francisco from Nebraska to live with her daughter. It was a big move, and for many months Lewis “spent a lot of time walking around the house, humming.” She was lonely. “I had left all my friends behind. I was kind of timid and ...
Former cruise ship performer offers fashion fun and neighborly guidance to her consignment shop customers
Jane Willson once sang and danced on cruise ships, dressing in glamorous outfits, including ones once worn by “Dynasty” star Joan Collins. She had a ball, she said. Since 2001, she has also had a ball helping others experience the fun and joy of style and fashion. Her Clement Street shop, JANE Consignment, is more ...
