Disaster relief for independent venues excites, but arrives to wildly varying stages of survival
Congress has approved $15 billion in disaster relief money for independent arts venues. At the nightclubs, comedy clubs and theaters that haven’t shut down entirely, it’s falling to owners and managers to figure out what the money will mean for them.
Kendall Square lab tower with public arts space approved, gas transfer station removal included
Enthusiasm for a lab building in Kendall Square that includes a $40 million arts space and additional $15 million public space and activity area swept the City Council along to a unanimous recommendation Monday.
Q Division recording studios plan summer move to North Cambridge after 20 years in Somerville
Q Division, a recording studio that’s hosted Juliana Hatfield, the Dropkick Murphys, Merrie Amsterburg, Morphine, Letters to Cleo, James Taylor and racks full of others, is preparing a move to Cambridge.
Draper joins with firefighters in $17,444 toy drive
Draper, a Kendall Square engineering innovation company, teamed up with the Cambridge Fire Department for an annual Toys for Tots drive, continuing a 15-year tradition.
Passim board elects Bartlett as its next chair, honoring outgoing Potts with grant for artists
The board of the music venue and arts nonprofit Passim has seen some turnover, with Jerry Potts stepping down as chair and musician Annie Bartlett elected by the board to replace him. Passim announced the creation of an annual giving program in honor of Potts.
Lesley University receives $3M gift to endow Fund for Reading Recovery and Literacy
Lesley University has received a $3 million gift from Gay Su Pinnell through her charitable fund to endow a Fund for Reading Recovery and Literacy at Lesley and support its existing Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative.
Service reductions to MBTA have been softened, but will start in January and be reviewed in March
The MBTA’s Financial Management and Control Board has approved service cuts that will start going into effect in January. The members of the board voted 3-2 to approve the cuts during a four-hour Monday meeting.
Evictions include cases at ‘party bus’ apartments, but also among struggling Cambridge businesses (updated)
A luxury apartment complex in Cambridge Crossing filed eviction cases against 28 tenants in November, at least some alleging violations in Covid-19 restrictions. But business owners are also facing evictions, and the numbers are expected to rise in January.
Brookfield sale at $3.5B could look like $68M added to affordable housing with transfer fee
A $3.5 billion sale of Brookfield Asset Management was announced Monday, with about 90 percent of the office space it owns in Cambridge. With a real estate transfer fee in place, that would have meant an injection of up to $68 million for affordable housing.
Zoning board postpones affordable project vote to January, hesitating over its nine-story height
At a contentious four-hour hearing, the Board of Zoning Appeal refused to approve the height of 2072 Massachusetts Ave., a North Cambridge affordable housing project, arguing that its nine stories on the avenue was too tall and trying to get the developers to bring the building down to six.
