SAN FRANCISCO — There’s a new kind of magic happening in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood; the kind that arrives quietly, in nine courses, with a glass of rare Kentucky bourbon in hand.

Wolfsbane, named for the ancient plant of folklore said to keep werewolves at bay, opened its doors last Fall as a collaboration between Tommy Halvorson, a Kentucky-born chef and catering veteran, and the husband-and-wife duo behind the beloved Michelin-starred Lord Stanley, chef Rupert Blease and general manager Carrie Blease. Together, the three have transformed the former space of Serpentine, Halvorson’s previous restaurant, into one of the city’s most anticipated fine dining destinations.

The idea, Halvorson says, had been brewing for years. “I always kind of had in the back of my mind, I was like, we should have Rupert and Carrie,” he recalls. The opportunity came last year as both camps closed up their respective restaurants. “I texted Rupert and I was like, dude, it’s time. We need to open a restaurant.” Once the decision was made, there was no looking back. “We pretty much stepped on the gas and started rolling.”

The Bleases are no strangers to commitment. Carrie first met Rupert while interning at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in England, a storied Michelin two-starred property helmed by Raymond Blanc. “We worked at a lot of places together, probably more so than apart,” Carrie says. After years in London, New York, and the English countryside, San Francisco became home and eventually their life’s work. Lord Stanley ran for a decade before the couple channeled everything into this new chapter.

The nine-course tasting menu is rooted in Northern California’s rich bounty. “We go to the farmer’s markets several times a week,” says Rupert. “We buy directly from farms. We use all of the local produce that we can possibly find when it’s in season.” Standouts include an edible sunflower fashioned from artichoke heart with toasted seed butter and poppy seeds, and the return of favorites from Lord Stanley, including its buttermilk cabbage dish and delicate onion petal appetizer.

But for all its refinement, Wolfsbane is deliberately unpretentious. “We don’t want to create a space where people feel uncomfortable because they think they’re going to be looked down upon because they don’t know which fork to use,” Halvorson says. The bar program reflects his personal obsession; rare bourbons sourced over years, including a barrel named after his family’s Kentucky farm. “When you get into really well-made bourbon, really high-proof, and it doesn’t feel like they are, that’s when you know you’ve got something special there.” What Halvorson says about bourbon also sums up Wolfsbane-high-concept dining that doesn’t feel like it, making for a special and unforgettable experience.

For more information, visit https://wolfsbanesf.com/

Two hours after the deadline swept past the Broncos’ building in Dove Valley, their then-22-year-old receiver at the center of the fanbase’s buzz sat at his locker, coolly pulling on his gear. Nobody was coming for Troy Franklin’s job, it turned out. Nobody was coming for his targets.

Sean Payton had told the locker room as much, as Denver sat on its laurels despite being connected to several receivers in potential trades.

“I just go off of Sean’s word,” Franklin told The Post then in November, at his locker. “He told us we got everything we need in this building, and pretty much all that, ‘the Broncos need other receivers,’ (is) outside speculation. So, it’s really not coming from the building.”

Payton’s word, indeed, has held for three years in Denver, when it comes to his wideouts. In public. In private. The largest in-season trade or free-agent signing the Broncos have made at receiver since February 2023 is … Josh Reynolds, who Denver signed to a two-year deal in the offseason of 2024 and then cut after he played a total of five games. The Broncos have held onto Courtland Sutton as their WR1, invested heavily in youth at the position, and tacked on supplemental rotational names each season. The approach has never changed.

It certainly hasn’t changed, either, two days into 2026’s free agency. Payton said multiple times around the season’s end that Denver had too many drops in the passing game, but the Broncos haven’t shelled out in an inflated receiver market to fix that. They had some interest in former Giants star Wan’Dale Robinson, as a source said last week; Robinson agreed to terms with the Titans on Monday for four years and $78 million. Denver reached out this week, too, on steady former Green Bay target Romeo Doubs; they never made him an offer, though, as Doubs agreed to terms with the Patriots Tuesday for four years and $70 million.

Denver had some interest, too, in former Vikings wideout Jalen Nailor, but he signed for nearly $12 million a year with the Raiders. As of Tuesday, the Broncos hadn’t reached out to veteran free agents Keenan Allen, Sterling Shepard or Marques Valdez-Scantling, sources told The Post. Every puzzle piece across the past couple of days — and the whole last year, really — has pointed to the same reality: Payton likes the Broncos’ current receiver room as-is.

“The thing with the draft, we’ve invested,” Payton said at his end-of-year presser in late January. “We’ve got different — we’ve got speed, we’ve got size, we’ve got all the things I’m used to that you’d want to have in a good offense.”

In that moment, he launched into a strangely detailed explanation of how to catch a football.

“Most of the times, it’s with your thumbs together, not the other way around,” Payton said then. “The other way around – I’m serious – only exists when the ball’s below your belly button. Even the deep balls should be caught with your thumbs together. So we gotta be better at that.”

Those single few sentences spelled out the end of receivers coach Keary Colbert’s three-year tenure in Denver, and Colbert’s firing was announced mere hours later. The Broncos replaced him with Ronald Curry, a longtime Payton coaching ally who interviewed for the Broncos’ offensive-coordinator job. That single change, it turns out, may be the most impactful move the Broncos make at receiver this offseason.

