- Though the Spare the Air Alert is set to expire tonight, wildfire smoke continues creating "unhealthy" levels of airborne pollutants. However, somewhat strong coastal winds are expected to ease conditions gradually over the weekend. [SFGate/KPIX]
- As the Delta variant crowds ICU beds, the FDA is expected to give full authorization to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine next week. Because the current inoculation is organized under "emergency use" only, its border application has been limited; should the two-shot vaccine gain full authorization by the government agency, vaccination requirements could become implemented mandates for public and private organizations around the country; there's also hope that the approved vaccine will draw interest from some Americans who have been wary as to why the vaccine was only authorized for emergency use only. [New York Times]
- After twenty months, the San Francisco Opera will once again hit the stage of the War Memorial Opera House on Saturday (to a masked, vaccinated crowd). [NBC Bay Area]
- San Francisco’s trash can problem continues to evolve — this time, most notably, around the $3K price tag for individual units that are far more expensive than similar ones in other large cities. [Mission Local]
- Thousands of goats and sheep have been strategically deployed in fire-prone areas to clear out dry debris this wildfire season. [ABC7]
- As if we needed this: Tesla is expected to introduce a humanoid robot next year—which the company describes as "friendly," so that's nice. [KRON4]
- Get your lips around any one of these juicy dumplings this weekend. [Eater SF]
- And this week... all of the San Francisco Public Library's branches reopened for in-person services. [The Bold Italic]
Photo: Getty Images/zodebala
