⚾❤️‍🩹 A Yankees fan we could NEVER hate

🦞 When was the last time you saw a $15 lobster roll? Spoiler: It’s TODAY. Pauli’s is celebrating National Lobster Day with a throwback to its 2012 lobster roll prices from 2 to 6 p.m. Also: The first four B-Side members to flash their B-Side pass at Seamark Seafood & Cocktails get their $90 lobster special for half off. Bon appétit!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Oh man, did you see the time? It’s good news o’clock, baby! A.k.a., it’s time to put you on to all the feel-good stories you might’ve missed this month:

⚾ In this divided (baseball) house, family comes first. Michael Bisono may be a Yankees fan, but when health issues began to prevent his father, Antonio Bisono, from seeing his beloved Red Sox IRL, he knew what he had to do. Michael made his father a remarkably detailed mini replica of Fenway, fitted out with a mini Green Monster, mini Citgo sign, and even a real Fenway chair (just look at it!). “It’s always family first for me, Yankees second,” he said.

🦎 Lots of six-year-olds love Axolotyls. Just look how cute they are! But Marianne Cullen is probably the only six-year-old who’s actively fundraising for medical axolotl research. After Cullen found out that research on the amphibians’ ability to regrow limbs could help amputees (and potentially, her baby sister, who suffers from an autoimmune disease), she made it her mission to fundraise for Harvard’s research. This month, she sent the university a $1,000 check.

❤️ Hallmark couldn’t have written a better local love story. Let’s set the scene: South Shore natives Jesse Rosenwald and Jessica Bosworth (a.k.a. “J-Squared”) met eight years ago when they were both bartending at Tia’s and bonded over a love of cooking. This month, the now-married duo won the first-ever pairs season of MasterChef — and the $250,000 that comes with it — with a New England-inspired meal. Now, they plan to use the money to launch a brand of frozen bar pizzas. No, YOU’RE crying.

🏀 A Mass. native is breaking basketball’s glass ceiling. From Wellesley to Harvard to the WNBA, Katie Benzan has always lived and breathed basketball. But this summer, she earned her place in the game’s history books, when she became the general manager of the Salt Lake City Stars at just 27-years-old. That makes her the youngest female GM in G-League history, the league’s youngest active GM, AND one of just two women currently leading teams. Go OFF.

✉️ This piece of paper is helping thousands of autistic drivers. For some people with autism, routine traffic stops can be majorly anxiety-inducing, which can lead to unintended escalation or confusion with police. Enter: The Blue Envelope Program, which is helping State Police officers more safely and effectively handle interactions with roughly 12,000 drivers. The envelope holds drivers’ licenses, registration, emergency contacts, and offers clear instructions for officers on how to proceed, giving those drivers and their families peace of mind.

❤️‍🩹 September = the month where giving back is multiplied. When you donate to the MGH Fund from now through Sept. 30, every dollar you give will be tripled. That’s three times the fuel for lifesaving research, three times the resources for patients, and three times the ability for Mass General to act fast in times of crisis. Give today, when your generosity will go three times as far.

👵 When it comes to politicians: Does age matter? Voters may get to weigh in next year as 46-year-old state Rep. Seth Moulton reportedly prepares to launch a primary campaign against 79-year-old Sen. Ed Markey. If true (Moulton is playing coy), it’d be a major test for Markey, who would be 86 at the end of another term. That said, age isn’t the only difference between the two: While Markey is one of the Democrats’ most progressive voices, Moulton (who is more of a centrist) recently got into some hot water over his comments about trans athletes.

💉 Free vaccine clinics, incoming! The Boston Public Health Commission is kicking off its annual series of vaccine clinics around the city, where folks can get a COVID or flu vaccine for free, no appointment needed (insurance isn’t required either, but if you got it, bring it!). ICYMI: In an effort to break away from increasingly restrictive federal vaccine guidelines, Mass. has dropped its own independent recommendations, which you can see here. The clinics will pop up across the city through Dec. 15, starting today in Mattapan. Here’s the full schedule.

🐶 This local shelter is BURSTING with Golden Retriever puppies. Just days after rescuing 26 goldies from “deplorable” conditions at a New York breeder, Second Chances Animal Shelter in East Brookfield received a mind-boggling 2,500 applications … and raised over $17,000 for their care. (Though, considering just how stinking cute they are, we aren’t surprised). To accommodate all the interest, the shelter has swapped its usual first come, first served policy to a lottery system, and folks who’ve been selected will be notified this week.

🛍️ This is your sign to have a Seaport shopping day. The Current, the neighborhood’s rotating slate of pop-up shops, is back with a cozy, aprés-ski-themed winter refresh. Newbies include Cape Cod Swedish candy shop The Sweetish Fish, innovative matcha shop Lucy and Jane (rumor has it, there will be doughnuts, too), Colombian fashion brand Min & Mon, and handmade knitwear shop Archive Knitwear. Even better: If you head over on Sept. 26 from 4 to 6 p.m., TONS of freebies, swag, giveaways, and perks await (including a free embroidered tote!).

Last week, we welcomed Cardi B into the Massachusetts canon. This week, a bunch of Patriots WAGs (that’s wives and girlfriends, mind you) did the same, in the form of a public invite to their game-day tailgate.

ICYMI: The rapper recently announced that she’s having a baby with wide receiver Stefon Diggs. After the news dropped, Victoria Gibson, wife of Pats running back Antonio Gibson posted an incredible Instagram video with the caption “This message is for Cardi from the Patriot Wags,” In it, her and another WAG invite Cardi to their pre-game potluck:

“A lot of people are looking forward to meeting you,” she said in the clip. “My mother-in-law is cooking. I’m cooking ... We’re gonna have music, I’m making punch. It’s gonna be lit.” 

Although Cardi didn’t answer, the video popped off, and a lot other people LOVED the energy.

— Written by Gia Orsino

🏈 Thanks for reading! FWIW, the tailgate DID look pretty lit.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, The MGH Fund, for supporting local journalism and keeping our city healthy. 

🎨 The results are in: 29% of B-Siders say their favorite way to be cultured is by going to museums. One reader said: “Where is the all of the above answer?” Fair enough! 

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