Universal pre-kindergarten plan
City Council and School Committee roundtable, 5:30 p.m. Monday. Could this long-standing goal of the council finally be getting traction? A December 2019 roundtable showed reasons for caution, but work continues on a “mixed-delivery” universal pre-kindergarten system through the Birth to 3rd Grade Partnership, a collaboration of the City of Cambridge and the public school district. The group presented at a Human Services Commission meeting Jan. 13. The council meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom video conferencing.
Changed approach to Covid
School Committee, 6 p.m. Tuesday. Though there’s a high school culture-and-climate update from superintendent Victoria Greer on the agenda, the item that’ll draw more eyes is about calling it time to reassess the goals of the district’s Covid-19 Safety & Facilities Procedures Manual “from zero transmission to keeping schools open while minimizing severe disease.” The order notes the district’s zig-zag path taken to adapt to the turns taken by the pandemic, concluding that since “it appears we will not eradicate the virus, and we are unlikely to eliminate it,” what comes next “includes balancing the costs and benefits of the Covid-19 protocols on the students and staff.”
The committee meets in the Dr. Henrietta S. Attles Meeting Room at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, 459 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Televised and watchable by Zoom video conferencing.
Jefferson Park housing review
Planning Board, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. More advisory design review is due for the Jefferson Park Federal affordable-housing project in North Cambridge, scheduled for groundbreaking this year at a cost of $252 million for 278 apartments, as well as a request by The Dance Complex to extend its work from Central Square to some BioMed Realty property at 650 E. Kendall St., Kendall Square, for a project called Complex@Canal. The space would allow the organization to offer longer rehearsal blocks and continuous day residencies, “allowing artists a deeper investigation of their practice [and the] creation of new dance works.” Board members may also weigh in on a Board of Zoning appeal case about an eight-unit apartment building to replace one destroyed in a May 31, 2020, fire at 213 Harvard St., Mid-Cambridge.
The board meets on the second floor of the City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Watchable by Zoom video conferencing.
Councillors work on budgeting
Finance Committee, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. This committee run by city councillors Dennis Carlone and Patty Nolan begins talking through city budgeting goals and priorities for the 2023 fiscal year. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom video conferencing.
Bike lane projects and parking
Joint Transportation Committees, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The city’s bicycle, pedestrian and transit advisory committees will get city staff presentations and ask questions about the Massachusetts Avenue-Porter Square Safety Improvement Project and “MassAve4” plans, which have raised tensions about how new bike lanes affect car parking, especially for businesses. Watchable by Zoom video conferencing.
Input on city manager search
Government Operations, Rules & Claims Committee, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. This committee run by vice mayor Alanna Mallon will gather resident and stakeholder feedback affecting the search for the next city manager. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom video conferencing.
A stronger
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