public health
MIT will reopen Building 18
MIT’s Emergency Management Department said it would reopen a building Monday Aug. 31 at 6 a.m., more than four days after closing it due to potential for poisoning by dimethyl mercury. Read more Simon’s says farewell, with hopes of reopening soon The Emergency Management Department issued a statement at 10:17 p.m. saying that “appropriate decontamination […]
MIT closes building after toxic incident
MIT evacuated a building Wednesday after a spill involving dimethyl mercury, an extremely potent neurotoxin. MIT’s Emergency Management department posted a message Saturday afternoon saying that a “single individual in a chemistry laboratory” went to a local emergency room and claimed to have synthesized dimethyl mercury. Read more Cambridge Day’s 2026 state election preview The […]
West Nile and Charles River advisories; plus, an equity survey
Cambridge residents are being urged to take extra precautions against mosquito bites after the city’s West Nile virus risk level was raised from moderate to high. Meanwhile, a cyanobacteria bloom continued to keep part of the Charles River closed to recreation. Read more At 103, Holocaust survivor and longtime Cantabrigian Kitty Haas is not ready […]
Nursing home settlement allows homes to gain exemptions to room occupancy limits
A Cambridge nursing home is among 33 homes that won a settlement from the state making it easier for them to continue housing as many as four residents in a room. The agreement came in a lawsuit from nursing homes challenging a pandemic-linked rules change limiting occupancy to two beds per room. Read more Harvard […]
City stops demolition begun without permits
The demolition of a multifamily home at 66 Kinnaird St. was halted until further notice Monday when neighbors reported the site for a lack of safety measures. After calls from residents, Cambridge’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) confirmed the demolition began without required permits and ordered work to stop. The contractor will also receive a citation […]
Heat emergency declared for Cambridge and Somerville July 1-4
The lead-up to Independence Day weekend is expected to be a scorcher. Both Cambridge and Somerville have declared heat emergencies July 1 – 4 due to “extreme” and “dangerously hot” temperatures. The heat index, which measures the “real feel” of temperature on a human body, could be as high as 110 degrees. Read more Cambridge […]
Cambridge prepares for World Cup to overflow
Throngs have flocked to the metro Boston area for the FIFA World Cup, which will see seven matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough between Saturday, June 13 and July 7. Locals have already spotted soccer fans donning kilts as they roam the streets ahead of Saturday’s game between Scotland and Haiti. Read more Best bites […]
Davis Square neighbors memorialize man caught by MBTA escalator
On Monday night, around 50 Somerville residents gathered outside the Davis Square T station on Holland Street to mourn the death of Steven McCluskey, a 40-year-old man from South Boston who died in March after falling on an escalator descending into the station. Read more Cambridge Public Health Department faces questions following Odunze, Neal absences […]
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 […]
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 […]