🌊😳 Come on in, the water’s ... fine?

It’s Thursday, Boston.

♟️👀 Was that … Tyler, The Creator in Roxbury? Yup. On Wednesday, the rapper slash fashion icon stopped by Madhouse Cafe for a few games of chess in between his back-to-back shows at TD Garden. And the cafe’s post about it? SO sweet.

🥳 And a happy B-Side b-day to Emily’s grandmother, Juju! She’ll kill us if we say how old she’s turning, but we know reading B-Side is the best kind of botox. Love ya! <3

👀 What’s on tap today:

• It’s Red Line shutdown time

• Shoes ON at the airport

• A shark season situation

Up first…

LOCAL NEWS

Our “dirty water” gets a rebrand

Call us crazy, but we’re going swimming in the Charles this weekend. And we’re not the only ones. In fact, hundreds of people will be taking a dip of their own free will as part of the Charles River Conservancy’s annual City Splash event. And before you joke about growing an extra limb, a swimmable Charles isn’t as wild as you might think. 

Here’s what to know:

🌊 Efforts to clean up the river are working wonders. Back in 1995, the EPA launched the Clean Charles River Initiative with the ambitious goal of making the Charles swimmable. Since then, the river has improved from being a D student (only meeting swimming standards 19% of the time) to a B student, with the lower basin meeting swimming standards ~75% of the time on dry days, and ~55% on wet ones.

🤢 But some days are yuckier than others. Not-so-fun fact: Heavy rain can cause our sewer systems to overflow and dump all sorts of polluted water, including sewage, into the Charles (think: over 100 million gallons in the past two years). Meanwhile, excessive stormwater runoff and warm temperatures can cause toxic cyanobacteria blooms, a.k.a. blue-green algae. 

🚽 The fix? We need to dig deep. Literally. Policy changes to improve outdated stormwater and sewage systems will be key to rerouting sewage and toxic runoff and improving the river’s health, said Max Rome, stormwater program manager at the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA). Those changes are one of the organization’s major goals. 

🌧️ But climate change brings an added challenge. No matter how much we improve the infrastructure, increased storms and a hotter climate are working against that progress, said Laura Jasinski, executive director of the Charles River Conservancy. The more it rains, the more runoff and overflows we can expect, so climate-friendly innovation will have to go hand-in-hand with policy.

🏊 All that said, swimmability is within our grasp. Just this week, the Seine River in Paris (which faces some similar issues to the Charles), opened to public swimming. Jasinski sees this as evidence of what can be possible in Boston with the right investments, both in water quality and infrastructure, including lifeguards, roped off areas, and docks. 

🤩 And when that day comes, you can expect folks to dive in. Despite the Charles’ *ahem* reputation, since City Splash’s debut in 2013, the event consistently sells out its 320 swimming spots, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. “It's both a proof of concept, and also really transformative [in] activating a lot of advocates,” Jasinski said.

QUICK QUESTION!

🏊 If you were offered a (safe) chance to hop in the Charles right now, would you?

TOGETHER WITH BOSTON POPS 

Popchella is almost here 

🎵 🎹 Forget Coachella or Lollapalooza. Boston Pops just dropped the ultimate live concert lineup — and yes, it includes an orchestra-backed screening of “The Princess Bride.” This 2025-2026 Boston Pops and BSO season is all about honoring the classics while keeping things fresh, so expect to see performances like Broadway’s Mandy Gonzalez singing songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, a Halloween-weekend orchestral screening of “Hocus Pocus,” and more culturally rich performances all year long. Tickets are available July 31 — mark your calendar and learn how you can donate to help keep the music playing. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚇 Red Liners, we (don’t) come in peace. Starting tonight at 8:30 p.m. through July 13, the line will be replaced with shuttle buses between Kendall/MIT and JFK/UMass. Shuttle service will be slightly wonky, skipping Park Street and adding stops at State and Haymarket for easier connections (here’s a map). Park Street riders should use the ​​Winter Street concourse to catch a Downtown Crossing shuttle … which will also be stopping at slightly weird locations. And you better get used to it — we’re running it back next week. 

🦶 The days of walking barefoot through airport security are OVER. TSA officially kissed its 19-year-old “shoes-off” rule goodbye this week. Why? Apparently, security technology has improved enough that the rule is more annoying than effective, and according to the immediate reactions, most travelers seem to agree. Other security rules (laptops and liquids out, coats off) will still be in effect, and shoes-on TSA PreCheck will stick around. Next order of business: Convincing people to keep their shoes on during the flight.

💸 President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” won’t be so beautiful for Allston. Because it’s looking like it could eliminate $335 million of key financing for the hood’s massive I-90 “megaproject.” ICYMI: The project (expected to start in 2027) plans to bring the highway to ground level, build a new MBTA station, improve river access, and more. Thankfully, most of the project is locally funded and we still have some runway, making these cuts not super dire. That said, local advocates and politicians are still NOT happy about it.

🏆 These restaurants are the BEST of the best. The Globe’s “Best of the Best” lists are back for year two, and chock full of 300+ restaurants, bars, nightlife, and things to do recs around the city, hand-picked by Globe staff and correspondents. This year’s newbies include lists of Boston’s best sandwiches (hi, Cutty’s!), bakeries, thrift shops, cocktail bars, doughnuts, and record stores. You can check out all 28 lists here. And if you become a B-Side member, you can read ALL these lists paywall free. <3

GIVEAWAY

Together with Boston magazine

Enter to win two VIP Tickets to the Best of Boston Soiree on July 16. To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on July 12. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

21+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

ONE LAST THING

Shark season gone wrong

New nightmare unlocked: Getting eaten by a shark in Woods Hole. 

That’s what almost happened to local college students Margaret Bowles and Maddie Cronin on July 4. The duo were out for a casual paddleboard sesh when Bowles noticed … something … moving in the water nearby.

Turns out, that something was the first great white shark to be spotted in the area since 2004. Casual. Even better: The whole thing took place during a (slay) paddleboard photoshoot, so Cronin inadvertently captured the moment Bowles noticed the shark on camera. 

Thankfully, the pair immediately paddled away to safety, and no one was hurt. But we can only assume it’ll be nightmare fuel pretty much forever.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🦈 Thanks for reading! Although, now that everyone’s safe, we gotta say, that pic of her noticing the shark is pretty priceless.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Boston Pops, for supporting local journalism and bringing unforgettable musical experiences to our community.

🎨 The results are in: 43% of B-Siders are split on Central Square’s giant mesh cube, and 42% hate it. One reader said: “it's kind of giving Urban Outfitters realness.” Lowkey … yeah.

🥳 🎶 Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping par-tay at Artists for Humanity!

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].