San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco, a Gallerist Followed Her Heart to a New Apartment for Around $1 Million
If her parents had had their way, Sierra Nguyen might still be training to become an anesthesiologist.
The child of Vietnamese refugees who escaped after the fall of Saigon, Ms. Nguyen grew up in Martinez, a small city in Northern California. She excelled in the sciences and got a scholarship to Saint Mary’s College of California, where an act of filial disobedience set her on an unexpected course.
After years of grueling labs, she began studying for medical school exams. But one day she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror holding one of the thick textbooks.
The first thought she had: “I don’t want to do this.”
The second came in the form of a poem by the Sufi mystic Rumi, which she had studied in high school: “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”
[Did you recently buy a home? We want to hear from you. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com]
“And so I did a complete 180, broke my parents’ hearts and, as clichéd as it sounds, I followed my own,” she said. “And I found myself at an art gallery.”
So Ms. Nguyen, now 28, became an assistant at a gallery in San Francisco, a job that involved vacuuming, changing printer cartridges and getting salads for her boss, for $15 an hour in the beginning. She struggled to pay her rent, much less save enough for a down payment on a home in a city where the typical two-bedroom condominium goes for $1.2 million, according to Zillow.
But her gamble paid off: She landed a job at Dolby Chadwick Gallery. She had been there mere months when the pandemic shut down the city, and the world. Into that void, the gallery owner and her new hire began a collaboration — a daily email to the gallery’s listserv that paired a poem and an artwork from the gallery’s inventory. Sales went through the roof.
Ms. Nguyen was promoted to gallery manager, and then associate director and, finally, director, a position that came with a percentage of the art she sold. As the years passed, she managed to set aside about $230,000 for a home purchase. Even then, it was unclear what, if anything, she could afford to buy.
Last fall, she called Pattie Lawton, an agent with Sotheby’s International Realty, and sheepishly asked if she might be able to find a two-bedroom in San Francisco with an $850,000 budget — about $350,000 less than the median price of a two-bedroom.
Ms. Lawton showed up with pink streaks in her hair and a can-do attitude. The properties she suggested included condominiums as well as tenancy-in-common listings, or T.I.C., a kind of group homeownership that is common in San Francisco and more affordable, but comes with added risk.
With a T.I.C., a group of people — either friends or strangers — enter into an agreement to buy a property. They share the legal title, and the agreement spells out the percentage of the building that each has the exclusive right to use. (This arrangement differs from that of a cooperative, where residents own shares in a private corporation that, in turns, owns and manages the building.)
Andy Sirkin, a lawyer whose firm, SirkinLaw APC, focuses on real estate co-ownership, said that a T.I.C. is “like a marriage,” whereby multiple owners share a single parcel of undivided property. The city sends a single property tax bill to the building, and it’s up to the owners to divvy it up.
“There are more shared obligations in a T.I.C. than in a condo,” Mr. Sirkin said. “That raises the level of risk.”
When this form of ownership was created, the owners also shared a group mortgage, so if one party stopped paying, the others were on the hook for those payments. But beginning in the 2000s, a form of financing known as a fractional mortgage allowed buyers to obtain separate mortgages on a fraction of a T.I.C. building, making it possible for someone like Ms. Nguyen to get an individual mortgage, which mitigates the risk somewhat.
As Ms. Nguyen began her search, her parents took the $200,000 they had saved for her college education — money she didn’t need, thanks to the scholarships she had earned — and put it toward her down payment, increasing it to $430,000.
Among her options:
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San Francisco, CA
SF mayor assures there’s ‘no imminent threat’ after FBI report warns Iran aspires to attack CA
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The FBI has warned police departments in California that Iran aspires to retaliate for American attacks by launching offensive drones against the West Coast, according to an alert reviewed by ABC News. Over the years, ABC7 Eyewitness News has reported on other alerts from the FBI that said the Bay Area could be a target for terrorists. This new alert is the first we’ve seen to mention the potential use of drones.
The FBI alert sent to the California police departments reads, “We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran.”
FBI warns Iran aspired to attack California with drones in retaliation for war: Alert
With the U.S. bombing campaign of Iran now in its twelfth day, Iran has used drones to attack American facilities and allies in the region, but the FBI alert says they “have no additional information on the timing, method, target or perpetrators of this alleged attack” on California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom activated a state emergency operations center when the war started to monitor risks to California. During a webinar on another issue on Wednesday, the governor spoke about the FBI drone alert.
“We are aware of that information, and we transfer that information, in real time, to our local partners,” Newsom said. “Drone issues have always been top of mind. And we’ve assembled some work groups specifically around those concerns.”
