Steven Winn, a former San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who wrote a book about his comically tumultuous relationship with the family mutt, Como, sits with the dog in the yard at home in 2009. Como, whom they adopted in 2003, died three months ago. less Steven Winn, a former San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who wrote a book about his comically tumultuous relationship with the family mutt, Como, sits with the dog in the yard at home in 2009. Como, whom they .

Need three lines of caption on paintings by Emily Fromm: Above: “Jackson Street.” At left: “Open Late.” Need three lines of caption on paintings by Emily Fromm: Above: “Jackson Street.” At left: “Open Late.” less Need three lines of caption on paintings by Emily Fromm: Above: “Jackson Street.” At left: “Open Late.” Need three lines of caption on paintings by Emily Fromm: Above: “Jackson Street.” At left: .

Growing up, I’d always heard that the cross-country road trip is one of the quintessential American experiences — the independence of your own car, the freedom of the open road, the promise just beyond the horizon, etc. But I grew up driving in the Bay Area, which means I associate driving with potholed highways, stressful commutes and the soul-destroying experience of sitting in traffic.

Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama discusses her forthcoming memoir titled “Becoming” with Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, during the 2018 American Library Association annual conference on June 22 in New Orleans. less Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama discusses her forthcoming memoir titled “Becoming” with Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, during the 2018 American Library Association annual conference .

Tim Wardle admits that after years spent sifting through writers’ and producers’ prospective film ideas that would cross his desk as head of development at Raw Films in London, he had become “somewhat cynical about ideas in general. You start to feel like you’ve seen everything before. Shakespeare’s line rings true, that ‘there is no new thing under the sun.

Zane was gone. Again. And again I drove down to Ingleside Station. In San Francisco, even the precinct house is a treasure. Tucked inside Balboa Park is a Mission-style building first raised in 1910, with an exterior of stucco and red tile. But I wasn’t there for the architecture.

LILY JANIAK’S THEATER PICKS Muriel Spark: “The Abbess of Crewe”: Word for Word, which adapts fiction to the stage without changing a word of the prose, stages a reading of the Scottish writer’s 1974 allegory of Watergate. 7 p.m. Monday, June 25. $20 suggested donation. Z Below, 470 Florida St., S.F. www.zspace.

Emily Hansel, rehearsing for a performance, says, “I do make sure I only dance six out of seven days. It’s good to give your body a rest.” On a winter Saturday night, dancer Emily Hansel was performing onstage at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. By the next Monday she was back at work at ODC Dance Commons in San Francisco. “Just one class?” she was asking cheerfully from her position at the front desk. “You save if you buy more.

The Force may be stronger — and more valuable — than we knew. You might be forgiven for thinking the never-ending “Star Wars” franchise was simply a cash cow built of sequels, spin-offs and toys. But the space saga is actually helping further the discussion about military strategy right here on Earth. Novelist Max Brooks, the son of Hollywood royalty Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, and active-duty U.S. Army strategist Maj.

From left: Sebastian Gross, 7, plays the Oregon Trail game as Jonathan Williams, Joanne Gross, Annleah Moore, 6, and Robert Moore watch and wait for a turn at High Scores Arcade, Saturday, June 16, 2018, in Hayward, Calif. less From left: Sebastian Gross, 7, plays the Oregon Trail game as Jonathan Williams, Joanne Gross, Annleah Moore, 6, and Robert Moore watch and wait for a turn at High Scores Arcade, Saturday, June 16, 2018, in .