public safety
Ahern Field: Plastics should not be our future
In the heart of Cambridge, a critical debate is unfolding over the future of Ahern Field. While there is an understandable push to install artificial turf to accommodate high-demand sports, we must consider the true cost of replacing a living landscape with a synthetic one. For the residents of East Cambridge, Ahern Field is more […]
The Lorax comes to Cambridge City Council
Trees were at the root of City Council’s latest zoning debate, which at one point even saw “The Lorax” invoked. Read more Let them play: Ahern is strategic for our children and public health The Council voted unanimously to consider updates to its Tree Protection Ordinance, a set of city laws that govern how and […]
Cambridge police have to remove ShotSpotter. Officers aren’t happy
Two weeks ago, Cambridge City Council narrowly voted in favor of getting rid of ShotSpotter, a sensor system that records loud sounds that could be gunshots and alerts local police. The vote went against the recommendation of city manager Yi-An Huang and leadership at Cambridge Police Department (CPD), which said the technology has helped police […]
Loud bang heard across region, cause unknown
Around 2:10 p.m., a loud bang was heard across Cambridge and Somerville with police scanners in Somerville picking up Somerville Police Department chatter at 2:16 p.m. about several reports of a possible explosion. Other reports and online posts suggest the bang was heard throughout much of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read more Two movies on […]
Residents ask tough questions at Memorial Drive debrief
About 50 community members braved a downpour to attend a “Community Debrief” on the May 11 shooting on Memorial Drive, which made national news and left the perpetrator and two victims hospitalized. Those gathered in the steamy Cambridge Community Center gym, about a 10-minute walk from the incident’s site, listened to local leaders before grilling […]
Memorial Drive shooting victim “As good as he can be,” niece says
The niece of one of the Memorial Drive shooting victims attended Tuesday’s Community Debrief on the incident at Cambridge Community Center recounted the harrowing moments when it appeared her uncle had been shot. She also said earlier in the day her uncle had undergone his fifth surgery since the shooting. Read more Opening Harvard’s gates, […]
Council drops ShotSpotter in close vote
The City Council voted Monday night to pull the plug on ShotSpotter, a controversial police surveillance technology in use in Cambridge for more than a decade. The move came after extended public comment and nearly an hour of deliberation, with intense distrust of the current federal administration a factor in approving the policy order. Read more Cambridge […]
Cambridge responds to shooting with resources, community events
Cambridge public officials and city departments are organizing a series of community meetings and discussions in the wake of Monday’s shooting incident on Memorial Drive. Read more An AI walked into a bar in Cambridge and asked for a code drink. . . The first will be a community drop-in event from 4 p.m. to […]
ShotSpotter vote evokes strong feelings at City Council
Hours after a shooting on Memorial Drive shook the Boston area, Cambridge City Council took up a previously scheduled vote on whether the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) should continue using ShotSpotter, a technology that identifies gunshots. Read more Protecting our engine of innovation Councillor Ayah Al-Zubi introduced a policy order to direct the city manager’s […]
Memorial Drive shooter, two victims hospitalized
An armed man walking around Memorial Drive near the intersection of River Street and behaving “erratically” fired up to 60 rounds from an assault-style weapon over several minutes, hitting two men in separate vehicles, both sustaining what were described by law enforcement officials as “life-threatening” injuries. Read more Is the Amigos School headed to Spring […]