The 3rd Annual Juneteenth Parade and Celebration will take place on Wednesday, June 19 from 10am to 4pm

The parade procession will start at Cambridge City Hall and proceed through Pleasant Street and Western Avenue before concluding at Riverside Press Park. Please expect traffic impacts and brief road closures along the parade route.

Cambridge Public Library to Host Second Annual Spelling Bee Finals

June 18, 2024 – The Cambridge Public Library will host the Second Annual Spelling Bee finals on Thursday, June 20, from 6-8pm in the Lecture Hall of the Main Library. Community members are invited to attend the finals to provide support and cheer on contestants. The spelling bee aims to enhance the spelling and vocabulary skills of contestants while promoting reading, writing, and delight in the power of words.

The tournament, which began in early May, is inspired by the Scripps National Spelling Bee and adheres to some of its rules. Earlier rounds of the competition, which began June 6, were held in the Fletcher-Maynard Academy in The Port neighborhood. Participants, who are students in grades 1 through 5, come from the Cambridge Public Schools District.

“This year was a very tight competition, especially among students in 4th and 5th grades. It was inspiring to see how focused the students were, aiming to become a finalist,” says Aishah Abdul-Musawwir, one of the coordinators of Sisters With A Dream.

Contestants will take turns spelling words from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the grade-level Scripps National Spelling Bee listings online. The participant from each grade level who can spell the most words correctly will win a $100 gift card, second place will win a $50 gift card, and third place will win a $25 gift card.

“The Library is thrilled to host the Second Annual Spelling Bee finals,” said Dr. Maria McCauley, Director of Libraries. “The spelling bee coincides with our Summer Reading program, which shares in the spelling bee’s promotion of learning and literacy.” The spelling bee is cosponsored by My Brother’s Keeper Cambridge, Sisters With A Dream, the Fletcher-Maynard Academy, and the Cambridge Public Library.

Fresh Pond Day - Saturday, June 22, 2024, 11am to 3pm

Volunteer Opportunities - Cambridge Boards & Commissions (click for details)

Cambridge Conservation Commission - deadline is Monday, July 15, 2024

Members Sought for Cambridge Conservation Commission

June 11, 2024 – Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang is seeking volunteers to fill vacancies on the Cambridge Conservation Commission.

The Conservation Commission is responsible for administering the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (WPA). The WPA is a state law governing activities in and around local wetlands, waterways, and floodplains.

The Conservation Commission has seven members appointed by the City Manager and confirmed by the Cambridge City Council to serve three-year terms. Cambridge residents with expertise in landscape architecture, civil/environmental engineering, hydrology, ecology, or law are encouraged to apply.

The City of Cambridge is committed to advancing a culture of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Commission members must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies. Women, minorities, veterans, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The Commission holds two virtual public meetings each month to review permit applications under the WPA, issue permits, and conduct other business related to the management of Cambridge’s natural resource areas.

Interested individuals may apply for this Committee through the City’s online portal at cambridgema.gov/apply. The application deadline is Monday, July 15, 2024. A cover letter and resume may be submitted during the online application process. Once your application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email.

Making the News - June 17, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

Here are the items that drew my attention this week:

Manager’s Agenda #1. Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $15,000 to the Grant Fund Public Celebrations (Arts Council) Other Ordinary Maintenance account. This funding will support District-based initiatives that drive economic growth and strengthen the distinctive character of the Central Square Cultural District.
Order Adopted 9-0

Every little bit helps. I really hope we can revive the Central Square World’s Fair not only for this year but for future years. In my perfect world, the large parking lot at Prospect Street and Bishop Allen Drive should be transformed into the Cambridge Fairgrounds with rides, miniature golf, a batting cage, and other attractions. Hey, a guy can dream.

Manager’s Agenda #8. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to update on the City’s efforts to support the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Track Improvement Program in 2024. (CM24#132) [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, Nolan, Iram Farooq (CDD); Placed on File 9-0

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to explore with the MBTA how to best ensure that the public art, Gift of the Wind, is preserved.   Councillor Pickett, Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Toner, Councillor Wilson
pulled by Pickett to add additional sponsors; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

Order #2. That the City Manager is requested to develop a policy and systems to ensure that an infrastructure safety audit is made to intersections where a crash results in a serious injury and implement needed safety improvements.   Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Pickett, Councillor Toner, Councillor Wilson, Mayor Simmons
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by Sobrinho-Wheeler, Pickett, Azeem, Nolan, Wilson, Toner, add all as sponsors; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Community Development Department and all relevant City departments to report on how have community events and ways to inform residents of all efforts to improve driving, cycling, and pedestrian safety and educate residents on how best to safely follow the rules when using roadways.   Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Toner
Order Adopted 9-0

151 Communications - mostly robotic form letter submissions generated by the Bike Lane Advocates deflecting attention from the fact that a bicyclist fatality recently occurred at a location where there were already fully implemented separated bike lanes.

