• A winter wildfire has burned over 150 acres since Friday night in Monterey County, just north of Big Sur — and it's even visible from Santa Cruz. Dubbed the Colorado Fire, the blaze broke out around 7:30 p.m. Friday near north of the Bixby Bridge, close to Highway 1; gusts as strong as 50 mph have made containing the fire difficult (5% as of Saturday morning), and mandatory evacuation orders for parts of Monterey County have been placed. [ABC 7 / Chronicle]
  • There were apparently some 14,000 COVID-19 tests left sitting in bags inside a Pleasanton-based lab. Customers are still waiting for their results two weeks after they submitted samples; "For all you folks out there who are mad, I'm terribly sorry," said Frank Lee, the CEO of Bay Area-based Virus Geeks — "they have a right to be mad." [San Mateo Daily Journal]
  • Let's hope the 60,000-plus COVID-19 rapid tests Santa Clara County plans to have available at drive-thru testing centers don't suffer such delays. [NBC Bay Area]
  • FYI: Safer Together will have walk-up rapid antigen testing available this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 555 Franklin Street. [Twitter]
  • It's been 18 months since San Francisco began a pilot program that gave local artists $1k monthly stipends to use how they see fit; the (positive, very good, life-changing) results speak for themselves. [SFGate]
  • Folsom Street between 20th and 22nd streets could see “median islands, speed cushions, and new red zones" soon. [Mission Local]
  • Alas... a new study has found that we've crossed a "planetary boundary" regarding the release of  synthetic chemicals and other human-made pollutants, threatening the entire planet and the very existence of the human species. [Mongabay]
  • Omicron has pushed food pantries across the nation — including Bay Area-based food banks, as well — to their limits, as understaffed nonprofits continue to struggle with the increased demand and staff members out on sick leave; if you have the time, assuming you're healthy, consider volunteering at your local food pantry. [Associated Press]

Photo: bigsurkate/Twitter