🏠🥱 The kids are ... staying home?

📸 Art girlies, rise! The city of Cambridge is looking for art and photo submissions for its 2027 resident parking permits. Think: Original art featuring city buildings, landmarks, or otherwise beautiful local scenes. Enter here!

🥳 Happy birthday to B-Side Members Jess Costas and Kate Clark! We hope your day is picture perfect. <3

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

High school house parties may be a thing of the past. These days, teens are drinking, partying, and hooking up less than generations past. But it’s not all good news, according to Boston magazine.

Here’s what to know:

🤪 The teen party scene isn’t what it used to be. “Kids today are smarter and safer,” Wayland school resource officer Shane Bowles told Boston. Back when he started nearly 25 years ago, Bowles would break up big house parties almost every weekend. These days, it’s rare. Just look at the numbers: Per a 2025 survey covering MetroWest middle and high school students, 12% percent are sexually active, down from 22% in 2006, and 34% have tried alcohol, compared to 66%. 

🤳 One reason why: There’s nowhere to go. Typical teen third spaces like malls, movie theaters, and arcades are either closed, expensive, or inaccessible(see: local teens hanging out at a Shaw’s after school). As for house parties, between Ring doorbells and tracking apps, it’s near-impossible to throw or attend one without getting caught. “It takes effort to make plans,” a high school junior said. “It’s easier just to FaceTime.”

📅 Plus, who has time to party? Today, “adolescence has become sort of a professional activity,” said Emily Gordon, a Natick-based clinical psychologist. Between school, homework, clubs, jobs, volunteering, and sports, there’s not much time to socialize, and seeing their peers’ achievements online doesn’t help. Intentionally or not, parents are sending the message that high achievement > social connection, leading to kids who are “overscheduled, overstressed, and sleep-deprived,” according to Boston. 

👍 To be clear: There are benefits to less risky behavior. Just one example: The later kids start drinking, the less likely they are to struggle with alcohol-related problems later in life. These days, Bowles says he sees fewer drinking and driving incidents than he used to. “We think more about the consequences of our behavior,” one 17-year-old said.

🤝 But there may be some drawbacks, too. Namely: The less social experiences teens have in high school — including a little bit of trouble — the harder it is for them to develop the confidence and resilience they’ll need for later on in life. That lack of socialization may be why young adults are struggling in college, Gordon said. “We have to understand that our kids are not perfect and risk-taking is not a flaw; they need to try things and make mistakes,” she said. “It doesn’t mean they’re bad kids. It just means they’re kids.”

🥳 Wanna know more? You can read the full story here.

⚽ Headed to White Stadium? Leave your car at home. Mayor Wu just dropped a transportation plan for the Boston Legacy’s relocation to White Stadium next season. Spoiler: Don’t plan on driving. On-site parking at Franklin Park or on surrounding residential streets will be forbidden on game days out of respect for nearby communities (some of which aren’t thrilled about their new NWSL neighbors). Instead, the city will offer free shuttles from satellite parking lots, plus Forest Hills, Ruggles, and JFK/UMass MBTA stations on game days, and ridesharing will be allowed.

🥵 This summer is looking HOT. Why? Forecasts show a rare “monster” El Niño weather system may be in the works. Quick science lesson: El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon that warms ocean temps in the equatorial Pacific, impacting weather patterns across the world. Here in New England, El Niños generally = hotter temps with more heatwaves. So, since this is shaping up to be the most intense El Niño since 1877(!), it’s no surprise some forecasters are predicting near-record breaking heat. That said, the weather is famously ever-changing, so stay up-to-date here.

📝 At Harvard, B’s may be the new A’s. This week, Harvard faculty will vote on whether they should cap the number of A’s they can dole out in an effort to curb grade inflation. Currently, A’s account for 60% of all grades given out at Harvard, compared to 50% in 2020 and just 24% in 2005. Proponents say the move will help fix the current culture where a perfect GPA isn’t enough to stand out from peers, pushing students toward extracurriculars. Others aren’t so sure, arguing it could be unfair to high-achieving students, and make it harder to compete with students from other schools.

🏖️ This is your sign to take a Cape staycation. Boston.com asked its readers to name the best town on the Cape, and over 850 votes later, Harwich eked out Falmouth to claim the No. 1 spot. Apparently, the walkable downtown in Harwich Port filled with boutiques, restaurants, and live music, marina and gorgeous beaches, and an 11-acre lavender farm that feels like a giant fairy house put it over the edge. Ready to plan a vacay? We wouldn’t say no to this cute little cottage. Here are some local recs.

✂️ Chit chat while you craft. Grab your WIP and head to the BPL’s Parker Hill Branch tonight for its monthly craft club where you can connect with fellow craft enthusiasts.

🚲 Become a bike baddie. Massbike is hosting a free, beginner-friendly bike ride through Somerville on May 12, ending with a brew at Aeronaut. No bike? No prob! They have Bluebike codes.

🍹 Head to a ~curious~ cocktail party. NA bottle shop Dray is hosting a free cocktail party with Curious Elixirs on May 13. Think: NA drinks, light bites, and conversation.

🌎 Hear some (good) climate news. Journalists, artists, activists, and scholars will share stories of resilience in the face of environmental upheaval at WBUR’s Stories from a Warming World on May 13.

🍺 Think while you drink. Enter: The Pensive Pint. A group of strangers will gather at Castle Island on May 13 to answer a philosophical question together with the help of a legit philosopher … and beer. 

🍷 Rumble … with rosé! $10. Dozens of pink wines. One winner. That’s the deal at First Street Market’s Rosé Rumble on May 14. Pink costumes are highly encouraged. 

🪄 Catch a magical open mic. You can watch local magicians test out new material at The Magic Lab, Boston’s only open mic for magicians, on May 14 at the Foundry.

🧘 Get your summer sweat on. Rozzie Fitness is heading to The Substation for a $10 bodyweight workout class on May 14, followed by a chill bar hang. 

Hot take: Restaurants should always pack your leftovers for you. Wait! Before you come for us, it’s not our take. It’s one of the many recently submitted by Globe readers.

Writer Kara Baskin recently dropped a list of little touches she loves at a restaurant (seating incomplete parties, bag hooks at the bar) as a follow-up to her buzzy list of restaurant pet peeves (servers saying “are you still working on that?,” slang abbreviations on menus). Needless to say, the internet had thoughts. 

So, the Globe compiled a list of readers’ restaurant hot takes. On the naughty list: Asking how the food is moments after it’s served, and QR code menus. On the nice list: High-quality free table bread, and leftovers being boxed up by servers.

You can read all the hot takes here.

— Written by Gia Orsino

🍴Thanks for reading! Gia’s hot take: As a former server, I hate when servers carry around tablets. Sorry!

🎸 The results are in: 76% of B-Siders said they’d rather watch give up Boston Calling forever than their local Porchfest. One reader said: “Boston Calling doesn't have my coworkers playing ska!” Hard to argue with that!

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