We as a City Council pride ourselves on being regional leaders on issues such as affordable housing, immigrant rights and environmental protections, but we are falling woefully behind our regional allies on real estate transfer fees. I am reintroducing the fee to the council a third time March 16.

The detailed agreement between the city and a developer who challenged the Cambridge inclusionary housing ordinance in court reveals that the city gave developer Edward Doherty virtually all of what he sought in return for a one-time payment of $250,000 to the Affordable Housing Trust.

State Rep. Jon Hecht, a Democrat in the 29th Middlesex District made up of parts of Cambridge and Watertown, said Tuesday that he will not be running for reelection. He is the second longtime area state representative this year to opt out of running after Somerville state Rep. Denise Provost.

The city will install backup cameras on more of its rubbish collection trucks and a drain cleaning vehicle that don’t have them now, but officials have not decided whether to add the equipment to dump trucks, and may ask a Cambridge-based federal transportation agency for advice on the matter.

Several hundred tenant advocates from Cambridge and other area communities, and a few landlord representatives, crammed into a State House hearing Tuesday on bills to protect tenants, including a proposal by state Rep. Mike Connolly to allow communities to bring back rent control.

City councillors take their oath of office Jan. 6, with two new members taking their seats. If the past is any guide, they’ll learn about their responsibilities, processes and powers with one key bit of information missing: The City Council has the powers of subpoena.

Minutes before a court hearing Monday, developer Edward Doherty and lawyers for the city reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit by Doherty challenging the legality of the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance.

Friends of Jie Zhao, the young woman who was killed last year when hit by a dump truck, are campaigning for a mandate requiring large trucks to have cameras allowing drivers to see behind them.

State Rep. Mike Connolly – and possibly no one else – is exploring how to protect the inclusionary housing ordinances around the state from a lawsuit involving 12 Arnold Circle in Cambridge that threatens to invalidate such local regulations.

State Rep. Mike Connolly, a Democrat in the 26th Middlesex District, made up of parts of Cambridge and Somerville, invites residents to bring questions, concerns and policy ideas to his office hours.