Leslie Ruth Guttman

Journalist and author Leslie Guttman, whose puckish wit and graceful, empathetic feature writing enlivened the pages of The San Francisco Chronicle for 18 years—and publications and radio stations across the country thereafter—died March 14 in her native Kentucky after months of suffering from a rare combination of a medication reaction and a previously undiagnosed medical condition. She was 57.

Think of Charlotte's Web. Then reverse the story.

It's not that people are bringing their dogs to church. It's that dogs are bringing their people to church.

The inside story on how Leslie's grandfather started what became the most famous diner in Manhattan.

The story of Arson Squad, a thoroughbred who was saved at one of the most elite horse hospitals in the country.

Mycologist Paul Stamets' experiments could help repair the torn fabric of the ecosystem.

This story prompted the first bill in the California state Senate to legalize hemp in California.

Spurred by the threat of bioterrorism, a small group of scientists is focused on inventing 'universal drugs' they say would work more efficiently than vaccines—by stimulating the immune system to fight off a wide range of threats. The players make up an unusual cast, from a former Cold War enemy to America's foremost expert on holistic medicine.

His congregation is San Francisco's homeless and dispossessed.

Outer space philosopher Frank White has spent 34 years trying to spread the message of the "Overview Effect" and humanity's interconnectedness. Finally, people are starting to listen.

It was rare to be a woman or African American covering the White House in the 1940s, and Alice Dunnigan was both. Here is her story.

Leslie reflects on her nonfiction book about a year inside the country's top horse hospital. Equine ER was published by veteran equestrian publisher Eclipse Press. New York Times best-selling author Jon Katz says, “Equine ER is a wonderful book, wrenching, uplifting, and a powerful window into the great love, empathy, and connection humans have for horses and other animals. It is an emotional thriller, really a rollercoaster, as dramatic and well-paced as it is well-written and brilliantly observed."

“Have you ever asked yourself what’s the difference between someone who’s homeless and someone who’s not? A lot of times the difference is family or support. So the culinary program provided that kind of family.”

Day and night, at home and at work, with friends and when he is alone, Victor Manuel Conde's mind is occupied by one thought. It is the reason he came to California from Mexico, the goal that propels him from distraction to clarity.

He wants to be the salsa king of San Francisco.

Salsa—the sensual Latin partner dance—isn't a hot new trend in the Bay Area, it's more like a tropical plant that keeps growing in every direction, blooming in wild colors and in out-of-the-way places.

Tenderloin pastor gives a final dignity to the souls of the streets