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Plus: 🏈 Tom Brady 2.0? It’s Tuesday, Boston. 🌭 New Boston Halloween fit unlocked: This ADORABLE little girl dressed up as a Sullivan’s Castle Island employee … with a twist. And let’s just say, she was absolutely spot on. 👀What’s on tap today: Bad vibes on Beacon Hill The North End’s facelift Tom Brady 2.0? Up first… GOOD NEWS No spooky stories here! Images: Boston Globe staff, Boston.com, Andrea Ciannavei. Illustration: Gia Orsino. It’s trick-or-treat season, and today, you get a TREAT. But instead of Reese’s Cups and Snickers, we’re handing out full-sized bars of … good news. Here are the feel-good stories you might’ve missed this month: ⚽ A local Harvard grad is reimagining the sports bra. 45% of girls quit sports by age 14 due to low body confidence. But not if Sara Falkson has anything to say about it. Her mission: Chip away at that number … with bras. Falkson founded Robyn, a company working to redesign the sports bra into a product that suits women of all ages, and present a body confidence curriculum for athletes, parents, and coaches. They drop in 2026. 🚇 The MBTA fan club might have a new president. Meet Makai King, a.k.a. “The King of the T,” a 10-year-old who’s gained a small but mighty TikTok following for being an MBTA superfan. His love for the system started when he got some MBTA toys for Christmas in 2022, and the rest is history. Since then, he’s met Purple Princess Pari, Train Daddy Eng, and charmed more than a few MBTA operators, one of whom literally gave him the hat off of his head. 🗞️ Allston is putting the “new” in newspaper boxes. These days, most of Boston’s old newspaper boxes are basically gathering dust. But not in Allston. Thanks to Harvard-backed public art initiative Zone3, the boxes have taken on a new life as vessels to distribute gorgeous posters by local artists for just 25 cents, and in once case (courtesy of local journalist Matt Shearer), a “Little Free Record Shop.” Here’s where you can find them. 🚣 Rowing isn’t just for prep school kids anymore. Thanks to international efforts and activism, the once mega-exclusive sport is becoming more accessible across the world, and one look at Boston’s Head of the Charles Regatta is all the proof you need: This year, four South African rowers became the first crew of color from their country to compete internationally. Meanwhile, a local group of octogenarian rowers smashed their previous PR. 🥫 This Franklin man changed lives … one can at a time. When Ugo Ciannavei retired, he didn’t play golf. Instead, the Italian immigrant who was “appalled” by waste took to the streets of Franklin and Walpole to collect and recycle a LOT of cans and bottles. Like, fill-up-your-car-and-then-some a LOT. Eventually, he was dubbed “Ugo the Can Man” by his neighbors, who would leave cans out for him each morning. But it wasn’t until Ciannavei passed away that his family learned how much his little ritual impacted his community. ADVERTISEMENT TOGETHER WITH SNOWBOUND EXPO Winter is calling — it’s time to pick up! ❄️ 🏂 The snow may not be here yet, but it’s already time to get stoked for the season. From Nov. 14–16, Snowbound Expo returns to the Boston Seaport at the Menino Convention & Exhibition Center. Drop in with 250+ gear brands, live demos, and an epic lineup of speakers — including Zeb Powell, Amie Engerbretson, MVP Jay Rawe, and more. Tickets are just $10 for all three days or $5 for a single day with code BSIDE. The offer ends this Sunday so register today. CITY Quick & dirty headlines Image: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe. 😮💨 Beacon Hill staffers are fed UP. Ahead of a hearing on legislation that would allow State House staffers to unionize, those very staffers dropped a BOMB: According to a survey, 50% said they planned to quit in the next two years, and 80% are unsatisfied with their salary. On their list of grievances? Not-so-great pay and health care, no transit reimbursement, and instances of harassment and discrimination. That said, considering both House and Senate leaders aren’t too hot on the idea, we wouldn’t hold our breath. Stay tuned. 🚇 MBTA fare evaders: You’ve been (literally) warned. About seven weeks in, the agency’s 15 new fare engagement representatives (remember them?) have dolled out 85 warnings and zero fines to fare evaders across the T. But before you think twice about tapping your card, the zero fines probably reflect the fact that first offenses get off with a warning. Remember, second and third offenses = a $50 fine, and after that, it scales up to $100. That $2.40 isn’t looking so bad now, is it? 💅 The North End is getting a facelift. Restauranteur-turned-real estate tycoon Frank DePasquale is bringing a slew of new shops to the North End’s Cross Street in 2026. His vision? Create “the greatest entrance to the greatest inner-city Italian community” and fill in the gaps of what he says is “missing” in the hood, which apparently = a Neapolitan cafe, a jewelry store, a travel agency, and, the piéce de rèsistance (or should we say, pezzo forte?): a new Italian culinary school. Here’s a sneak peek! 🧂 Add a little spice to your neighbor’s life … by donating some to the BPL’s spice bank! All jokes aside, the library system and Greater Boston Food Bank’s annual spice bank is about to be back in biz for the season, and ISO unopened spices and dried herbs. Starting Nov. 1, you can drop them off at any of these participating branches, or, if you bring them to the Central Branch at Copley, the library’s Newsfeed Cafe will match your donation. Donations will be accepted through April 15. Here are all the deets. ONE LAST THING Tom Brady 2.0? Images: Danielle Parhizkaran, Jim Davis/The Boston Globe. Illustration: Gia Orsino. Is it possible that the Patriots have another Tom Brady on their hands? A growing chorus of football fans say YES. For context: The Pats are currently on a piping hot five-game win streak and looking better than they have since, well, Tom Brady. And it’s mostly thanks to QB Drake Maye (and, let’s be real, an easy breezy schedule so far). In fact, Maye is even tracking ahead of Brady’s historic 2007 season in one key stat. All of which has led fans, haters, and analysis alike to dub Maye Brady 2.0. Even Gronk got in on the gag, calling Brady to let him know that Maye is his “new favorite quarterback” (he took it well, all things considered). Is it a *little* (or, a LOT) too soon to be comparing the likes of a retired GOAT to a sophomore QB? Absolutely. But reality has never stopped New England fans before. — Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario 🏈 Thanks for reading! Just imagine how happy @drakemayelover is right now. 💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Snowbound Expo, for supporting local journalism and already getting us hyped for winter 2025. 🛒 The results are in: 74% of readers say they’ve NEVER stolen anything at left checkout. Good on you! One reader said: “Why, are you a cop? 🤣” Girl …
