Public Safety
Zondervan: HEART has shifted away from emergency response
After years of struggling for funding and undergoing leadership changes, HEART, the nonprofit alternative response team approved by City Council in 2021, has switched to providing services for community building and violence prevention. Read more School Committee hears about bus delays, lower absentee rates and AI on Cambridge’s first day of school HEART, or Holistic […]
Cambridge police involved in shooting
The Cambridge Police Department confirmed “a police-involved shooting” at an intersection on Temple Street on Friday night. Read more Candidates make their pitches at Cambridge mega-forum In a statement issued at 10:50 p.m., a police spokesperson said there remained a “significant police presence” at the scene, and that the incident was being investigated. Read more […]
Foul play not suspected in Fresh Pond case
The body found in Fresh Pond Aug. 11 was that of a 41-year-old man who was “known to be in the area,” according to a statement released Friday by the Middlesex District Attorney’s office and Cambridge Police Department. Read more Dragonflies are older than dinosaurs and still thriving The statement said that on Aug. 11 […]
ShotSpotter is back in action
Cambridge police issued a statement Monday evening that ShotSpotter has been reactivated. Police spokesperson Jennie Lopez said it was turned on for the Emergency Communications Center on Friday afternoon, and for the Cambridge Police Department on Monday morning. Read more Suspect arrested in July hit-and-run that injured a 12-year-old The statement said the acoustic detection […]
ShotSpotter not yet restarted; Wells details community policing goals
More than a week after Cambridge City Council voted to reinstate ShotSpotter for 90 days and form an assembly of residents to assess it, it remains unclear when either will happen. However, that 90-day clock started ticking as soon as the council voted on the policy order, a city spokesperson confirmed. Read more Cautious optimism […]
ShotSpotter returns, at least temporarily
On Monday Cambridge City Councillors voted 6-3 to temporarily re-activate ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot detection software that was used by the Cambridge Police Department for over a decade until its use was discontinued earlier this summer. The issue, which has divided councillors and community members for months, resulted in a compromise: ShotSpotter will be reactivated […]
Safety in The Port has always been a concern for its residents
Ty Bellitti grew up in Newtown Court, a housing project in The Port, and has mostly fond memories of it. But he also understands why community residents got so angry at city officials for calling Cambridge a “safe city” at a meeting last month. Read more Megadebate convenes nine candidates for state offices “I personally […]
Can an app get rid of parked cars in bike lanes?
A new app, Bike Bureau, offers local cyclists a way to document the perennial problem of cars parked in bike lanes. Read more MIT’s Fab Lab marks 25 years of making almost anything Here’s how it works: if a cyclist sees a car in a bike lane, they can open the Bike Bureau app on […]
Bautista’s family mourns “senseless” loss of devoted father, family protector
“My brother was big on loyalty,” said Victoria Angeles, the younger sister of Xavier Bautista, who was tragically killed last weekend. Read more Connolly, Miller mostly agree to agree about Beacon Hill In the early hours of Saturday, July 4, Bautista was shot and killed near Broadway and Norfolk in Cambridge, a few blocks away […]
Community members criticize city officials in meeting following Bautista’s death
Cambridge residents demanded that city officials take accountability and improve public safety in the Port neighborhood following the shooting of Xavier Bautista, a Cambridge resident and Department of Public Works employee, at a July 8 meeting. Read more Goodbye for Charlie’s? Beer garden is cleaned out Over 200 attendees packed into a meeting room in […]