The city manager and City Council should explain what they want Cambridge to be like in the future, and offer more clarity about regional plans affecting the city.

Perhaps a majority of Cambridge residents agree with the City Council that the benefits of separated bus and bike lanes outweigh the costs; perhaps not. Not to acknowledge the costs, or to pretend they are minor when they are not, will erode trust in government.

Timing was critical for Cambridge startup Biobot Analytics. “We didn’t know there would be a pandemic,” one executive said. “But the vision was already there that there’s a data trove living in our sewers that can tell us so much about human health and human behavior.”

After more than 50 years The Door Store still specializes in made-to-order tables and desks – no longer made from the bargain pickup of hollow-core doors rejected by the New York City business that ordered them.

Industry Lab is home to a dizzying array of talented tenants, uniquely curated by managers to draw from arts and technology. The lower-cost spaces have residents ranging from robotics and medical device companies to a folk singer and filmmakers.

What keeps a family-owned, family-operated business going in Cambridge for 46 years and counting? Good timing helps – such as long ago buying the building that holds it – but so does customer service and customer loyalty, and a mix of flexibility and tradition.

Cynthia Hughes and Philip Soccorso founded Fast Phil’s barbershop in 2004, providing dozens of haircuts every day to customers who sometimes needed to take a ticket to wait their turn. Then the city installed bike and bus lanes. “Boom, just like that” – Hughes snapped her fingers – “the city took it from us overnight with the parking.”