👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨🚇 This MBTA rom com is WILD

🐦 Who knew seagulls could be … cute? Well, Sullivan’s Castle Island just dropped new merch for cozy season, and let’s just say … we need this sweatshirt like a Sully gull needs your fries.

🎈 Also, everyone say happy birthday to Members Leila and Amanda E.! We’d aggressively steal a stranger’s fry for you. <3

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

It’s rainy, it’s windy, and you’ve hit your nor’easter rot day max. Sounds like you could use a pick-me-up. 

Here are the feel-good stories you might’ve missed:

🥲 This Blue Line rom com is > a Hallmark movie. Daniela Filosa was at the Aquarium T stop when she saw a tall, handsome suited man looking at her. No, into her. After stealing several glances of each other on the train, no one made a move. So Filosa has been searching for him, tacking notes trees and poles near their failed meet-cute saying, “LOOKING FOR THE GUY WITH THE BLUE EYES,” (with her phone number, ofc). Even the T is rooting for them!

🐧 This local penguin is getting acupuncture. Meet Pip, a 29-year-old African penguin who hatched at the New England Aquarium in 1997. Staff noticed Pip was walking with a limp last year, and after treating him with pain meds, the team decided to bring in a licensed acupuncturist. Pip has become more comfortable with the needles, thanks to fish treats, head scratches, and positive reinforcement (same). And most importantly, he appears to be doing better, with vets seeing improvement in his gait. Yay, Pip!

🧓 Some Mass. seniors can ride the T for free. Now arriving: The Car-Free Seniors Pilot Program, a new initiative providing free MBTA service to Mass. residents age 75 and older who no longer drive. Here’s how it works: Any eligible senior with a Mass. ID (not just a driver's license) can obtain a free-fare credential valid across the bus, subway, ferry, and commuter rail. Know a sweet senior who could use this? Enrollment opens Oct. 13! 

🥷 One of the best female ninjas in the WORLD is a Mass. native. Enter: 21-year-old Addy Herman from Pembroke, who got third place for women on this season of “American Ninja Warrior.” I mean, look at this upper body strength! She’s a textbook beast: She’s already competed in ~20 ninja competitions this year, landing top-three finishes in Japan, France, and Barbados. And she’s not stopping there. Addy is also training the next gen of mini ninjas at her gym. <3

🖼️ This local laundromat got an art gallery makeover. Photographer and pre-K teacher Mario Quiroz has spent years capturing the lives of immigrants. Now, he has his own art exhibit at City Line Laundromat in East Somerville, featuring students in Unidos, a youth Spanish-English program at East Somerville Community School. The goal? Create a sense of belonging and community. His take? This is > being in the MFA. See the gallery now through Oct. 15!

🍎 Sorry, produce section. New Hampshire orchards are just better. In the Granite State, apple picking can easily become a scenic drive, a hike, a cider stop, or a wander through a charming little town. Pick your apples, grab something warm, and see where the day takes you. With mountains, lakes, farms, and plenty of local spots all within reach, you’re free to make your getaway as packed — or spontaneous — as you want. Plan your fall NH trip.

🌀 “Staying dry” was a lifestyle this weekend. As you can probably tell … a rare September nor’easter battered the region with near-hurricane-force winds, massive ocean swells, and heavy rain. The Cape and Block Island saw wind gusts of ~70 mph! And we hope you’re hungry … for more rain. Light-to-steady showers are on the docket for Monday (but flooding chances are down). Just be glad you’re not on the Cape: They might see 7 inches of rain by Monday night!

📸 Blocking a bus lane? Say cheese! New cameras will start snapping pics of drivers illegally blocking bus lanes and bus stops starting Oct. 1. (technically this is just a warning period; the real ticketing starts next year). Ex: Parking in a bus stop? That’ll be $100. Standing or stopping bus lane violation? That’ll start with a warning, followed by escalating penalties beginning at $25. The warning period will be piloted along Boston’s SL4 and SL5 bus routes, but officials said they plan to install cameras across all bus routes in early 2027.

🚲 MassDOT’s in its bridge-building era. ‘Cause its board just approved a $78.7 million design-build contract to construct the Mystic River Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge, creating a new, accessible link between Everett and Somerville. Long story short: It should be a big win for residents, as it’ll connect them to trails, neighborhoods, businesses, and ofc, the Orange Line. And the cycling community seems thrilled, with @BostonCafeBikers commenting on this IG post, “Screaming crying throwing up.”

🥳 The City of Boston is paying YOU to throw a party. For real! Apps for Boston’s fall block party grant program are officially open. Residents and community groups can receive up to a $500 grant to buy supplies to throw a fall shindig. The rules: All parties must be free/open to the public and take place on public streets, and residents must apply at least three weeks prior to their proposed event. Bonus: It doesn’t have to be Halloween-themed — though a neighborhood costume contest sounds tempting. Apply here!

🍵 Cheers to free matcha! Consider this permission to “take a long lunch break:” Nomu is giving away 150 free matchas on Sept. 30 at the Urban Park Rooftop in Kendall Square from 1-4 p.m. 

☕ Holla for $1 coffee. Sept. 29 is National Coffee Day, and George Howell is celebrating the right way by offering $1 drip, hot, iced, and cold brew coffees, all day.

👠 Watch local designers strut their stuff. Thursday nights =  Fashionably Late at The Liberty Hotel, a free, weekly fashion show featuring designers, boutiques, and a live DJ. Trust, it’s a VIBE. 

👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Mingle with Boston’s most eligible singles. Mingle Mayhem is taking over the upstairs of Bow Market on Sept. 30 for a dating event filled with flirty, fast-paced games and curated conversations designed to help you challenge your “type.” 

🧘 Stretch out. Then smoothie. Head to Boston Public Market on Sept. 30 for an hourlong yoga flow and mini sound bath with Soma Yoga, then stick around for a complimentary smoothie from Mother Juice.  

🎨 Spend a fall night at the museum. The MassArt Art Museum is celebrating its newest exhibition on Sept. 30 with a free fall party, featuring complimentary bevs and bites.

👿 Go on a human scavenger hunt. Head to Dani’s Queer Bar on Oct. 1 for their Finders Keepers Halloween Party. You might find the love of your life… or someone you just want to kiss. 

⛴️ Send off summer with a boat party. Love dancing? Love boat rides? Love a good sunset? This Boston Harbor Sunset Cruise on Oct. 2 is calling your name.

Looking for a house in Boston and to smooth out your forehead? You’re in luck. 

Local real estate agents have had to get a little more savvy getting potential buyers in the door because a free glass of cheap wine and a cheese board doesn’t quite cut it anymore. And some are going to wild lengths to attract unlikely guests — and satisfy builders who want a return on their $$$. 

Think: draping ~10 pounds of meat across the dining room table at an open house, hiring a tarot card reader, and, in some cases … paying for the first few units of Botox for people invited to the open house.

But is investing this kind of time (and money) into an open house worth it?

One real estate agent said it totally depends on what you’re trying to sell, factoring in things like price point and location. After all, the potential commission they make has to be enough to justify the expense. 

— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario

🤔 Thanks for reading! OK, what if you’re not looking for a house, but you’re hungry and have crow’s feet … asking for a friend.

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, Visit NH, for supporting local journalism and reminding us why fall is New England’s best season. 

🚌 Correction: The MBTA can only ticket for stopping, standing, and parking in bus lanes, NOT for moving violations.

🫣 The results are in: And 71% of readers are staying tf out of the lesbian bar debate. But one reader needed to clarify:  “And when I say staying out, I mean reading every morsel I can.” Ya know, we’re feeling generous. Here’s the free Globe link. <3

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