The Sunset Connection - Perspectives from SF's Sunset Neighborhood

Send us Fan Mail The Sunset is changing, and few businesses have captured the neighborhood's attention quite like Two Pitchers Brewing Company and Maillards . In this special episode, Jessica is joined by guest co-host Ted Manahan, a Sunset resident and longtime supporter of local businesses, to sit down with Tommy Hester and Max Ponzurick, the founders behind the popular Noriega Street desti...

Send us Fan Mail San Francisco voters are being asked to weigh in on earthquake preparedness, term limits, and two competing business tax measures that could shape the city’s economic future. In this episode, Jessica Ho is joined by Ryan Blake of Platinum Advisors to break down Propositions A through D in plain English, including the debate behind the so-called “CEO tax,” downtown recovery, city b...

Send us Fan Mail Most people in San Francisco think “affordable housing” is for someone else. But the reality is more complicated. In this episode, I sit down with Manson Leong from Self-Help for the Elderly to break down how the system actually works and who it really serves. We talk about:  the difference between low-income and affordable housing   how federal and city programs work   Self-Help’...

Send us Fan Mail Disclosure: My husband, Christian Kropff, is Supervisor Alan Wong's campaign manager. Every candidate in this series was made aware of this connection before recording. The questions in this episode are the same ones asked of every candidate throughout the series. This is the final episode of The Sunset Connection 's District 4 Candidate Series. Over the past several wee...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I talk with Emma Hare, legislative aide to Supervisor Myrna Melgar, about the Inner Sunset and transportation policy in San Francisco. If you've ever wondered what a legislative aide actually does, what makes the Inner Sunset unique, and the so-called “war on cars," this episode is for you.  We also talk about including two transit funding measures expec...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a home becomes more than real estate? Welcome to the home of Jim Kirk (yes, that’s really his name), who lives in a house that has become memory, identity, and community all at once. In this episode of The Sunset Connection , I record on location inside one of the most unusual homes in San Francisco’s Sunset District, known by neighbors as the “Starship House.” J...

Send us Fan Mail This episode continues The Sunset Connection ’s District 4 Candidate Series, where each candidate for Supervisor is asked the same questions in the same format. In this conversation, Jeremy Julian Greco - a longtime District 4 resident, educator, artist, and former worker-owner at Other Avenues Food Co-op -  shares his personal connection to the Sunset, what led him to run for Sup...

Send us Fan Mail This episode continues The Sunset Connection ’s District 4 candidate interview series. I’m speaking with every candidate running for Supervisor and asking the same questions, in the same order, to give Sunset residents a clear look at how each candidate thinks and approaches decision-making - before campaigns get condensed into slogans. In this episode, I’m joined by David Lee , a...

Send us Fan Mail This episode continues the District 4 candidate mini-series on The Sunset Connection . I’m speaking with every candidate who agrees to participate, using the same questions and the same format each time. The goal is simple: to give Sunset residents the opportunity to hear directly from the people asking for their vote. In this conversation, I’m joined by Natalie Gee, Chief of Staf...

Send us Fan Mail This episode marks the start of a District 4 candidate mini-series on The Sunset Connection . I’ll be speaking with every candidate who agrees to come on the podcast, using the same questions and the same format each time. The goal is simple: give Sunset residents the chance to hear directly from the people asking for their vote. To kick things off, I’m joined by Albert Chow , a S...

Send us Fan Mail As we close out the year, I’m sharing a conversation that feels especially fitting for this moment. In this episode, I sit down with Alan Wong , the newly appointed Supervisor for San Francisco’s District 4, to talk about his roots in the Sunset, his family’s immigration story, and the experiences that shaped his path into public service. Before policy positions and headlines, thi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Pat Maguire opens up about the moments that shaped his new book, All Things Beautiful . He talks about the night that changed everything for his family, what grief taught him, and the unexpected place where he rediscovered purpose. This is a vulnerable, grounded conversation about loss, love, sobriety, and the work of becoming whole again. We also touch on Conor’s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Sunset Connection , I talk with Pat Maguire, who opened and runs Java Beach Café with his wife, Buffy Maguire. Both Pat and Buffy are San Francisco natives with deep ties in the Outer Sunset.  We talk about what it was really like to grow up in an Irish-Catholic family in the Outer Sunset - when the neighborhood was close-knit, rough, and far from the calm p...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Joaquin shares how his upbringing inspired his work in public service and what the new SMART Property System means for homeowners, professionals, and the city’s future. Plus, a few of his favorite Sunset hangouts.  Stay Connected 📌 Listen on Buzzsprout 📷 Follow on Instagram 📘 Like us on Facebook ▶️ Watch on YouTube ✉️ Email : jessica.jasmine.ho@gmail.com S...

