Cambridge, Harvard and MIT must shelter homeless better for next months with Covid
As we approach the start of the second year of this pandemic, the large institutions of Cambridge and city government need to act differently than in 2020. Studies have shown that the non-congregate shelter option is a public health option that works.
Our ‘inapposite’ Law Department
The loss Cambridge had in court last week, which means paying $3.7 million for the Vail Court land-taking near Central Square even as the payee sues to get the property back, is part of a pattern for our Law Department.
Transition House clarifies to councillors, police that it didn’t cosign Black Response open letter
We remain committed to our partnerships and will continue to operate with transparency and integrity with all involved. We offer our sincerest apologies for the miscommunication and for any negative feelings that may have been caused by seeing our name included in this letter.
Open letter to councillors calls for March meeting about people-centered community safety budget (updated)
There’s an urgent need for discussion of a functioning and people-centered alternative to some current policing – a program that is more than just a symbolic gesture while that continues to be the dominant mechanism of “public safety.”
Make Palmer Street a weekly free speech zone speaking (literally) to soul of Harvard Square
Before city planners, business representatives and residents gather (virtually) Thursday to “introduce small improvements” to Harvard Square’s Palmer Street, here’s an idea from 2015: Use the alley for a weekly free speech for activists, iconoclasts, poets, comics and anyone else with ideas.
What students with special needs and families want for interim schools superintendent choice
Parents and caregivers of students with special needs are pleased that the School Committee has decided to seek and appoint an interim schools superintendent and have suggestions on qualities and characteristics to look for in candidates.
Black Response Cambridge on upzoning petition: ‘Missing middle’ fails for housing affordability
Asking for-profit developers to fix the affordable housing problem is like asking an arsonist to put out their own fire. What is their incentive?
Two deaths of two bicyclists at two intersections, one reconfigured fully, the other to widen by foot
After the death of Amanda Phillips, the city announced plans to reconstruct an Inman Square intersection with such speed that it sparked a lawsuit. Since the death of Jamesia Dottin, the city didn’t announce much of anything until a plan for an eight-story building.
An open letter to the Cambridge City Council asks action on Envision, ending decades without plan
In the past 42 years, the city has spent millions of dollars with the help of hundreds of residents volunteering their time to address a number of zoning-related projects – but have these plans ever been implemented?
Parent asks for more thoughtfulness around calling educators’ efforts ‘white supremacist’
“I was very saddened and angered by the treatment given to superintendent Kenneth Salim at the hands of the Cambridge Education Association.”
