🤪🚂 The commuter rail said play hooky

🧘‍♀️ Start summer on the right ~flow~ … We’re teaming up with Fit Scene Boston for a four-part Summer Wellness series beginning with a contemporary pilates class at EMBODI in Somerville on June 17. Tickets are $30, or just $15 for B-Side Members and include a post-class wellness hour with snacks and sips.

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Consider this permission to play hooky: Starting June 5, the commuter rail will be fare-free EVERY Friday through August (a silver lining to the impending World Cup chaos). 

So we obviously had to plan out some day trips. We talked to our friends, our colleagues, and ourselves to map out four hooky-worthy adventures around the state. 

Here’s where we’d go:

🌊 Gloucester, Mass. This coastal town is the perfect artsy-foodie-outdoorsy trifecta (click here to see what we mean). Our itinerary includes …

🏖️ Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. This place is primo beach day territory. The iconic Singing Beach might do more squeaking than singing, but it’s a cool nature trick nonetheless. This was our hit list during last summer’s visit: 

🛍️ Newburyport, Mass. A cute downtown HATES to see us coming. Our dream day of shmying around looks something like this:

🎨 Providence, R.I. Former Globe Rhode Island business reporter Alexa Gagosz is our go-to source for all things lil’ Rhody. If she were a tour guide, she’d take B-Siders here:

👀 Want more? We’re dropping three more commuter-rail-friendly itineraries on IG this morning … lucky you!

🥃🌙 You can tell a lot about a person by their drink order. And around here, people with good taste ask for Chattermark. Distilled in Charlestown, these small-batch spirits are showing up all over Boston — from cocktail bars to neighborhood liquor stores — bringing a little speakeasy energy to whatever’s in your glass. It’s local, smooth, and way more memorable than defaulting to the cheapest whiskey on the menu again. The next time you’re out, ask for Chattermark by name and let your drink order carry the conversation.

🍹 Who doesn’t want 3 a.m. last call? Apparently, bartenders. Gov. Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu (and us) want a late last call for the World Cup — but the service industry isn’t fully onboard. Bartenders argue it’d be a major headache as they’d end shifts around 5 a.m. (and deal with more drunk shenanigans). Some are also suspect of how much money it’ll actually bring in, considering lower or lacking tipping cultures internationally. This measure still needs approval, but similar ones have already been greenlit in other states, sooo ....

🤏 We’re *this* close to a rent control resolution. A potential super strict rent control policy has caused major drama among real estate and housing advocates. But a small group of them proposed a compromise allowing cities to set their own rent caps. But is it a deal? We’re not sure: 1. For developers, any rent control is a financial nightmare. 2. This doesn’t consider small landlords. And 3. Rent can still be jacked up a bit. Maybe no one is winning this one …

🚶 Newbury Street is almost getting the full summer treatment. Mayor Wu initially said Open Newbury Street was going to be scaled back, but to our surprise, the summer schedule looks normal-ish (phew!). It includes 10 Sundays from July to October, starting July 12. BUT, for the first two, there won’t be the regular programming aside from the street shutdown. Unfortunately, the World Cup and MA250 cellies are to blame … but everything should be business as usual in 2027.

⚠️ Speaking of street closures: Summer Street will be OOO. But not in the fun Open Newbury way … This came after a hot debate between the city and MassDOT on how to ensure public safety during the World Cup. Some days will see a full shutdown between Dorchester and Atlantic Avenues, and other days you can drive on the westbound or north side only. Let’s break it down:

Starting June 8, Lyrik Back Bay is hosting FREE weekly events all summer long, bringing the community together through art and music. Show your artistic side on Mondays at the viral watercolor workshops (pro tip: sign-ups go live every Thursday at 5 p.m.; workshops begin June 15). Join Berklee Summer in the City on Tuesdays for live performances from some of their most talented musicians. Sundays are for the kiddos, so bring the little ones to Lyrik for Little Groove. Check out Lyrik’s full summer schedule here.

“The Real Housewives of Rhode Island?” How ‘bout Southie?  It was the crossover we didn’t know we needed: In Episode 10 of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” the gang had a *tense* dinner in Capo basement — yes, the place usually packed with blacked out 20-somethings having a dance floor make-out.

Why Capo? It turns out Rosie DiMare’s husband, Rich, performs there every weekend for Sinatra Sunday at The Supper Club, a.k.a. the not-so-secret “speakeasy” downstairs. (There are still reservations for this week, if you’re curious.)

But this soothing jazz was not enough to cut the tension between Liz McGraw and Jo-Ellen Tiberi. Unsurprisingly, a scene ensued.

Someone on Reddit commented: “Legitimately cannot believe that ‘all of your friends fighting and crying at Capo basement and then someone Irish goodbyes’ is THE thing I have in common with any of the housewives.” REAL.

— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario

😩 Thanks for reading! Real Housewives, they’re just like us.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Chattermark Distillers, for supporting local journalism and proving Boston still knows how to do drinks right.

💸 The results are in: 78% of you think someone needs to put their foot down on sports betting. One of you even said, “If you're thinking of betting money, please just Venmo me instead,” and gave us your Venmo handle! Hey, we don’t blame you for trying!

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