Suffice to say that a safety audit of hazardous intersections and those sections of road that are inherently dangerous should have been done prior to any adoption of a Cycling Safety Ordinance - if indeed safety was the actual priority. As was made clear with the recent fatality at Mt Auburn/DeWolfe, infrastructure changes alone can never eliminate the role of human error leading to fatalities or severe injuries.

Order #3. That Chair of the Government Operations, Rules, and Claims Committee is hereby appointed to manage the City Manager performance evaluation process via his role as Chair of this committee.   Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern
Order Adopted 9-0

Because the revised Charter says it must be done - whether or not it is actually needed.

Order #5. City Council support of the mission of the June delegation to strengthen the contact between Cambridge and El Salvador and to foster ties between the communities as well as the community-building in our home communities.   Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Wilson
Order Adopted 9-0

Foreign policy is back on the agenda.

Charter Right #1. That the City Manager is requested to support local news production as a public good by conducting a $100,000 per year City-backed news fund pilot for up to three years to be administered through an independent intermediary that will decide on funding criteria and selection of local newspapers that provide material coverage of Cambridge news. [Charter Right – Azeem, June 10, 2024]
comments by Azeem, Wilson, Siddiqui; Tabled 9-0

This Order was on a crash-and-burn trajectory last week prior to the Azeem Charter Right, and it’s doubtful whether it can be amended to make it something other than a City bailout in violation of state law. That said, it may be possible to craft a substitute Order that can address the larger question of the inadequacy of local news coverage in Cambridge. There are many of us who would like to be part of that solution, but the authors of the Order chose not to include anyone outside their small circle. Ideally, I would like to see the Civic Unity Committee or an ad-hoc committee take up the larger issue of local news and information in Cambridge - and I hope this could be an opportunity to get a representative from Gannett (current owners of the Cambridge Chronicle) to appear before this committee to explain why they have forsaken Cambridge and what their long-term plans are for the Cambridge Chronicle.

1924 Cambridge City Council reporters

This is really a time for reinvention and not just subsidizing partial solutions. I will have a lot more to say about this in the weeks to come. As City Manager Huang noted last week, Cambridge at one time had assigned seats in the City Council chamber for five newspapers. Most Cambridge residents at one time read one or more of these newspapers every week. A lot has changed since then, including the way businesses advertise that was a primary source of revenue for these newspapers. This loss of local press is a national problem and there are some good examples available of how some places have taken up this challenge. It’s actually far easier to publish these days, so this should really be about discovering a sustainable solution particular to each community that incorporates a maximum number of voices and keeps the vitriol to a bare minimum.

Resolution #1. Congratulations to Laura Nichols on her retirement from the City of Cambridge.   Mayor Simmons, Councillor Toner

Best wishes to Laura Nichols, a long-time friend and a jewel of a person, on her upcoming retirement.

Committee Report #1. The Neighborhood and Long-Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts and Celebrations Committee held a public hearing on May 21, 2024 to discuss the upcoming Central Square zoning process and next steps following the Central Square Lots Study, City Manager Agenda Item 2024 #33, with a focus on 105 Windsor Street, 205 Western Ave, and 84 & 96 Bishop Allen Drive (Lots 4 and 5). [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

Late Order #6. That the City Council formally go on record in expressing its strong hope that the City engage in a thoughtful, deliberative, and collaborative community process to determine the future of the Central Square Library and the Green Street Garage.   Mayor Simmons, Councillor Toner
Order Adopted 9-0

I’m still not sure where this process is eventually headed. For many years the choices for Central Square have been somewhere between nothing and hosting services wanted nowhere else. Never forget that there was a day decades ago when many people traveled to Central Square from elsewhere as a kid-friendly destination for shopping and recreation - and not just in the evening hours for clubs and restaurants.

