2026
Cambridge historian, Somerville comics press honored with Massachusetts Book Awards
A Cambridge historian and a one-person Somerville comics publisher are among the winners of this year’s Massachusetts Book Awards, the Commonwealth’s annual honors recognizing outstanding books by Massachusetts authors, artists, poets and publishers. Read more Cape Cod environmental crime drama has local flavor, minimal thrills Jill Lepore, a Harvard University historian and Cambridge resident, won […]
Cape Cod environmental crime drama has local flavor, minimal thrills
“The Scallop Plot” by former Boston Globe health columnist Judy Foreman seems like an ideal choice for a Cape Cod guest house bookshelf, a thriller to flip through idly on a rainy day. It’s full of immersive descriptions of Provincetown and vicinity, with plenty of local landmarks and restaurants namechecked. And it leaves the reader […]
MIT professor dies after bike crash at Memorial Drive intersection
An MIT professor died Wednesday from injuries sustained in an Aug. 21 bicycle crash at Massachusetts Avenue and Memorial Drive, an intersection where bicycle advocates had warned of safety problems and mounted a campaign for improvements just weeks before the crash. Read more Porter Square developer sues Cambridge over 20% affordable housing requirement Thomas Rose, […]
Porter Square developer sues Cambridge over 20% affordable housing requirement
The developer seeking to replace the Walgreens near Porter Square with a six-story, 71-unit apartment building is suing Cambridge, arguing the city is unconstitutionally withholding a building permit until it agrees to permanently set aside 20% of the development as affordable housing. Old North Development, led by developers Adam Siegel and Brendan Seaver, filed the […]
More homes hit Cambridge market as sales rise and prices hold steady
“I’m not ready to say that it’s a buyer’s market…yet,” said Joselin Malkhasian, president of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, remarking on real estate trends in Cambridge this year as more homes have come up for sale while prices remain relatively stable. Read more MIT doctoral student wins $10,000 award for algorithm implemented by […]
MIT doctoral student wins $10,000 award for algorithm implemented by WeChat
An MIT doctoral student won a $10,000 award in August for developing a new approach to recommendation algorithms that has already been adopted by Tencent WeChat, where it helps determine what content is shown to more than a billion users. Read more Keep an eye, and ear, out for migrating nighthawks Lei Huang, 30, a […]
Keep an eye, and ear, out for migrating nighthawks
Common nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) are crepuscular birds that eat flying insects. You’ll spot them swooping and wheeling like aerial acrobats to catch bugs in mid-air. They are closely related to whippoorwills with the same teeny beaks that open wide into surprisingly enormous insect-catching mouths. Read more Cambridge halves participatory budgeting to $500,000 as 13th annual […]
Cambridge halves participatory budgeting to $500,000 as 13th annual cycle kicks off
Cambridge’s annual participatory budgeting process is kicking off again, giving residents another chance to decide how the city spends public money, though this year they’ll have only half as much to work with. Read more Cambridge launches first civic assembly to weigh ShotSpotter, surveillance technology The city opened idea submissions for its 13th participatory budgeting […]
Cambridge launches first civic assembly to weigh ShotSpotter, surveillance technology
Cambridge will ask 40 randomly selected residents to weigh the future of ShotSpotter and other surveillance technology this fall, launching the city’s first civic assembly and one of the first ever municipal efforts of its kind in New England. Read more Futures in flux at MIT and Harvard documentary film centers as founding leaders step […]
Futures in flux at MIT and Harvard documentary film centers as founding leaders step down
The 2020s have been hard on Boston’s documentary film scene. In 2022, the LEF Foundation’s DocYard screening series went on indefinite hiatus; in 2024, the Bright Lights Cinema Series was cancelled after its curator, Anna Feder, was let go in what appeared to be a politically motivated dismissal. In comparison, last month’s leadership transitions at […]