Denver wouldn’t shell out for a big-money wideout like Alec Pierce, who re-signed with the Colts on a four-year deal worth over $28 million annually, while it’s already paying Sutton $23 million a year on a back-loaded contract. Rising third-year receiver Franklin produced virtually the same numbers in 2025 as Doubs while being at least $15 million a year cheaper. Rising second-year receiver Pat Bryant, when healthy, produced like a bona fide WR3 down the stretch last season.

And Payton, too, continues to pound the drum for more touches for Marvin Mims Jr. (despite being the one who’s ultimately responsible for curtailing his touches).

SEATTLE — Seattle voters could decide next year whether to dramatically expand dedicated funding for The Seattle Public Library under a proposed $410 million Library Levy that Mayor Katie Wilson transmitted to the Seattle City Council on Tuesday.

The proposed 2026 replacement levy would fund the library system for seven years, from 2027 through 2033, replacing the expiring $219.1 million 2019 Library Levy, which currently accounts for one-third of the library’s total budget.

Most Seattle libraries will be open daily thanks to 2019 levy

“Seattle is a city of readers. From toddlers discovering their first stories to seniors finding connection and lifelong learning, our libraries belong to everyone,” Wilson said.

Investing in our libraries means investing in every community member, and in the shared public spaces that help our city learn, grow, imagine, and thrive together.

The 2026 levy proposal maintains the 2019 levy’s focus areas: Operating Hours and Access; Helping Children; Collections (Books and Materials); Technology and Online Services; Building Maintenance; and Administration and Central Costs.

If voters approve the 2026 Library Levy, it would invest in access, programming, collections, building maintenance, and technology and online services across Seattle’s library system. The proposal includes maintaining open hours at all 27 neighborhood branches, adding more physical books along with e-books and audiobooks, expanding technology and online services, and funding building maintenance and capital improvements. It also includes additional facility and janitorial resources intended to keep libraries “safer, cleaner and more welcoming for everyone.”

Chief Librarian Tom Fay thanked the mayor for the proposal.

“We thank Mayor Wilson for putting forward a levy proposal that reflects community needs and interests and invests in Library open hours, collections, programs, buildings, and technology,” Fay said. “We look forward to working in partnership with Mayor Wilson and City councilmembers through a public process that will ensure this package is something all Seattle residents can be proud to support in August,”

The proposal will be reviewed by a select committee of the Seattle City Council chaired by Councilmember Maritza Rivera, who represents District 4. Rivera joined Wilson, Fay and Library Board of Trustees President Yazmin Mehdi for the transmittal of the levy proposal to the City Council on Tuesday.

“This proposal reaffirms Seattle’s reputation as a world-class library system. We are a City of avid and curious readers who rely on our libraries for information and engagement,” Rivera said. “For decades, library patrons have described their branches as beloved third places, centers of learning, and safe spaces that are worth the investment.”

Rivera said the levy renewal also upholds “the city’s commitment to preserving library open hours, providing books in the format that readers want, delivering programming for tots all the way up to seniors, and maintaining welcoming branches that reflect the diversity of their neighborhoods.”

According to the proposal’s spending plan, major investments include:

• Continued open hours across Seattle’s 27 neighborhood libraries ($176.1 million)
• Early literacy through multilingual Play & Learn sessions and other programs ($7.5 million)
• Social service referrals ($1.2 million)
• Security personnel ($11 million)
• Additional all-ages programs such as story times, literacy programs, classes and workshops, and events ($12.6 million)
• Increased security and emergency preparedness ($7.7 million)
• Establishment of an Office of Inclusion and Belonging ($2.4 million)
• Expanded physical books and materials to maintain the library’s collection of 2.9 million items ($30.8 million)
• Fine-free borrowing ($9 million)
• Collections and shelving staff ($14 million)
• Additional e-books, audiobooks and multilingual books ($4.6 million)

The proposal sets aside funding for routine and major maintenance, including:

• Facility maintenance and custodial support, furniture, capital improvement staffing ($57 million) and administration ($6.7 million)
• A seismic retrofit of the historic Columbia Branch ($13 million)
• Priority and deferred maintenance for library locations ($10 million)
• Additional maintenance and custodial support ($5.9 million)

Technology investments include:

• Public and staff computers, printing and copying services, Wi-Fi hotspots, and staffing for Information Technology and Online Services ($25.8 million)
• Strengthening IT systems and cybersecurity ($7.4 million)
• Upgrading IT infrastructure ($5 million)

The first Select Committee meeting, which will include an overview of the 2019 Library Levy, is scheduled for March 11. The Select Committee will vote on a final proposal to place on the ballot in August 2026. Rivera will lead the council’s levy renewal process as chair of the Select Committee on the Library Levy.

“I want to thank Mayor Wilson’s office for their collaboration on this levy renewal,” Rivera said. “Any time we can work together on projects like this, the City benefits.”

If the updated package is approved by the City Council, it would go to voters on the Aug. 4, 2026, ballot. More information is available on The Seattle Public Library’s website.