😭 We’re not crying, you’re crying

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🥥🌴 All of the Kamala Harris coconut tree memes got us thinking … When we’re crawling through an MBTA slow zone, sometimes we just can’t help but get lost in the context of all in which we live, and what came before us. So we decided to get in on the joke ourselves.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• The 2024 … Boston Olympics?

• Gov. Maura Healey in the popular crowd

• New nightmare unlocked

Up first…

GOOD NEWS

It’s all good (news) here

July’s news cycle has been … somethin’. So if the Karen Read trial, the attempted assassination of a former president, and President Joe Biden dropping out of the race have your brain in a scramble, allow us to remind you of all the good news that ALSO happened this month: 

🥲 These Red Sox babies are all grown up. D’Angelo Ortiz, son of Red Sox legend Big Papi, was drafted into the franchise this month. And his childhood pal Brianna Wakefield, the daughter of late pitcher Tim Wakefield, took to Instagram to share a touching congrats — alongside some adorable baby pics of the two. “So proud of you and so lucky [to] have grown up with y’all in the family room,” she said on IG. Can someone get us a tissue?

🗳️ New ballot boxes are coming to local jails this fall. In today's lesson of “the more you know:” Under state law, people convicted of felonies can’t vote in prison. But that doesn’t apply to many people in jail, such as those awaiting trial or convicted of a misdemeanor. Some local nonprofits are reviving efforts to help thousands of eligible voters behind bars in Suffolk Country cast their ballots this election season. 

🎓 Community college is on the up. Enrollment at community colleges is up 8% statewide after a decade of decline, largely thanks to Gov. Healey’s free enrollment programs for students over 25 or in nursing school. And the news might get even better: In the FY25 budget on Healey’s desk, there’s language that would expand the program to everybody, which, with her sign-off, would make community college even more accessible.

🐢 One lucky sea turtle was given a second chance. Rescuers saved the life of a massive six-foot, 400-pound endangered leatherback sea turtle, affectionately named “Phinney,” after he was found entangled in fishing gear off of Cape Cod bay. Thankfully, their quick response meant that Phinney wasn’t hurt, and thanks to a shiny new tracking device (you can follow his journey here!), he’ll also help his species in the future by providing crucial data on the outcomes of trapped turtles. 

🎶 Concert season is giving us a major serotonin boost. See: This local 10-year-old girl getting paid in Zach Bryan tickets at her lemonade stand — which she put up to fundraise  for said tickets. Also see: The incredible vibes of Noah Kahan’s two-night stint at Fenway, from these hilarious compilations of his out-of-pocket moments on stage, to his family dancing to stick season, to these sing-along clips that gave us goosebumps.

QUICK QUESTION

💚 We want to know: What do you think of politicians like VP Kamala Harris leaning into Gen Z trends (Think: Brat, coconut tree memes, TikTok fan edits, etc.)?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🥇 Picture this: The 2024 Olympics are taking place in Boston. If you can believe it, back in 2015, we were actually *close* to making that happen with a major bid to host the event. Ultimately, concerns about the logistics and expense — it costs about $15 billion to host and things generally go over budget —  snuffed out Boston’s 2024 Olympic dreams. But officials are still debating the pros and cons of hosting in the future. You can see some of what could’ve been here.

📲 Want to know when the T’s coming? There’s an app for that. Well, there will be. The MBTA is working on a new app, tentatively called MBTA Go, that would give riders real-time info on when trains and buses are actually going to show up. The app is currently in its beta form (here’s a sneak peek of what it looks like), so there’s a lot we don’t know, including when it’ll go live. But our two cents: A world where our bus shows up when it says it’s going to show up is a world we want to live in.

🙋‍♀️ Gov. Maura Healey is sitting at the popular table. In all, 59% of Bay Staters approve of her performance, according to new polling from Morning Consult, making her the 14th most popular governor in the country. Plus, three other New England guvs broke the top 10: Vermont’s Phil Scott (No. 1), New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (No. 6), and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (No. 9). But before we get too high on our New England supply, we should also mention that Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee came in dead last. 

🚗 It’s not just young people who want to leave Mass. About one in five Mass. residents want to leave the state, according to a new poll by MassInc. And the reasons why aren’t surprising: Housing and transit. This isn’t exactly new news — a similar poll earlier this year found that 25% of young people want out — but this one doubled down on the causality, finding that about 40% of those who are affected by both high housing and transit costs want to leave, compared with 21% overall.

GIVEAWAY

Together with The Beth Kitchen & Bar

Enter to win a giveaway of a $100 gift card from The Beth Kitchen & Bar in Hingham. To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on July 25. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

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

ONE LAST THING

Man overboard!

New nightmare unlocked: Getting flipped off of a boat by a whale. And if you’re thinking, “that seems irrational,” we invite you to check out this video taken off the coast of Rye, N.H., on Tuesday.

Spoiler: Two men on a small fishing boat were launched into the water after a full-on whale leapt out of the ocean (or breached, for you marine biologists out there) and onto its deck, flipping the boat sideways. You kind of have to see it to believe it. 

Luckily, no one was injured, the two teens who took the video, hoping to catch footage of the whale, were there to help recover the men from the water. Yeesh!

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🐳 Thanks for reading! If we didn’t have a fear of open water, we do now.

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