Hi, friends!

Here’s another Weekend Countdown for you!

5 things to do

Farmers markets

I apologize if this is already on your calendar, but we’re now in the timeframe where it really behooves you to go if you haven’t already — a.k.a., tomato season. And other produce, including maybe some stone fruits, is up for grabs. The Boise Farmers Market starts at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.

Ironman 70.3

Join the crowds of spectators for Ironman 70.3 tomorrow morning, a triathlon that starts with a 1.2-mile swim in Lucky Peak Reservoir, transitions to a 56-mile bike throughout areas of south Boise, and culminates with a 13-mile run on the Greenbelt.

There are considerable traffic detours and closures to be aware of.

Local events

• Sip some cocktails and listen to some stories with Offseason Stories at Hap Hap Lounge on Saturday at 5 p.m. It’s free!
• Meriwether Cider Co. is throwing a Christmas in July party Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m.! So cut the arms off your ugly Christmas sweater and swing by.
• ​Alabama Shakes is back, and they’re coming to Outlaw Field on Tuesday. Tickets are $82, which is quite a lot, but seeing Brittany Howard sing is worth it.

2 heat risks to manage

Temperatures could hit 105° today and 103° tomorrow.

Algae blooms & other contaminated water risks

​Brownlee and Hells Canyon reservoirs are under health advisories because of toxin-producing cyanobacteria growths that naturally occur at high temperatures. This weekend’s heat could worsen such growths, and increase their likelihood in other standing waters (looking at you, Lake Lowell).

Similarly, Quinn’s Pond was placed under a warning for a few days because of an E. coli outbreak. Levels of the harmful bacteria are now under the state’s acceptable levels, but the city is still reminding the public to recreate in the water at their own risk.

Smoke protections

You probably don’t need to be reminded that smoke season is upon us, but I will remind you that you can make a super simple, cheap, and surprisingly effective air purifier with a box fan and an air filter. Additionally, it’s not a bad idea to wear an N95 mask when you’re out and about.

1 thing giving me hope

My birthday was this week, which means that as a gift to myself I’m writing about something I love that isn’t local. So the thing giving me hope this week is the WNBA, or the Women’s National Basketball Association.

I grew up in a basketball family and hopped on the WNBA bandwagon a few seasons ago. The league has enjoyed a boom in popularity and investment in recent years, and watching along has provided me with a lot of joy. (If you have a favorite team or player, I want to know!)

But the reason this league is giving me hope right now is because of its new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). At times over the WNBA’s 30-year history, attitudes toward women partaking in contact sports have approached collective disdain. Here are women making a profession and craft that doesn’t cater to men’s attention — how dare they?

Yet not everyone has felt that way, and the league and the game has grown. After decades of work, the new CBA signed earlier this year launched the minimum salary for WNBA players from $66,000 up to $270,000, with maximum salaries hitting $1.4 million. It’s life-changing money, and that only scratches the surface of the benefits for the players, who until last season were flying to games on commercial flights.

It’s an exciting time to be a WNBA fan. While the league may still suffer from misogyny, racism, and poor decision-making (though maybe not the “worst leadership in the world,” Lynx star Napheesa Collier has self-corrected), it welcomes every kind of fan. And it shows what a concerted collective effort over multiple decades can do. Even though none of us will ever see a cent of the money flowing into these professional athlete’s pockets, I think it’s still something worth having a hope over.

Thanks for letting me rave about it! Have a great weekend, and I’ll be in touch soon.

— Blake Hunter