😅📦 Your 9/1 pregame starts now

🍦 Now this is a dreamy freebie. Ben & Jerry’s new oat milk non-dairy flavors are on a creamy dreamy tour, and will be stopping by the Watertown B&J’s location today and Wednesday to dole out free samples from 2 to 10 p.m.  

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year. Yup, we’re talking about Sept. 1 move-ins. 

To get a head start, we’re bringing you a weekly move-in series to guide you through your move, from packing, to Allston Christmas shopping, to settling into your new hood. 

First up: The pre-move.

🚚 Step one: Decide who’s doing the moving NOW. Hiring professional movers ain’t cheap. But if they are in your budget, word to the wise: The time to book is yesterday. “We tend to book up anywhere from 90 to 60 days out,” said Niles Kuronen, of Gentle Giants Moving Company, although they do get some cancellations. A cheaper option is getting help via TaskRabbit, which can be done later on, but is often akin to having a pal help out, rather than a pro, Kuronen said. Whatever you do, make sure your driver is registered!

🙋 And ditto if it’s on you. U-Haul renters, beware: Gentle Giants gets “a lot” of calls on moving day from people who arrive to pick up their truck only to be turned away. The moral of the story: Book the U-Haul now, and pick it up early in the day.

🎫 Step two: Make sure you’re permitted. The jury is out on whether you actually need a $110 parking permit for your U-Haul or moving truck, but it’s never a bad idea to have a definite claim to your spot, especially in high-traffic neighborhoods (hi, North End!). You can grab one here. 

🔌 BTW: Now’s also the time to notify your gas and wifi providers about the move.

🗑️ Step three: Get rid of your garbage. Bringing unwanted items with you on a move “wastes time, energy, and money” in the packing and moving process, said pro-organizer Stasia Steele, of The Little Details. So carve out some time ahead of the move to lighten the load. Here’s a guide to trash day, including how to schedule special item pickups, and a list of local donation sites for items you’re parting ways with.

📦 Step four: Get packing. For those on a budget, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and buy nothing groups often have lots of free gently used boxes. But if you can splurge for extra convenience, Steele (coincidentally) recommended Gentle Giant’s moving kits, which include boxes, tape, packing paper, and more for around $100. 

🧳 Here are Steele’s top packing tips:

✨ Celebrate Black-Owned Business Month with a day out in Seaport. Start by exploring unique finds at Black Owned Bos. Market, then freshen up your look at Hair Seaport or Seaport Barbers. Cap off your day with delicious bites and drinks at ZaZiBar, Grace by Nia, Larry J’s BBQ Cafe, or Borrachito. Every dollar you spend boosts Boston’s Black-owned businesses, so go ahead — enjoy yourself while making an impact on your local community.

😷 Hot girl summer > COVID girl summer.  And yet, here we are. As has become a summertime trend in Mass., COVID cases are once again on the rise, with the CDC reporting “high” levels of the virus detected in our wastewater. The good news? Widespread population immunity = generally milder symptoms =  fewer hospitalizations and deaths compared with past data. That said, experts still suggest getting a booster shot this fall and masking up in public if you’re heading to a big event.

🚲 Getting an E-Bike in Boston just got easier. Mayor Michelle Wu announced a new citywide initiative: the Boston E-Bikes Incentive Program, which will help about 1,000 residents get an E-Bike through $800 to $2,400 vouchers plus $150 for bike safety equipment. The program is open to seniors (60-years-old or more), folks over 18 with a chronic or permanent disability, or those making under 40% of the average median income. If that’s you, the application opens Aug. 12, and winners will be chosen by lottery.

🎓 Harvard’s “interim” president dropped the interim. Dr. Alan Garber, the university's interim president since the high-profile resignation of Claudine Gay, has been promoted to just “president” through the 2026-27 school year. Garber has overseen a perfect storm of controversies during his short tenure. See: The fallout from Gay’s resignation, pro-Palestinian encampments, appointing task forces to combat campus antisemitism and Islamophobia, deciding to stay quiet on political or social issues, and (eventually) granting encampment protestors their diplomas.

🌎 Boston’s making big climate moves. The new Office of Climate Resilience is officially in business and is meant to be the city’s hub for planning and executing our climate agenda. And while Boston already has a fair amount of plans in place to keep our spaces and infrastructure resilient in the face of climate change, this office will work across city departments to both execute and create new policies. One of its first tasks? Expand the city’s tree canopy to counteract blistering summer temps. 

Tom Brady may have seven rings … but he doesn’t have an Olympic medal. 

But that didn’t stop him from making a mark when he visited this year’s Olympic games. The GOAT dropped by to watch some events, took selfies with athletes, and generally created some very meme-able moments.

His trip highlights include: Watching fellow GOAT Simone Biles bring home a silver medal on the floor — and looking truly flabbergasted, asking New England rugby star Ilona Maher for a selfie, and meeting up with USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Stanley, which led to this iconic post.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🏈 Thanks for reading! Now how can we arrange a meeting with Stephen Nedoroscik?

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, @seaportbos, for supporting local journalism and Black-owned businesses. 

🥇 The results are in: Usually, you guys crush our pop quizzes, but this time, we got ya. While 44% of B-Siders guessed that the U.S. pays its gold medal Olympians nothing, the right answer was actually $38,000. One reader said: “Whatever it is, it's not enough!”

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