All,  Happy Earth Week/Day/Month/Year!   I am working on a number of climate-related issues at the moment, and this week I am excited to introduce a policy order calling for the city to divest from fossil fuels and private prisons! The City Council has discussed the divestment of our pension fund multiple times, and as this policy […]

All: Happy Earth Day! Below are a number of events related to Earth Day – I hope you find at least one of interest. As the snow falls today, my first thought was “YAY! We need precipitation to mitigate the drought conditions.” If the snow was sticking, I’d be heading to Danehy with my toboggan….there is no

Hobbs Reservoir, part of Cambridge’s water supply, during the 2016 drought We are currently experiencing “abnormally dry” conditions All: Much of my work on the Council has been taking issues that have been discussed, studied, contemplated, and forgotten, and then actually making it happen. A study of municipal broadband has been discussed over and over

All, My frustration is on multiple levels. First, I stand with a broken heart that a young member of our community lost his life to gun violence last week. Even though our state has strict laws, the scourge of guns continues to plague people across the country, state and our own city.  And I’ll admit, my frustration

All: That light at the end of the tunnel is getting a tiny bit brighter…and will continue IF we keep masking up, follow guidance on limiting numbers of gatherings especially indoors and vaccine supplies continue to increase as projected. On the good news side, the stimulus relief bill passed and vaccinations are ramping up –

All: The anniversary of so much pain and trouble – the anniversary of the covid19 lockdown upending of our lives is mitigated by the light at the end of the tunnel that has appeared. I expect many of you reading this newsletter have gotten or have an appointment to get a vaccine. That light will

Margaret Fuller of Cambridge (read more below) All: Monday is International Women’s Day and March is Women’s History month. Women’s history and women’s contributions, as with Black history and contributions, should not be relegated to one day or month. And yet, I do welcome the extra attention paid during this time to important history. Keep

All: Tragically, we lost a member of our community this week to the mental health crisis. Sina Ball, a student at CRLS, passed away on February 23 and her family confirmed she died by suicide. This is a huge loss for our community during a time that has been so difficult for all of us.

All: An odd week. News from much of the country, especially Texas confirms once again that the climate crisis will continue to cause chaos and pain. Wind turbines and solar panels are the parts of the grid in Texas outperforming expectations – while gas and oil are disproportionately out of commission…. Do we need more reminders

All, There is no Council meeting on Monday, so in this week’s newsletter I’ll share some thoughts about the Alewife area, with a focus on the Quad (pictured above – the area between Concord Ave and the railroad tracks, from the rotaries to Grove/Blanchard).  Before we get to Alewife, it is still a pandemic –