KTVU meteorologist Bill Martin started as a weekend weatherman at KTVU in 1992, also did the weather for KRON4 and KPIX, and delivers his final SF TV news weather forecast on KTVU Thursday night as he surfs off into retirement.

KTVU meteorologist Bill Martin was living in a van when he got his first weatherman gig in 1991 at KFTY Channel 50 in Santa Rosa, as recalled by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The UC Berkeley and SF State grad had never worked in television before, yet beat out more seasoned TV meteorologists for the job. A year later, Martin filled some pretty big shoes at KTVU, taking over for the retiring Pat McCormick — a local cult hero, because McCormick had also hosted the popular local shows Dialing for Dollars and the children’s puppet series Charley and Humphrey.

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And now it is Bill Martin’s big shoes that need to be filled, as KTVU’s chief meteorologist announced last month he would be retiring. And tonight, Thursday, February 27, Martin will broadcast his final weather reports on the KTVU evening news.  

Martin will deliver weather reports on Thursday’s 4 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm, 10 pm, and 11 pm broadcasts. So you've got five more chances to see Bill Martin do the weather on KTVU, but tonight's 11 pm news will be his final outing on KTVU FOX 2.

“I’ve never been anywhere else,” Martin said (referring to the Bay Area market) when announcing his retirement in the January 23 broadcast above. “I started in the Bay Area market. But I think about Dennis (Richmond), I think about Elaine (Corral), I think about Randy (Shandobil), and I think about Bob MacKenzie and John MacKenzie, all the people we’ve known over the years who’ve come through this place.”

Martin also had brief stints with KPIX and KRON4 in the early- to mid-1990s, before returning permanently to KTVU in 1996.

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Indeed, it’s been a tumultuous couple of years for the great titans of the golden age of KTVU news. The legendary Dennis Richmond passed away at the beginning of this month, we also lost his fellow anchor Leslie Griffith in 2022, and of course, there has been that whole Frank Somerville thing.  

And now the retirement of their three-decade meteorologist Bill Martin. But true fans will still be able to catch Bill Martin doing the weather, as he’ll continue doing his daily Bill Martin’s Weather Show on Youtube. Today’s episode is seen below.

Related: Beloved Longtime KTVU Anchorman Dennis Richmond Dies at Age 81 [SFist]

Image via KTVU

As we are constantly reminded, San Francisco is an expensive place. So much so that even stereotypically wealthy tech workers can have trouble affording it. With that being said, the news that rich twenty and thirty-somethings fear they will never be able to afford retirement is enough to inspire some serious anxiety. According to the Business Times, 78 percent of Bay Area millennials with $250,000 or more in investible assets say that they will probably work through their retirement.

When even the relatively loaded among us foresee a future of never-ending wage slavery, what chance does the average Joe have? And this isn't just in San Francisco, with the publication noting that approximately 85 percent of that age group nationwide believes they will never be able to retire. Fun times!

Paul Granucci, a VP with Merrill Edge, says that some of those numbers can be explained away by the millennial generation's can-do attitude. It's not that rich tech workers don't think they can retire, he posits, it's that they just may never want to. “We have a pretty high concentration of tech workers here,” he said. “They see work probably as more integrated into who they are versus I-have-my-work-life-and-I-have-my-non-work-life."

If your job is your life, does retirement mean your life is over? And, if so, how depressing is that? But don't worry, as Granucci is quick to reassure us. "This isn’t necessarily a bad thing or a punitive thing or a ‘Gee, I’m never going to be able to retire.’ They may not want to and they may enjoy — specifically in this area — being at the vanguard of technology and everything that it brings.”

This of course assumes that 35 years from now the "tech sector," or whatever has replaced it by then, will feel like hiring 65-year-old workers. Which, considering age discrimination is totally not a thing, is probably a safe bet. Right?

Oh well, we can probably all just drive for Uber. Oh, wait. OK, well, at least we can all sell our appreciated homes and live off that windfall, yes? Oh, hmm, never mind.

Related: Report: Millennials Totally Screwed When It Comes To Buying Property

There's something about police horses, that just, well, it gets to us. Maybe it's their plodding dedication and kind eyes. Perhaps it's for the humanizing effect they give the law enforcement officers in the saddle. Or maybe it's their righteously pornographic names.

On Monday morning, police horses Hammer, Rebel and Magnum will be honored in an SFPD retirement ceremony outside Lefty O'Doul's, which we're assuming is a favorite watering hole for off-duty horses (?). Hammer, who served for 1 years, and Rebel, who served for two and a half years, will be put out to pasture at a Davis farm. There they'll enjoy rural life and a generous hay pension after braving hard pavement, ceremonial flag bearing and whatever else these hard-working animals put up with.

Magnum passed away earlier this month after 5 years of service. He will forever be remembered for his gigantic heart and rock-hard dedication to keeping the city safe.

The ceremony will also welcome Quin and Strider, two horses new to the Mounted Unit, which also includes Fritz, Rusty, Braveheart, Gunny, Deuce and Dually.

To show our support for the SFPD horsey division, we'd like to respectfully open up a forum for the naming of future equine members of the force, starting with the obvious choice: Harry Nethers.

Previously: Video: Prancercise, Failed '80s Fitness Craze, Rediscovered

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of San Francisco, championed as a key civil rights figure after overturning California's same-sex marriage ban, will retire next Friday. KTVU reports: "The court released a statement from the letter in which Walker wrote, 'Concluding 21 years of judicial service, I leave the bench with the highest respect and regard for the federal judiciary, its judges and their staff and the essential role they fulfill in our constitutional system.'"

U.S. District Judge James Ware of San Jose will take his place as chief judge.

Walker caused a minor stir when, after anti-gay zealots got wind of his sexual nature, it was revealed that he was gay. (Allegedly.)

Coming to you from dynamic duo Matier Ross, our favorite platonic couple have word on what retiring San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong will pull in annually after she vacates her position. Ahem:

When she leaves the Hall of Justice sometime this year, Police Chief Heather Fong, 53, will have 32 years under her belt - and will be pulling down about $229,500 a year for life.

In case you think you read that wrong, yes, that is "for life." This sweet deal is due in part, according to M&R, to voter-approved post-9/11 patriotism that allows retiring workers to receive retirement money "equal to 90 percent of their highest paycheck."

To say Richmond has been a mainstay would be an understatement. We've lived here for years and we can't really remember a time when Richmond wasn't on TV. We also can't remember a time when people didn't look at the redness in his eyes and wonder if he was stoned all the time. Richmond, who is 65 (!) has been with KTVU for forty years and has anchored the 10 o'clock news since 1976.

Dennis was a rare TV news anchor in that he was actually good. He was serious and treated the news seriously-- we can't ever remember him cracking a joke let alone a smile and he never did all that cheesy happy talk that mars too many a newscast. He just sat there and read the news. In fact, you could kind of say he was kind of boring, but in a good way. As a result KTVU was a bit of a throwback news show, kind of the way newscasts are supposed to be, or were supposed to, or what have you.

Good luck, Dennis--things won't be the same without ya!