The N-word incident that has captured the attention of the Cambridge Public Schools community – the use of the term by a white person – could have been better handled, starting with an immediate response by the organizer of the classroom forum where it happened.

There’s a new housing construction clash in Cambridge, this time over a letter signed by more than 600 people hoping to push the pause button on decades of virtually unrestrained development. But take a tour of the Alewife area and reasons for a pause will be obvious.

Academic eligibility requirements governing high school athletics that result in automatic suspension contradict recent research. It also counters the spirit of state law, which prohibits districts from “zero tolerance” policies and automatic school suspensions.