🐼 Bye bye, bears

It's Friday!

Today's weather: Mostly cloudy. High around 78.

🥳 Axios Atlanta turns 3 today — help us celebrate by becoming a member! Your contribution will support our work and allow us to do more of it.

• Plus, join by midnight tonight and you could win a $100 gift card to a local restaurant. Rules apply.
• Existing members are automatically entered.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Atlanta member Scott Rafshoon!

‼️ Situational awareness: DeKalb emergency officials said residents might again experience haze and a chlorine smell from the BioLab plant fire, ACPC reports.

Today's newsletter is 843 words — a 3-minute read.

So... who makes the best birthday cake in metro Atlanta?

Why it matters: Today marks three years of Axios Atlanta landing in your inbox — and us writing about things that matter to you and helping you make sense of one of the country's most perplexing and newsy cities.

Flashback: Over the course of three years, we've written about municipal imbroglios, presidential visits, housing (un)affordability, only-in-Atlanta restaurants and popular conventions that aren't Dragon Con.

• We've also held tournaments to determine the best rappers from Atlanta and movies set in Atlanta, as well as round-ups of the best coffee shops for remote work.

Yes, and: We've confused strangers and loved ones by toting around a rotund stuffed animal we bought on Amazon and photographing in special places around town.

The big picture: Metro Atlanta has more than 6 million people, and it can be hard (and fun) for two reporters to document its evolution.

• We wouldn't be here without editor Jen Ashley, bureau chief Michael Graff, former co-authors Emma Hurt and Wilborn Nobles and the copy editors who have made this newsletter tighter, brighter and smarter every day.

Yes, and: Most importantly, we wouldn't be here without you, the reader. All 105,000-plus of you.

• Thank you for your compliments, critiques and input on where to find great falafel, sharing your view of fall leaves and telling Kristal great places to walk Hannah.

Whether you started reading our daily dispatches from the beginning or yesterday, we thank you.

What's next: Pandas, of course.

Time's running out to say farewell to four of Atlanta's cutest, fuzziest and goofiest visitors before they begin their journey back to China sometime this month.

Why it matters: Zoo Atlanta's Giant Pandas Yang Yang and Lun Lun and their offspring, including twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun, have been a major draw for the Grant Park attraction for the past 25 years.

Driving the news: Tomorrow, the zoo is hosting a Panda Palooza from 10am to 3pm where well wishers can write farewell messages, which the bears will read out loud on their flight home (we like to imagine).

• For an up-close look without all the crowds, the zoo is offering an exclusive, educator-led tour to observe the pandas' morning routines. Tickets start at $40 ($15 for members) and include the price of zoo admission.

Yes, but: If you can't make those dates, you can watch them sleep on the zoo's Panda-cam.

Catch up quick: In May, zoo officials announced that the cuddly and bamboo-philic bears would leave after their extended rumspringa in the United States.

What's next: Once the pandas depart, the San Diego Zoo will be the last place to view the bears in the U.S.

• Zoos in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco are also scheduled to receive pandas before the end of the year.

View our favorite photos of the gang chomping down on bamboo

Fall is in the air, and what better place to spend it than at this weekend's Decatur Book Festival.

Why it matters: This beloved Atlanta tradition, which went on hiatus last year, returns with a two-day lineup featuring nationally recognized and local authors and the book lovers who love them.

Driving the news: The festival begins tonight at 7pm with a keynote session featuring author Joyce Carol Oates.

• The National Book Award winner and Pulitzer finalist will be in discussion with former NBA All-Star Joe Barry Carroll at First Baptist Church of Decatur.

Stacey Abrams kicks off tomorrow's events at 10am with a "kidnote" chat moderated by Katie Rinderle, the Cobb County educator who was fired after reading a book about moving beyond the gender binary to students.

• Abrams recently published the third installment of her children's book series, "Stacey Speaks Up."

What else we're watching: DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, the author of recently released book about James Oglethorpe, will talk Georgia history with author Paul Pressly in a session that starts at 11:15 am.

• Southern Fiction featuring authors Terah Shelton Harris, Karen Spears Zacharias and Jeffrey Blount.
• Poetry reading session with Karen Head, Collin Kelley, Erin Hoover and Willie Kinard III.
• Chef Todd Richards discusses his cookbook, "Roots, Heart, Soul: The Story, Celebration, and Recipes of Afro Cuisine in America."

Stop by: Festival sessions run from 10am to 5pm. View Saturday's full schedule here.

Share with a fellow book lover

Ann E Holder's high school counselor told her the military wasn't for women. Those words fueled her during service.

Today, that same passion for helping others shines through in her role as CEO of Marani Health, a company striving for better outcomes for mothers and their babies.

Read her story.

😢 The death toll from Hurricane Helene has risen to at least 33 people. Georgia has suffered roughly $417 million in damages. (Fox 5 Atlanta)

The Falcons took the NFC South after last night's overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Axios)

🚢 Striking dockworkers said they'll return to work at U.S. ports after reaching a tentative agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance. (Axios)

⛳ Augusta National Golf Club suffered extensive damage from the storm but expects to host the Masters in April. (AP)

💻 Rockdale County schools will hold remote classes next week amid a chemical plume remaining in the area following the BioLab plant fire. (AJC)

🏀 Atlanta Dream fired Tanisha Wright, making it the third WNBA team to let go its head coach within the last month. (ESPN)

⚖️ DeKalb County will pay Brookhaven $30,000 to settle a civil lawsuit over the city's 2020 annexation of land at North Druid Hills and Briarcliff roads. (Rough Draft Atlanta)

At Wellstar, we're committed to enhancing the health and wellness of everyone we serve. That means helping the individuals who walk through our doors and meeting our neighbors right where they are.

Discover free or low-cost local resources for your well-being with Wellstar Find Help.

🏈 Kristal had a blast at last night's Falcons game.

🚗 Thomas thinks we need an elite task force to create rules about when a driver is permitted to back their car into a parking spot.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Ashley.