When pressed about whether he is concerned about the possibility of a domestic terror attack in the U.S. that is backed by Iran, President Donald Trump said he is “not.”
“This is extremely alarming,” said Elizabeth Neumann, ABC News National Security Contributor. “We know that Iran’s approach to combating the United States and Israel is through asymmetric warfare. They cannot take us on militarily.”
Neumann worked for the Department of Homeland Security in counterterrorism during the first Trump administration, and she explains why an alert about drones potentially coming from the ocean would go to local police departments.
IRAN LIVE UPDATES: Trump says there’s ‘practically nothing left to target’ in Iran
“State and local law enforcement are our eyes and ears on the ground, so alerting them for suspicious behavior or anything that looks out of the ordinary is an important tool to be able to help the rest of the federal government’s protective measures,” said Neumann.
East Bay Congressman Mark DeSaulnier is highly critical of the U.S. bombing of Iran, and we spoke about the idea of a drone attack in California.
“Living in such, odd and stressful times, you have to take all of this seriously, but you also have to take it with a grain of salt,” DeSaulnier said. “Should we be concerned? Absolutely. But we’ve got to go about our business and our day, take care of our families and our jobs and our communities, while we’re concerned about the international situation.”
Late Wednesday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie commented on the FBI drone alert.
“We have been in constant communication with our state and federal partners who have assured us there are no imminent threats to us here in San Francisco,” said Lurie.
ABC7 checked with police and sheriff’s departments around the Bay Area, who say they are in constant contact with their state and federal partners. They also told us there is no specific intelligence indicating any threat to the Bay Area.
Oakland Police Department
We have spoken with our federal partners, who informed us that there may be a heightened risk due to the conflict in the Middle East. To ensure the safety of our community, we are maintaining close contact with local, state, and federal law enforcement. OPD will keep monitoring the situation and determine if there is a need to increase police presence.
San Francisco Police Department
The SFPD is always ready to respond to any emergency that may occur in San Francisco, and we are closely monitoring events in the Middle East and around the world. We’re in communication and working closely with our local, state and federal partners.
San Jose Police Department
SJPD works closely with our federal partners to stay informed about potential threats and intelligence that may impact our region. As a matter of practice, we do not comment on specific intelligence or alerts. At this time, there is no known threat to our community.
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
San Francisco, CA
Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — For the first time since the attack on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s bodyguard, one of the suspects was in court on Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed charges against the man. Those charges include:
- Resisting an executive officer
- Assault with force to cause bodily injury
- Willful disobedience of a court order
- Unlawful lodging at the same location from a previous citation
Mayor Daniel Lurie said the incident won’t deter him from walking the streets of the city doing what he was doing moments before his bodyguard was attacked last week.
PREVIOUS STORY: SF mayor was ‘worried’ about 2 men on street, checked on them before bodyguard attack
Multiple angles covered a dramatic altercation between one of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s security detail and individuals on the street.
“I think I need to be able to see it myself and not just stay cloistered up and not be out of the streets. I walked the streets this morning and had some great interactions and was able to help some people,” said Mayor Lurie.
We obtained the detention motion, which revealed specific details about the incident.
The document said Mayor Lurie was riding in a car northbound on Larking Street with two of his security detail. The mayor asked the driver to stop and got out of the car with one of the officers to approach four people who were blocking the road; “two were sitting on the sidewalk… one was actually sitting in the street.” The document says one of the individuals “was aggressive” and “stepped towards the mayor,” after he asked them to move out of the road a few times. This led the bodyguard to position himself between the mayor and the individual. The document states the individual “got very close” to the officer and threatened him and said, “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your a**!”
The officer, according to the document, proceeded to shove the individual away from him “with both hands to defend himself and to create distance,” causing the individual to fall backwards on the sidewalk.
The individual quickly stood up and “rushed at the officer.”
Multiple people in the area captured the altercation on video.
We asked the mayor if he would do anything different in the future.
INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker
“I’m not going to stop doing it. I will consult with our detail and our chief and make sure we can do this safely,” said Mayor Lurie.
San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said he is glad the mayor sees the crisis on the streets up close.
“A lot of people will cross the street to get away from it hide from it. We don’t want our city hiding from this problem,” said Supervisor Mandelman.
Kevin Benedicto, vice president of the San Francisco police commission, said they will be looking into the incident.
“A number of commissioners are going to want to ask the chief about updates about the incident just to make sure we have all the policies and procedures in place,” said Benedicto.
The Individual who attacked the mayor’s bodyguard has been charged in the past for criminal threats in 2019 and 2020.
One of the arraignments is set for Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
San Francisco, CA
Where the wild things dine: Inside Wolfsbane, San Francisco’s most exciting new restaurant
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/
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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