School Committee candidates talked about standardized tests, educator pay and retention and the work of superintendent Victoria Greer at a candidate town hall.

Public meetings this week look at a Central Square City Lots Study; a public toilet for Cambridge Common; Lesley University constuction; and more.

Two former Darwins Ltd. coffee shop locations are on the way to being coffee shops again, one of them as a cooperative run by former Darwins employees.

Joe McGuirk is running a second time for Cambridge City Council touting a different background from most candidates: as a longtime restaurant worker. 

There have been 21 meetings since educator contract negotiations began in October on a new three-year contract for roughly 1,100 teachers, assistant principals, deans and curriculum coordinators that will begin Sept. 1.

The Cambridge Health Alliance has a huge deficit to fill with staff reductions, executives say, referring to $40 million to $45 million in losses for the fiscal year.

Negotiations between the school district and union for a new contract appear to be the classic face-off across a table, but this time educators are drawing in the City of Cambridge as a third player, saying its strong financials should boost compensation. 

There are 21 trained dispatchers in an Emergency Communications Department that should have at least 36, “a very serious staffing shortage,” a union says.

Leaders of Somerville’s Union Square Neighborhood Council said they have put together a petition to require a City Council public hearing on transparency in city government, mainly on issues around 200 McGrath.

Master developer US2 continues to miss hiring targets for the Union Square Revitalization Project, but the Somerville City Council lacks relevant workforce data, leaving the all-volunteer Union Square Neighborhood Council to hold developers accountable.