😮‍💨 Our necks feel HEAVY this week

It’s Monday, Boston.

🚲 Thinking of getting an e-bike? Now’s the time! ICYMI: Boston is kicking off a program to help fund some residents’ e-bike purchases, and the application opens today. Just make sure to check you qualify!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• A local Olympic snub?

• Clothing tax loophole

• Matt Damon’s proposal

Up first…

OLYMPICS

Local athletes 🤝 Olympic medals

Locals came to PLAY at this year’s Olympic games. Twenty two athletes with New England ties left Paris with some hardware.

So while you were ooh-ing and aah-ing over Simone Biles’ comeback and Snoop Dogg’s legendary commentary, here are the equally legendary local moments you might’ve missed:

🧑‍🎓 New England’s biggest winner? Harvard. Seriously, those Ivy League kids don’t mess around. This year, Harvard students and alums produced a whopping 13 medals, beating the school’s all-time medal record of 12 set in 1896 (and no, not all of them were rowers). 

🚲 Kristen Faulkner pulled off a cycling Cinderella story. Picture this: Faulkner, a Harvard grad (obv) who started cycling in 2016, only qualified for the Olympics after a teammate dropped out. But she pulled off one of the games’ biggest upsets, individually delivering Team USA’s first gold in cycling ever in the women’s road race, and then helping her team earn another gold soon after. This video of her parents watching her win might make you ugly cry (guilty).

🏊🏻‍♂️ Ruby Remati helped put USA artistic swimming back on the map. The Andover native was first drawn to the sport because of the sparkly suits she saw at the Andover YMCA. Flash forward 20ish years, and Remati helped Team USA earn its first medal in the sport since 2004, earning a silver for a routine which included an upside-down underwater moonwalk to Michael Jackson hits.

🤺 Lauren Scruggs defied expectations. Most fencing fans correctly suspected reigning champ Lee Kiefer would win gold heading into the individual foil. What they didn’t anticipate? 21-year-old Harvard senior Lauren Scruggs pulling off a DRAMATIC upset against top-ranked Italian fencer Arianna Errigo to take silver behind Kiefer. The icing on the cake? The two joined forces to nab team gold later on.

🤸 A star was born on the men’s gymnastics team. You probably know Stephen Nedoroscik from Worcester (a.k.a. “pommel horse guy”) had his moment in the sun after his clutch bronze medal-winning performances. But since then? He’s become a full-blown internet celeb, gaining over 200k TikTok followers, chatting with Elmo on X, and even earning a GQ profile! Go off!

🏀 C’s really do get degrees. The U.S. men’s basketball team earned its fifth-straight gold medal on Saturday after beating out France. As a result, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White became the first trio in history to win an NBA championship and Olympic gold in the same year. And while a win’s a win, JT had a slightly more … complicated time in Paris (more on that later).

QUICK QUESTION

🥇 What’s your fave local Olympics storyline?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏀 Jayson Tatum won gold, but he didn’t play much. That’s been the sports gossip ‘round the bubbler after Team USA captured gold in men’s basketball this weekend. Tatum, a recent NBA champ and textbook superstar, was a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) twice in the Olympics, only playing 11 minutes in the gold medal game. And while Coach Steve Kerr chalked it up to a “math problem,” it clearly got to Tatum as he told reporters it was tough “in the moment.” The bright side? Smells like motivation for banner 19 to us.

💡 How would you spend $2 million to make Boston better? For the first time ever, Boston residents will have a say in how the city should spend some of its tax dollars through a practice called “participatory budgeting.” The rules are simple: You have till Aug. 15 to submit project ideas that’ll help benefit the city (within some guidelines). The city will then narrow them down to 15 proposals, with residents voting on up to five in January. You can submit your ideas here and get some project inspo here.

🤑 Tax-free weekend is over. But this loophole could still save you. Long story short: Check your receipt. For 363 days of the year, you don’t pay sales tax on clothing items under $175. But after a local woman was taxed on a cycling jacket, she did some digging. Apparently, state law allows sales tax on "special clothing or footwear primarily designed for athletic activity or protective use." But there’s a loophole: If the garment can be worn as an everyday garment, then you don't pay sales tax. And yes, she got the tax back.

🤸 Your favorite Mass. Olympic gymnasts are coming to Boston. Oh, and Simone Biles, too. The Gold Over America Tour stops at TD Garden on Oct. 6, showcasing the best of the best of USA gymnastics. Biles is the star of the show and will be joined by Olympic medalists Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Fred Richard (from Stoughton!), Brody Malone, Paul Juda, and resident meme king Stephen Nedoroscik of Worcester. Think of it as a gymnastics event meets a pop concert, without the pressure of landing a medal. Grab tickets here.

THINGS TO DO

Weekday plans

🌼 Stop and smell the sunflowers. It’s officially PYO flower season here in Mass., and if you’re able to venture outside the city, there are no shortage of places to build your own bouquet (including some very IG-worthy sunflower fields). 

🎬 Make Monday night a movie night. If you want to catch a free flick, take your pick tonight: There’s “Finding Nemo” at Time Out Market, “School of Rock” in the Seaport, or a meteor-shower themed showing of “A Million Miles Away” in JP.

🇮🇹 Keep feasting in the North End. We’re knee-deep in the North End’s feast season, and the Fisherman’s Feast kicks off Thursday. This is the oldest of the North End’s feasts, with food, a meatball-making contest, and the iconic flight of the angel.

🛍️ Shop vintage all week long. Who says you have to wait till the weekend to hit up a pop-up market? At the Brighton Bazaar’s Night Bazaar on Wednesday, you can catch 100+ small-biz vendors in one spot.

🍿 See Boston’s best comedians. With a side of popcorn. On Thursday night, the Somerville Theatre is having an evening of popcorn comedy headlined by (B-Side featured) comedian Tooky Kavanagh, which you can enjoy while munching on movie theater snacks.

👀 Get artsy after dark. The WNDR Museum is hosting its monthly 21+ night on Thursday, taking its classic trippy museum experience up a notch by offering food, bevs, and a DJ for dancing.

🤩 Catch some “Real Housewives” IRL. We wouldn’t put just any $75 ticket in our event roundups, but we know B-Siders love a Bravo moment. This Thursday, Melissa and Joe Gorga of RHONJ will be at Capo for a Q&A, followed by an afterparty.

🌱 Learn about local flora. Cambridge Naturals is hosting a pay-what-you-wish plant walk on Thursday in Porter Square meant to teach us more about the benefits and uses of common streetside plants. 

ONE LAST THING

A statue in the garden

Matt Damon wants to honor “Good Will Hunting” co-star Robin Williams’ memory here in Boston.

The idea to commemorate Williams in the Public Garden first cropped up after his death about 10 years ago, with a petition for a bronze statue based on the iconic “Good Will Hunting” bench scene gaining over 16,000 signatures. However, a “very polite rejection” from the Friends of the Public Garden shut it down.

But while doing promo for his upcoming movie, Damon breathed some new life into the old idea (which was apparently pitched to him at one point), saying “It would be the most beautiful installation and such a tribute to that guy, who I think would have loved that.” 

Regardless of potential red tape, Damon said he hoped the Williams statue will become a reality.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🌳 Thanks for reading! The bar for getting new statues in the Garden is very high, but if anyone can move the needle, it’s Matt Damon.

🪆The results are in: 38% of B-Siders say Polly Pockets were the most iconic ’90s to ’00s dolls, and to respond to your many write-ins: We can’t believe we forgot about American Girl dolls either. One reader said: “There was truly nothing better than chewing on their clothes LOL.”

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