Union Square T stop will see service in December, not October; Cambridge, Somerville to be repaid
Delays to the green line extension project will push the start of service back by two months at the Union Square spur – to December, also when the Lechmere stop is expected to reopen. But there will be a five-month delay on the stretch ending at a Medford/Tufts station.
Somerville Theatre will bring Davis more music with Crystal Ballroom replacing upstairs screens
The Somerville Theatre is trading in two screens for the Crystal Ballroom, a 500-person capacity performance hall that will return live music to Davis Square for the first time since the amps went silent at Johnny D’s back in 2016.
Fletcher Maynard and K-Lo endorsed to be first getting improvements after a $1M schools study
The city will undertake a $1 million study over at least the next year on how to refresh and expand its aging elementary schools, though doubt was cast Monday that the improvements will be on as grand a scale as what’s been seen on recent campus projects.
From $65 million for Covid to drug reparations, councillors delay four big items to last meeting
City councillors used their “charter right” four times Monday to delay discussion on a variety of topics by one week. despite there being just one meeting to go before their summer break. Millions in funding, a reparations plan, government reforms and a treat rescue are briefly on hold.
Carl Barron Plaza and confusing traffic patterns eyed for a remake in River Street, Central project
There are sweeping changes proposed for Carl Barron Plaza at the heart of Central Square, including new bus stops, bike lanes, a renovated plaza and sculptural elements.
Brother Blue was Cambridge’s official storyteller
There was a moment when a one-of-a-kind personality brightened our streets, parks and squares with his presence – a bard whose lyrical musings came wrapped with musical sounds and a simple message of love for nature, life and one another. His name was Brother Blue.
Save more of the big trees at Tobin VLUS
Cambridge likes to set an example for climate change resilience and preparation for other cities to follow. Unnecessary tree removal is not the one we want to set.
A loophole in a 40-year-old ballot initiative explains much of our love for development
After passage of Prop 2½, the state’s communities were reeling from lowered revenues. To keep services running and keep up with inflation, they latched onto a loophole: encouraging new construction that was exempt from tax limits.
It’s no coincidence that eight decades passed without the council holding a charter review
The incrementalism of the City Council’s charter change order is sad, but what elevates it to tragedy is how thoroughly the nature of our government stunts its own reform, and how blind the council as a whole seems in identifying the circular nature of the problem.
Thaxton’s ‘Beauty of Everyday Living’ mural brightens Harvard Square kiosk construction
A design honoring Black Harvard students, peppered with Harvard Square Easter eggs and weaving in nods to Cambridge community festivals and Black Lives Matter protests covers a construction project in a city commission from artist Patricia Thaxton.
As The Brattle nears full reopening to the public, welcome Cinema Week, ‘Too Late’ and ‘Orphans’
The Landmark Kendall Square Cinema entices people back to the big screen with a week of discounts, The Brattle prepares to enlarge everything you streamed at home in 2020 and new releases arrive for review: “Too Late,” “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” and “12 Mighty Orphans.”
After 3.5 years away, Toscanini’s ice cream expects to reopen this summer near Central
Toscanini’s ice cream is looking to reopen in Lafayette Square at the end of July or beginning of August, making it 3.5 years after closing there for construction of the boutique hotel 907 Main.
‘Luca’: Pixar dips into lovely Italian waters, telling a genial coming-of-age adventure
“Luca” is Pixar at its most delicate, an immaculately structured story that might not be the grandest the studio has released, but is one of the most honest. There’s a humanism between the moments of humor and fantasy that anchors the film and makes it a must-watch, and not just for Pixar fans.
The turkey melt special at Shays Pub & Wine Bar
For eats, Shays has a limited menu, but a rock solid one with good burgers, including veggie- and plant-based alternatives. But the real jam is its sandwiches.
Documentaries for body cams and stamp con; possible pick for Juneteenth; and ‘Vicious Fun’
Anticipating the Emancipation Day celebration, consider an odd turn of history in “Free State of Jones.” Things get even more real with a documentary about the moving image, police body cams and image as evidence and a postal pondering, and there are some blood-pumping genre pieces to see too.
Union Square T stop will see service in December, not October; Cambridge, Somerville to be repaid
Delays to the green line extension project will push the start of service back by two months at the Union Square spur – to December, also when the Lechmere stop is expected to reopen. But there will be a five-month delay on the stretch ending at a Medford/Tufts station.
Fletcher Maynard and K-Lo endorsed to be first getting improvements after a $1M schools study
The city will undertake a $1 million study over at least the next year on how to refresh and expand its aging elementary schools, though doubt was cast Monday that the improvements will be on as grand a scale as what’s been seen on recent campus projects.
From $65 million for Covid to drug reparations, councillors delay four big items to last meeting
City councillors used their “charter right” four times Monday to delay discussion on a variety of topics by one week. despite there being just one meeting to go before their summer break. Millions in funding, a reparations plan, government reforms and a treat rescue are briefly on hold.
Save more of the big trees at Tobin VLUS
Cambridge likes to set an example for climate change resilience and preparation for other cities to follow. Unnecessary tree removal is not the one we want to set.
A loophole in a 40-year-old ballot initiative explains much of our love for development
After passage of Prop 2½, the state’s communities were reeling from lowered revenues. To keep services running and keep up with inflation, they latched onto a loophole: encouraging new construction that was exempt from tax limits.
Carl Barron Plaza and confusing traffic patterns eyed for a remake in River Street, Central project
There are sweeping changes proposed for Carl Barron Plaza at the heart of Central Square, including new bus stops, bike lanes, a renovated plaza and sculptural elements.
Somerville Theatre will bring Davis more music with Crystal Ballroom replacing upstairs screens
The Somerville Theatre is trading in two screens for the Crystal Ballroom, a 500-person capacity performance hall that will return live music to Davis Square for the first time since the amps went silent at Johnny D’s back in 2016.
Attend meetings on reparations, name changes, police technology and aging elementary schools
Public meetings this week look at reparations through cannabis revenue, name changes to the Agassiz neighborhood and Central Square branch library, police surveillance technology that worries civil libertarians, aging elementary schools, tree tear-downs and much more.
