Many people worry – and rightly so – about deforestation, but wetlands where red-winged blackbirds live are disappearing three times faster than forests.

Public meetings this week look at Core Empowerment, a cannabis seller seeking to open in Magoun Square where K-2 Beer & Wine once had the same plan, and the design of development proposals on Prospect and Spring hills.

In a look ahead at a week of Cambridge and Somerville events, Jason Mantzoukas does improv comedy, Angélique Kidjo performs, there’s an archaeology fair, advice on how to run the Boston Marathon, the answer to “Can we grow buildings?” and an all-clarinet band.

State Rep. Steve Owens, a Democrat in the 29th Middlesex District made up of parts of Cambridge and Watertown, has upcoming office hours in Cambridge and an Earth Day-inspired cleanup event along the Charles River.

American robins really are early birds. Besides being the earliest bird to start singing in the morning, they are one of the first to lay eggs in the spring.

In a look ahead at a week of Cambridge and Somerville events, there’s poet Nikki Giovanni, sex revolutionary Candida Royalle, joke fests and mystery comedy, new plays and folk metal, “Dope Science,” a tribute to Lana Del Rey and “Essays in Praise of Excess.” 

Cambridge residents’ water and sewer bills are rising – though by less than $100 on average – for reasons ranging from inflation to the war in Ukraine.

The cicadas we get every summer are probably dog-day cicadas – the largest in North America, with a buzzing drone that can reach 100 decibels, as loud as a hair dryer or a subway train, though few of us ever see them.

Public meetings this week look at changes coming to Memorial Drive, school and police budgets, how to fight climate change floodwaters and envisioning the Massachusetts Avenue of 2040. There’s a community iftar celebration, too.

Public meetings this week look at resolving conflicts in Ball and Magoun squares and South Medford where parcels split at city lines and zoning districts; the future of the Armory arts building; a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination backlog; and more.