🚚😭 Don’t make this 9/1 rookie mistake

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

💅 Listen up, Daddy Gang! Tickets just dropped for Alex Cooper’s first-ever Red Sox block party on Lansdowne Street on Aug. 15, and it sounds wild. Tickets get you into the carnival-themed block party, the Sox game, and a “Call Her Daddy” Red Sox pullover. We found some for ~$55.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Harvard v. Trump’s expensive ending

• The rats HATE these trash cans

• Boston’s best pints

Up first…

THE BIG MOVE

Your 9/1 pregame starts NOW

Sept. 1 is coming for us faster than you can say “Storrowed.” And since the key to a *slightly* less stressful move is planning ahead, it’s time to talk strategy. 

Introducing, B-Side’s 2025 pre-move checklist:

🚚 If you haven’t yet: BOOK! THAT! U-HAUL! Gentle Giant Moving Company and U-Haul both told us this moving season is shaping up to be BUSY. While it’ll be tough landing legit movers this late in the game, Gia was able to snag a U-Haul earlier this week. Pro tip: U-Haul tends to overbook, so plan an early pickup if you can.

😬 Can’t get a U-Haul? Home Depot and Enterprise also rent trucks (albeit, they’re more expensive). Need a helping hand? You can also find yourself some de facto movers with apps like Taskrabbit.

🎫 Then, reserve your parking spot. Is it required? No. But it is the only way to *legally* claim a spot for your moving truck. For a truck, apply online two weeks BEFORE your move. For a moving container (think: PODS), you’ll need to do it IRL at City Hall.

🛏️ Schedule your mattress pickup. Remember: You can’t throw them out or just leave ‘em on the street. For buildings with six or less units, schedule a free pickup. Over six units? Try one of these companies. 

📦 Start collecting moving boxes. If you ask nicely, buy nothing FB groups, grocery and liquor stores, bookstores, and libraries have all been known to give them away. 

🔌 Let your utility companies know what’s up. Nothing’s worse than showing up at your new spot and realizing you have no wifi. So let your electric/gas and wifi providers know when to turn things on and off ASAP. Here’s how to do it for Eversource and National Grid.

🚗 Mark your calendar to apply for a resident parking permit. You can do it online, but not until 10 days before your move. Note: Your car has to be registered in Mass. to get one.

🎁 Start your Allston Christmas shopping NOW. We may be a month out, but the Facebook Marketplace deals and sidewalk freebies we’re seeing are giving Black Friday doorbusters. Hi, free Article couch!

🤔 Any other questions? Find answers here. And if you’ve lost all hope, you can always call Boston’s (non-emergency) 311 line for help. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🎓 The Harvard v. Trump saga might have a very expensive ending. Think: $500 million. According to The New York Times, the university is willing to spend up to half a billion buckaroos to settle its longtime legal battle with Trump (Columbia just paid $200 million to do the same). But as Harvard takes Trump to court over his laundry list of demands, which the school flat-out rejected, it's also quietly replacing offices for LGBTQ+ and minority students, leaving folks around Harvard confused about where the university really stands in the fight.  

💔 The Mass. and Cass crisis is reaching a new low. The area has long been an epicenter for drug use, trafficking, and homelessness, but in the past few months, locals have noticed things getting worse. Drug-related arrests are up in the area 62% from last year, one resident said he calls 911 daily, and one Instagram account has even started to chronicle the scenes. Though the city has taken steps to make the area safer, like increasing police presence and launching an outreach team, residents’ patience is wearing thin.

🐀 The rats are going to HATE these trash cans. Ahead of the North End’s feast season kickoff, Mayor Wu took to social media to remind us to use the neighborhood’s sleek new fleet of “rat resistant” trash cans. The 20 cans were first installed in December and are a part of Boston’s sweeping “Rodent Action Plan.” Their enclosed design is meant to cut off rats, seagulls, and other pests from using the cans as all-you-can-eat-buffets and turn them into skinny legends (kidding). “Boston is a home for everyone. Except for rats,” Wu said.

👗 If a clothing swap and a thrift shop had a baby … It would probably be Style Exchange, a new community thrift market in Southie where you can literally shop your neighbors’ closets. Picture a format just like any other pop-up thrift market, but instead of vintage sellers, each booth is filled with regular people like you who are selling clothes from their own closets. Wanna join in? Their next market is on Aug. 23 in Southie, and they’re currently looking for vendors. Sign up here!

QUICK QUESTION!

🤔 What do you think about Harvard potentially settling with Trump?

THINGS TO DO

Mid week check-in

COMMUNITY EVENTS

🎤 Rage Against the Regime | Saturday, Aug. 2 | 12-4 p.m. | Cambridge Common, Harvard Square | A festival of nonviolent resistance and one of dozens of Rage Against the Regime actions planned across the country.

🍅 Certified Fresh | Thursday, Aug. 31 | 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show | The Comedy Studio | This weekly set showcases a dynamic mix of Boston’s emerging and seasoned talent. B-Side members get a FREE TICKET! 

B-SIDE EVENTS

🧘 Any Bodies Pilates | Sunday, Aug. 10 | 10-11 a.m. | Outside Faneuil Hall | Join us and @anybodiespilates for a FREE all-levels mat Pilates class. Bring your own mat!

💋 The Dating Game Live | Monday, Aug. 11 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Aeronaut Brewing | We’re teaming up with Aeronaut to host our take on the 60’s hit show “The Dating Game!” Click here to apply — you must be bi or pan to participate in this round.

At B-Side events, members get perks like discounted entry, free drinks, B-Side swag, and more. Stay tuned for more meetups, and become a member to get your perks! 

MEDIA SPONSORSHIP

You bring the appetite, they bring the buns.

The B-Side is a proud media partner of The Fenway, who happen to be throwing “bun-beleivable” Fenway food crawl Between the Buns tomorrow from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.! Stop in at any of the ELEVEN participating Fenway restaurants between those hours and get special menu items and deals like: a lobster roll and wine pairing at nathàlie, free buffalo chicken sliders at Cisco (only 100 available!), and $5 mini wagyu hot dogs at Basho. See the full lineup here!

ONE LAST THING

Boston’s best pints 

In a city like Boston, a LOT of pubs claim to have a primo pint of Guinness. But now, thanks to one iconic man, we know who’s telling the truth. 

Meet Jason Hackett, a.k.a. @primemutton2000abfr. He’s basically an English beer influencer, whose on-the-spot reviews of Guinness (you honestly just have to watch one) have earned him tons of adoring young fans who he calls Muttonistas. And now, he’s brought his talents to Boston.

Hackett doesn’t post bad reviews, so any brew he rates is either a “Creamer” (quite good) or an “Absolute Creamer,” which he says puts a pint on par with a “very good” pour at an actual Irish pub. 

So far, only The Druid has earned the ”Absolute Creamer” distinction, but several other local spots aren’t far behind. You can keep up with his latest reviews here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🍺 Thanks for reading! The way the whole bar cheers for him is SENDING us.

🗳️ The results are in: 44% of B-Siders say they’re planning to vote by mail in this year’s primaries. One reader said: “There’s a certain je ne sais quoi about walking into an elementary school gym full of voting booths and ballot machines to cast a ballot.”

🎵 🛍️ Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping bash at Artists for Humanity!

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