Planning officials voiced serious misgivings last week around the specifics of the Affordable Housing Overlay, which so far underlies three projects making their way through Cambridge’s permitting process. But they acknowledged that they were forced mainly to watch with concern.

Brattle Square Florist will close on Jan. 31 after more than a century in business. The pandemic and a difficult economy has taken its toll, and owner Randy Ricker said he is exhausted.

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.”

Dozens of people who spoke Monday about the installation of bike and bus lanes may be queuing up to do it all over again in January after debate was bumped by a city councillor.

Diners shouldn’t expect Christopher’s Restaurant & Bar to open anytime soon in Porter Square, but music lovers should have their Toad back early next year for drinks and live music.

The Denver company Healthpeak spent another $41 million on Alewife-area property on Nov. 27, adding 125 Fawcett St. to the $391 million portfolio it’s built since August, according to documents filed Tuesday with the Middlesex Registry of Deeds.

The Cantab Lounge opened for a friends-and-family party Saturday that gave a peek at how well new owners Tim and Maureen Dibble have done refreshing a decades-old bar closed since March 2020: Perfectly.

Alumni of the Artisan’s Asylum makerspace hoped to rebuild in Somerville after their organization moved to Allston. With an announcement Thursday that the space is being leased to The Engine, a startup found born at MIT, that dream got more complicated.

From Nov. 18 to Dec. 2 to Thursday and now to 5 p.m. Dec. 15, the road to a Cantab Lounge reopening in Central Square has been full of twists. “I regret to inform you that our grand opening has been moved one final time,” general manager Mike Cronin said in a Tuesday email.

The Life Alive Organic Cafe in Central Square and Down Under School of Yoga, which has a site in Porter Square, have combined and will open a 100-seat cafe and yoga studio in Harvard Square early next year.