In its nearly 400-year history, Harvard Square has never seen race cars, Nerf blasters and dinosaurs under the same roof. That will soon change.

Cambridge thinks it might have an answer to steep food delivery fees – subsidizing cargo e-bikes for local businesses. But it would leave those businesses to buy and maintain the bikes and find their own delivery people.

A hearing on racial and gender disparities in how Cambridge awards contracts could be held before April, after a report found that minority-owned professional-services firms accounted for 1.3 percent of vendors.

Cambridge officials are largely optimistic about the city’s economy and where it’s headed in 2024, though some issues complicate the long-term outlook.

The Harvard Book Store recently scuttled an expansion to Boston’s Prudential Center but now has the chance to reinvest in its flagship Cambridge location.

It’s not clear when officials and voters will decide changes to Cambridge’s governing charter – from letting 16-year-olds cast ballots in city elections to adding a way for residents to take part in policy decisions via yearly “assemblies” or even eliminating the city manager.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative recently awarded $319,002 to Gencores, a Somerville company working on materials for ultra-light vehicles and structures, according to a press release and MassTech representative.

Sean O’Donovan, an attorney and former Somerville alderman and School Committee member, was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison plus three years of supervised release and will need to pay a $150,000 fine.

Though Mount Auburn Hospital is closing two centers in 2024, none of their services are leaving the Cambridge area. Mount Auburn says it is is upgrading some of its facilities and investing heavily in new technology.

Among the 20 chefs nominated for best chef in the Northeast were three Cambridge cooks; a Somerville business is a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program in the prestigious annual awards.