Residents surprised to find they’re leasing illegally

By Marc Levy
Published: March 10, 2010

Residents at 45-47 Yerxa Road didn’t know they weren’t allowed to live there, and on Wednesday they remained ignorant that a case was headed to court that could uproot them from their homes.

Buses go too fast, library policy-making too slow, councillors find

By Marc Levy
Published: March 9, 2010
030810i-bus
Buses speed along Massachusetts Avenue near Central Square. There have been complaints drivers have ignored red lights — and videos posted by wbztv.com showing them doing it. (Photo: Marc Levy)

Buses speed along Massachusetts Avenue near Central Square. There have been complaints drivers have ignored red lights — and videos posted by wbztv.com showing them doing it. (Photo: Marc Levy)  | read this item

Buses running red lights and a raft of problems surrounding the Cambridge Main Library — unused meeting and cafe spaces, shortened hours, parking snarls and a failure to incorporate students from the neighboring high school — have caught city councillors’ attention.

Signs of hope in renewed debate over Central Square

By Marc Levy
Published: March 8, 2010
121709i-450-Mass.-Ave
There were hints of a resolution Monday to the long-empty 450 Massachusetts Ave. storefront owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Photo: Marc Levy)

There were hints of a resolution Monday to the long-empty 450 Massachusetts Ave. storefront owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Photo: Marc Levy)  | read this item

The decline of Central Square drew debate from city councillors at their Monday meeting, but also signs of hope for two prominently empty storefronts on Massachusetts Avenue.

Taking tangled paths to uncertain destinations

By Marc Levy
Published: March 8, 2010

Does Cambridge have a predisposition to doing things the hard way? Some recent news items suggest it does.

Climate Congress ends with votes for city positions, pleas for citizen involvement

By Marc Levy
Published: March 6, 2010
030610i-Kendall
Last year’s rezoning in Kendall Square, which adds density by building upward and freeing open space, was cited Saturday by Cambridge Mayor David Maher as an approach the city is taking toward being more environmentally conscious. (Photo: Kingdafy)

Last year’s rezoning in Kendall Square, which adds density by building upward and freeing open space, was cited Saturday by Cambridge Mayor David Maher as an approach the city is taking toward being more environmentally conscious. (Photo: Kingdafy)  | read this item

The city’s third and final climate congress was held Saturday, wrapping up its four-month span with votes to ask city government to organize and lead the fight to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in Cambridge, but leave room for citizen involvement.

The new top 10 employers in Cambridge — and how to contact them

By Marc Levy
Published: March 5, 2010
Harvard-b
The new top 10 employers in Cambridge — and how to contact them  | read this item

Last year this list ran with the warning that an enumeration of the top 10 employers in Cambridge was “a moving target.” It turns out the target doesn’t rove as much one would think, but some movement resulted from — get this — companies adding jobs.

East Cambridge Business Association hits the ground networking

By Marc Levy
Published: March 4, 2010
030410i-ECBA
East Cambridge Business Association president Carl Fantasia of the New Deal Fish Market, Maria Gomes of East Cambridge Savings Bank and Chris Kosinski of the East Side Bar & Grille attend the association’s first evening networking event Feb. 25 at the Grille.

East Cambridge Business Association president Carl Fantasia of the New Deal Fish Market, Maria Gomes of East Cambridge Savings Bank and Chris Kosinski of the East Side Bar & Grille attend the association’s first evening networking event Feb. 25 at the Grille.  | read this item

With a neighbors group presenting a masterful plan for Lechmere Square and a new business association hosting its first evening networking event, both in the past week, it may be time for East Cambridge to cast off its underdog status.

Census job fair coming Monday seeks to hire 1,000

By Marc Levy
Published: March 3, 2010
030410i-census
The U.S. Census is hiring workers for its 2010 count. A job fair is scheduled for Monday in Somerville. (Photo: Adria Richards)

The U.S. Census is hiring workers for its 2010 count. A job fair is scheduled for Monday in Somerville. (Photo: Adria Richards)  | read this item

The U.S. Census is holding a job fair Monday in hopes of hiring 1,000 people to serve mainly as enumerators, also known as census-takers — the people who go door to door to find people who failed to answer the census packets that will be mailed to them this month.

Neighborhood team envisions Lechmere with hotel, plaza, public market

By Marc Levy
Published: March 1, 2010
030110i-Lechmere
Plans for remaking Lechmere Square when the T stop moves includes transforming a garage area seen at top into a year-round, 30-stall public market like the one seen above. (Photo: On Land LLC)

Plans for remaking Lechmere Square when the T stop moves includes transforming a garage area seen at top into a year-round, 30-stall public market like the one seen above. (Photo: On Land LLC)  | read this item

First came a torrent of public support, then a unanimous City Council vote supporting a plan to remake the area around the Lechmere T stop with a 12-story hotel, plaza and year-round, 30-stall public market.

Pizzeria Uno closes in Porter Square

By Marc Levy
Published: March 1, 2010
030110i-Uno
A sign in the Somerville Avenue window of the Uno Chicago Grill in Porter Square, Cambridge, announces the restaurant’s closing and reminds diners another store in the chain remains in Harvard Square. (Photo: Marc Levy)

A sign in the Somerville Avenue window of the Uno Chicago Grill in Porter Square, Cambridge, announces the restaurant’s closing and reminds diners another store in the chain remains in Harvard Square. (Photo: Marc Levy)  | read this item

The Uno Chicago Grill in Porter Square closed for good Monday, part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp. filed for in January. The West Roxbury company is still said to have about 160 restaurants, including one in Harvard Square.

Next Page »