Committee Report #3. The Government Operations, Rules, and Claims Committee held a public hearing on June 5, 2024 meeting to discuss Charter Review recommendations and develop draft recommendations to the Full City Council for reviewing, deliberating, adopting, and processing possible changes to the Cambridge City Charter for a future vote by Cambridge voters. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

Based on the testimony from the June 5 meeting, my sense is that the City Council should be content with a general reformatting of the Charter with modern language and modest changes to permit more flexibility in our PR elections. One thing that should be absolutely clear is that making substantial changes to a city charter in order facilitate the political desires of a councillor or two is not such a bright idea. - Robert Winters

Comments?

Chronicling Cambridge – June 10, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting

There is sure to be some focus on Friday’s bicycling fatality at Mt Auburn/DeWolfe in addition to the various items on this week’s agenda. Here are some of the items that drew my attention:

Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the fourth annual Cycling Safety Ordinance (CSO) Progress Report. (CM24#123) [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by Pickett, Nolan, Wilson, and Brooke McKenna; Placed on File 8-0-1 (DS-Absent)

Though this arrived prior to Friday’s fatal bike crash, it seems inevitable that advocates on either side of this never-ending debate will use this as an opportunity to promote their viewpoints. I will not. I will only say that infrastructure alone does not determine human behavior.

Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-30, regarding Youth Center Tuition Rates. (CM24#124) [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by JSW, Yi-An Huang, Wilson, Ellen Semonoff, Michelle Farnum, Siddiqui, Nolan, Toner, McGovern; Placed on File 9-0

The proposal is to phase in the steep increases over two cycles.

Order #1. The City Manager is requested to provide an update to the Municipal Facilities Improvement Plan (MFIP) including revised cost estimates to help inform the FY26 and ongoing capital budget priorities in a timely manner.   Councillor Pickett, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Toner
pulled by Pickett; comments by Pickett, Nolan, Owen O’Riordan; Order Adopted 9-0

Will cost/benefit analysis be making a comeback among elected officials? I sure hope so.

Order #2. That the Cambridge City Council go on record requesting that MassDOT begin engaging with Cambridge residents and the Cambridgeport neighborhood early and often throughout the BU Rotary/Reid Overpass Reconstruction.   Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Wilson
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui, JSW (who considers all roads “scary”), McGovern, Pickett, Wilson, Nolan, Owen O’Riordan, Toner; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

I don’t know what exactly is planned for the BU Rotary/Reid Overpass, but I found this presentation from 5 years ago to be instructive (especially starting at page 40).

Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to support local news production as a public good by conducting a $100,000 per year city-backed news fund pilot for up to three years to be administered through an independent intermediary that will decide on funding criteria and selection of local newspapers that provide material coverage of Cambridge news.   Councillor Azeem, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Pickett
pulled by Azeem; comments (mostly skeptical and indicating a NO vote) by Pickett, Nolan, Toner, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui, Wilson, Yi-An Huang, McGovern, Megan Bayer; Charter Right - Azeem

In my view, this is a road best not traveled. I do like the idea of nonprofit journalism, but it seems obvious that the use of local taxes to support a newspaper or blog (except for fee for services) will inevitably lead to a loss in independence and objectivity. This is not to say that objectivity is the rule currently, but that should always be the ideal in journalism. This strikes me as nothing more than an indirect way to fund a specific publication. I remember various times over the course of the last few decades when there were calls to use local property taxes to support more neighborhood-based publications like 4Word (for Area 4, now called The Port) and The Alewife (N. Cambridge) when their UDAG and stabilization funds ran dry. Those proposals were denied at least in part for the reasons I just stated. I see no way that it would be any different today.

What I would really like to see is a concerted effort to revive the Cambridge Chronicle as an actual “paper of record” regardless of the fact that it has been horribly mismanaged by the Gannett corporation. An actual “paper of record” covers the whole local picture, including noncontroversial and non-political matters (e.g. Little League games, obituaries, the comings and goings of significant people). It’s not all about bike lanes, budgets, and building bigger buildings.

