Life in the Later Lane
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
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...
April 29, 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
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....
April 5, 2026
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...
March 25, 2026
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,...
March 16, 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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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 ...
City workshops aim to arm every resident with a plan for a personal medical crisis
Tomi Cunningham didn’t want her daughter to have to go through what she experienced last fall. She had to step as medical surrogate during a health crisis that that put her mother in the hospital, unable to make decisions. “It worked out well; she made good choices, but she had to guess what I wanted,” ...
Matchy matchy is not this styler’s first consideration
SENIOR FASHIONISTA – When shopping for clothes, Kathleen Massoni’s mantra is “fun.” “I buy fun pieces because I like them, not to match. I make everything my own.” SENIOR FASHIONISTA – The 76-year-old Pacific Heights resident says she shops mostly in second-shops. Her favorites are Goodbyes, Jane’s Consignment, Crossroads, Goodwill, the Symphony Store and Seconds ...
Poet’s interest in herbs and healing leads to growth of Kitchen Herbalism workshops
When Marina Lazzara was 13, she held a tea party for friends with herbs she picked from her backyard in Easton, Pa. The problem was the plant she had so carefully prepared was not peppermint, as she thought, but poison ivy. One of her guests got a rash, and Lazzara’s eyes swelled up, but her ...
