City Politics
Superintendent Recommends Closing Long-Struggling Cambridge Elementary School
Cambridge Public Schools interim superintendent David G. Murphy said he will recommend closing the Kennedy-Longfellow School, a kindergarten through fifth grade school that has suffered from low test scores and under enrollment.
Cambridge Will Consider Restoring Two-Way Traffic Along Garden Street
The Cambridge City Council unanimously passed a policy order Monday asking the city to devise a plan to restore Garden Street to two-way automobile traffic while retaining its two-way bike lanes by April 2025.
City Manager Huang Urges ‘Moderation of Growth’ to Address Budget Crunch
Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 offered a playbook for addressing the city’s unsustainable budget growth in a Friday interview with The Crimson, suggesting that the city may further raise property taxes and pare back certain city services in fiscal year 2026.
City Council Requests Update to Cambridge Bicycle Plan
The Cambridge City Council unanimously adopted a policy order on Monday to request that the city update the Cambridge Bicycle Plan, a report on cycling trends and policy affecting bike lane infrastructure, for the first time in four years.
Cambridge Residents Slam Reappointment of Inflammatory Blogger to City Committee
More than a dozen residents and a City Councilor criticized the reappointment of civic blogger Robert Winters to the Central Square Advisory Committee at a Council meeting Monday, citing his history of offensive social media posts.
City Manager Says He Met Most Goals But Failed to Form Reparations Commission
Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 said he had met nearly all of the City Council’s goals for him in the second annual City Manager Performance review, but conceded that he had failed to establish a commission for reparations to the descendants of enslaved people.
Cambridge City Council Takes First Step Toward Eliminating Broker Fees
The Cambridge City Council took the first step in forcing landlords rather than tenants to pay broker fees, unanimously voting at a Monday meeting to hold a future hearing to discuss its feasibility.
‘This Really Could Happen to Me’: Students React With Fear to Cyclist Deaths
Amid ongoing advocacy for expanded bike lanes, three cyclists were killed in Cambridge in less than four months.
Cambridge Health Alliance Clinicians File for Unionization With Mass. Labor Relations
Approximately 230 physicians, psychologists, and physician associates at Cambridge Health Alliance filed for unionization last Thursday with the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations as State Health And Research Employees.
City Council Advances Plan to Create Flexible Parking Corridors, Ease Restrictions
The Cambridge City Council’s Ordinance Committee advanced a zoning petition to create “flexible parking corridors” in an effort to reduce restrictions on off-street parking at a Thursday meeting.
The Fight to Preserve Harriet Jacobs’ Legacy in Cambridge
A historical preservation committee wants to maintain the home of a formerly enslaved woman as a memorial and museum. The owner wants to build a boutique hotel. It’s a tenuous marriage.
Cambridge Budget Growth May Require 8% Property Tax Increase, City Officials Say
City staff are projecting that even if Cambridge’s operating budget grows at a conservative rate, the city may need to raise property taxes by at least 8 percent in the future, according to officials at a Tuesday City Council hearing.
Cambridge Planning Board Appears Sympathetic to Upzoning But Punts Vote
The Cambridge Planning Board punted a vote on their official recommendation for a proposal to eliminate single-family zoning in Cambridge on Tuesday.
Cambridge Will Ask State Legislature to Allow Use of Traffic Cameras
The Cambridge City Council unanimously voted on Monday to draft a petition asking the Massachusetts State Assembly to allow the city to implement automatic traffic enforcement.
Cambridge Residents Satisfied With City Hall but Give Low Marks on Housing
Cambridge residents said they were highly satisfied living in the city and with the quality of government services, but gave local officials low marks on housing and transportation issues in the 2024 iteration of the Cambridge Resident Satisfaction Survey.