Order #4. That the City Council go on record urging Fenway Health to reconsider the closure of the Central Square Boomerangs thrift store, that the organization is requested to provide a detailed explanation to the community regarding the reasons for the closure of these thrift stores, and that the organization is requested to explore all possible alternatives to maintain this vital community resource.   Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Wilson
pulled by McGovern; comments by Simmons (notes that it’s been there for over 25 years), McGovern (funds cut to Youth on Fire, hours cut at Needle Exchange), add Wilson as sponsor; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0

The closing of any business in Central Square is dreadful, but some enterprises simply run their course. The Salvation Army store is long gone, but the Goodwill store is still chugging along just down the street.

Charter Right #1. That the City Manager is requested to explore the feasibility of delaying the Mass Avenue reconstruction project to minimize its impact upon the busy season for restaurants and other affected businesses, and, should this not be found feasible, a method of providing financial assistance to the impacted businesses to cover the costs of removing their outdoor dining structures, designed to mitigate some of the financial impacts upon them, should be established. [Charter Right – Simmons, June 3, 2024]
comments by Simmons on amendments, Nolan, Owen O’Riordan, Kathy Watkins (explains why paving must take place no later than October), Nolan does not support Simmons amendments, McGovern, Wilson, Simmons, Toner (suggests doing job in July); Amendments Adopted 9-0; comments by McGovern (does not support delay), Azeem, Nolan (does not support delay); Tabled as Amended 8-1 (Nolan-No)

Resolution #3. Resolution for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program’s 50th Year.   Mayor Simmons

Committee Report #1. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on May 21, 2024 to discuss Citizen’s Zoning Petition from Khalida Griffin-Sheperd, et al. to amend the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance in Section 11.206.1 and Subsections 11.206.1 and 11.206.2, AP24#10. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

Committee Report #2. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on May 22, 2024 to discuss a City Council Zoning Petition to amend the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance in Articles 2.000, 4.000, 5.000, 6.000, 11.000, 13.000, 14.000, 17.000, 20.000, and 22.000, AP24#12. The Committee voted to send the Petition as amended to the full City Council with a favorable recommendation to Pass to a 2nd Reading. [text of report]
Passed to 2nd Reading as Amended 9-0; Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

Committee Report #3. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on May 28, 2024 to discuss Citizen’s Zoning Petition by Joseph S. Ronayne et al. to amend the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance in Articles 4, 5, and 8, AP24#14. The Committee voted to send the Petition back to the full City Council with a recommendation that it be sent to the Housing Committee. [text of report]
Report referred to Housing Committee 9-0; Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0

Late Order #5. In Support of Neville Center.   Councillor Nolan, Councillor Siddiqui (PO24#80)
comments by Nolan, Siddiqui, Azeem (asks about how this might affect Neville’s ability to take out loans in future), Simmons; Order Adopted 9-0

Comments?

Cambridge School Committee votes in favor of superintendent’s resignation (May 29, 2024, Boston Globe)

Ousted Cambridge superintendent Victoria Greer tells families, ‘I am saddened to leave’ (May 30, 2024, Boston Globe)

The Cambridge City Charter: From Town Meeting to Plan E premiered on Monday, May 15, 2023 at 5:30pm on CCTV Channel 9 and is viewable on YouTube.

Created by writer-narrators John Pitkin and Robert Winters, both long-time Cambridge residents, and director Gregorio Leon, a 2016 graduate of CRLS and Emerson College, the video is introduced by WGBH’s Jim Braude. The Cambridge’s City Charter: From Town Meeting to Plan E combines historical documents, images, maps, and statistics to present a provocative half-hour overview of Cambridge’s first 94 years as a city and the origins of the current Plan E charter.

The episode examines our shared history through the lens of the City Charter and local elections. It shows how the Town Meeting style of government became impracticable and led to the consolidation of Old Cambridge, the neighborhood around Harvard College, with the villages of Cambridgeport and East Cambridge to create the city of Cambridge, chartered by the Commonwealth in 1846. The half-hour video presents a visually engaging review of the expansion of Cambridge as bridges linked Old Cambridge to Boston in the 18th and early 19th century, as migration drove population growth, suffrage expanded, and participation in local elections increased.

A second episode of Cambridge Civic View is planned that will look at the history of the current Plan E charter. Since 1940, Plan E has defined our local government, given us the existing system of nine City Councillors with a City Manager as our chief executive, and established the ranked-choice proportional representation voting system used to elect our Councillors and School Committee. It is hoped that these videos will provide necessary perspective on how the current City Charter came to be and how it might be modified.

Comments?