Scott James writes a column for The Bay Citizen.

On Wednesday, May 25, at 8:05 p.m. Barbara Sue Beaver stood on the Golden Gate Bridge and used her cellphone to e-mail Denis Morella, her Oakland neighbor and best friend.

“Can you come and check on Jondi for me?” she wrote, referring to her affectionate pit bull.

Then, at 8:07 p.m., Ms. Beaver, 55, jumped off the bridge to her death.

“I’m just too lazy to navigate further,” said a letter found at her home, which had been left tidy and mostly emptied of belongings. Notes detailed how she had settled her affairs.

“She didn’t want her death to be a burden to anyone,” Mr. Morella said.

Ms. Beaver’s passing is part of a grim trend: suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge this year are on the rise — a pace approaching records. The economic downturn, some experts say, could be a factor.