🦝 It's Thursday and we're laughing at this picture of our city's mischevious raccoons.

☁️ Today's weather: Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid-60s, lows around 50.

🎂 Happy birthday to our members M. Shapanka, Richard Price and Richard Payne!

🎧 Sounds like: "Been Caught Stealing” by Jane’s Addiction.

🚐 Situational awareness: As of yesterday, Waymo riders in San Francisco can now hail a fully autonomous Ojai, the company's new custom van they describe as a "living room on wheels."

Today's newsletter is 852 words — a 3-minute read.

Uber is investing in drone delivery service Zipline, with the two SF companies aiming for one million Uber Eats drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029.

Why it matters: Drone delivery, once a novelty, is becoming more widely available as the technology and regulatory environment have advanced.

Zoom in: Zipline drone delivery on Uber Eats will begin in Houston and Dallas before the end of the year, before expanding to dozens of U.S. cities. Uber Eats has not yet announced a launch date for San Francisco.

• CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described customer demand for rapid delivery as "insatiable," per WSJ.
• Uber already has drone partnerships with Flytrex in Dallas and Manna in Ireland, plus more than 30 autonomous vehicle partners across its mobility, delivery and freight businesses.

Zoom out: The deal is part of Uber's effort to build a hybrid delivery network of human couriers, sidewalk robots and drones, matching each order with the best way to get it there.

For Zipline, the deal is a major step toward scaling its delivery operations in the U.S.

• The San Francisco-based company got its start delivering medical supplies by drone in Rwanda and now serves medical facilities, retailers and small businesses in the U.S.

The intrigue: It's the first time Zipline will be fully integrated into a retailer's app. Currently, customers have to download Zipline's app to use its drone delivery service.

State of play: Other drone companies are also beginning to scale.

• Amazon Prime Air plans to serve communities totaling 30 million customers by year-end, while Google-owned Wing is already offering drone delivery in nearly 20 U.S. markets.

💭 Nadia's thought bubble: Apparently, our appetite for faster delivery is rivaled only by our ability to engineer increasingly elaborate ways to avoid getting off the couch.

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Well, we've seen our final 8pm sunset of the year.

The big picture: We lose a little more daylight every day as the Earth's Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the Sun through Dec. 21 — the shortest day of the year.

• But the farther west within a time zone you live, the later your sunsets will typically be.

Zoom in: San Francisco recorded its final 8pm sunset this past Monday. The next one won't be until May 2027.

💭 Nadia's thought bubble: It's a bummer that summer is drawing to a close, but at least we still have the best of the year's weather to look forward to in the next two months.

🗳️ Rep. Ro Khanna has endorsed Connie Chan for Congress, giving her another high-profile boost in her race against state Sen. Scott Wiener. (Mission Local)

🍔 The owners behind Original Joe's are opening Original Joe's Cable Car — their first fast-casual joint selling their popular burger and chicken tenders — in West Portal late next year. (SFGATE)

⚖️ A San Francisco judge ruled that a man accused of killing his high school classmate in a warehouse when he was 17 will be tried as an adult, marking the city's first such juvenile-to-adult court transfer in more than a decade. (SF Chronicle)

🚗 California approved first-in-the-nation standards this week requiring energy-efficient replacement tires. The new rules will phase in starting in 2029. (NYT)

💛 Meet Orchard, an 11-year-old terrier with a scruffy butterscotch-and-cream coat who's always up for an adventure.

A little twist: We usually use this series to introduce you to one of our reader's beloved pets. But we're expanding to also include some local pups in need of a forever home. Orchard is one of them.

• "So, you're in need of a little more courage, a little less doubt, some wry humor and a reliable supply of moral support. Lots of options, of course, but we're going to recommend a terrier," says Patty Stanton of Muttville Senior Dog Rescue.
• Orchard loves a good walk — with plenty of stops to sniff the bushes — but he's just as happy curling up on the couch with his people.
• His foster mom tells Stanton that he's "super smart" and learning new things every day. He's also not afraid to speak up when he wants something.

🏡 He has the charisma, the smarts and the scruff. All that's missing is a family of his own. Learn more about this sweet pup and how to adopt him here.

📸 Got a pet that deserves the spotlight? Hit reply and send us their name, some cute pics and what they most like and dislike. They might just become our next featured star!

🇧🇷 Nadia is booking her travel to Brazil for Carnival!

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.