Send us Fan Mail  There’s a K-Pop store in the Sunset District.  Yeah, you read that right.  In a neighborhood better known for dimsum than fandom, SarangHello has become a magnet for teens, stans, and anyone chasing joy. Jessica talks with owner Kevin Roger Teng about how he and his business partners, Pip and Ches, built a community hub out of pure love for K-Pop, and what it means when new energ...

Send us Fan Mail What happened to the Sunset Night Market? What is Sunset Mercantile? And how did the Outer Sunset Farmers Market and Mercantile get started? Is there anything happening for the holidays in the Sunset? Tune in to The Sunset Connection , where Jessica Ho talks with Angie Pettit of Sunset Mercantile about upcoming community events - from Diwali (Oct 19) and the Halloween Farmers Mark...

Send us Fan Mail A foggy square, a rolling library cart, and a neighborhood ready to gather, this is how a small idea became a 15‑year tradition that now brings 700 people together every Friday in October. We sit down with Albert to tell the full story of Movies in McCoppin, from a merchants association looking for fresh energy to a city‑loved series that unites families across the Sunset and beyo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Sunset Connection , Jessica Ho sits down with Parag Gupta - SF Board of Education commissioner, affordable housing leader, and proud SFUSD parent. Education is often called the “great equalizer,” but in San Francisco it collides with housing costs, politics, and questions of trust in public institutions. Parag shares his family’s immigration story, his caree...

Send us Fan Mail Yes, Redfin and Zillow are great for browsing listings, but will they tell you about the home that hasn’t hit the market yet, the seller quietly desperate to move, or the problems hiding behind perfect staging? In this episode of The Sunset Connection , we go back to the basics: real estate is complicated, full of legal and financial pitfalls, and finding someone you trust to guid...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jessica sits down with Carmen and Steven Lee, the creators of Sunset Commons, a brand-new arts and crafts café in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset. The two high school sweethearts turned small business owners talk about what it takes to launch a small business post-pandemic, the importance of third spaces, and why crocheting in public might just save your soul. The ep...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to be Chinese American in 2025, when a sweeping new federal law - HR 1, also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” - fundamentally changes immigration, enforcement, and who feels like they belong? NEW! 📝 Transcript and Chinese translation now available on Substack :  🆕📝 訪談文字稿與中文翻譯現已上架 Substack：   https://substack.com/home/post/p-168431500 --- In thi...

Send us Fan Mail If you live in San Francisco, chances are you either went to public school, have a child in public school, or know someone who does. But even if you don’t, the health of our schools reflects the health of our neighborhoods, our tax dollars, and our shared future. In this episode, I sit down with Han Li from The San Francisco Standard to unpack SFUSD’s budget crisis, the recent pus...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Russell Jeung is a sociologist, Christian, and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate . In this powerful conversation, Russell joins Jessica Ho to talk about what it means to be Asian American in a time of rising hate, surveillance, and silence. As a longtime professor at San Francisco State University, just steps from the Sunset District, Dr. Jeung shares how pandemic-era scapegoating...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your kid’s school assignment isn’t tied to your address, but to a citywide lottery? In this episode of The Sunset Connection , host Jessica Ho sits down with four Sunset District parents to unpack the complexities of San Francisco’s public school system. You’ll hear from: Gabi Wu , a real estate agent and bilingual education advocate who started researching kinde...

Send us Fan Mail The aroma hits you first: smoky, rich, unmistakably Texan. But this isn’t Houston. You’re in San Francisco’s Sunset District, where Daniel Ramirez and his wife, Lareina, have built something special at Smoking D’s BBQ . Daniel, a Houston native, missed the Texas barbecue of his hometown, so he made it himself and his own. What began as casual taste tests for homesick friends turne...