Did you know there was an invitation-only preschool for two dozen kids in one of SF's biggest and most monied mansions? The NYT busts open a controversy happening quietly in the rarefied environs of the Getty compound in Pacific Heights, where for the past 14 years Ann Getty has sponsored something called The Playgroup, which is essentially an unlicensed, free preschool in their house. It's run by one Lonna Corder, "a glamorous woman in her mid-40s" who has a bachelor's in child psychology, and she's allegedly taken to diagnosing children with autism and at times kicking them out of the school when parents try to contradict her. more ›

The Sunday Styles section of the Chronicle does it again! Not content to rest on its laurels after watching poor Jennifer Bumblebee Siebel decimate herself, Styles next turns its gimlet eye on two other prominent members of the Swells set: Denise Hale and the inimitable bicycle-intimidator Dede Wilsey. Sunday Styles RULES. more ›

We got a sneak preview of the Jan. 2007 W Magazine article about the San Francisco social life of the Gettys and the Trainas that's referenced in this week's Swells society column. Of course we're giving it the trademarked SFist Society By The Numbers treatment! The article's not online but you should be able to buy it on the newsstands by next week. more ›