Chronicling Cambridge – June 10, 2024 Cambridge City Council meeting
There is sure to be some focus on Friday’s bicycling fatality at Mt Auburn/DeWolfe in addition to the various items on this week’s agenda. Here are some of the items that drew my attention:
Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the fourth annual Cycling Safety Ordinance (CSO) Progress Report. (CM24#123) [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by Pickett, Nolan, Wilson, and Brooke McKenna; Placed on File 8-0-1 (DS-Absent)
Though this arrived prior to Friday’s fatal bike crash, it seems inevitable that advocates on either side of this never-ending debate will use this as an opportunity to promote their viewpoints. I will not. I will only say that infrastructure alone does not determine human behavior.
Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-30, regarding Youth Center Tuition Rates. (CM24#124) [text of report]
pulled by Sobrinho-Wheeler; comments by JSW, Yi-An Huang, Wilson, Ellen Semonoff, Michelle Farnum, Siddiqui, Nolan, Toner, McGovern; Placed on File 9-0
The proposal is to phase in the steep increases over two cycles.
Order #1. The City Manager is requested to provide an update to the Municipal Facilities Improvement Plan (MFIP) including revised cost estimates to help inform the FY26 and ongoing capital budget priorities in a timely manner. Councillor Pickett, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Toner
pulled by Pickett; comments by Pickett, Nolan, Owen O’Riordan; Order Adopted 9-0
Will cost/benefit analysis be making a comeback among elected officials? I sure hope so.
Order #2. That the Cambridge City Council go on record requesting that MassDOT begin engaging with Cambridge residents and the Cambridgeport neighborhood early and often throughout the BU Rotary/Reid Overpass Reconstruction. Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Wilson
pulled by Siddiqui; comments by Siddiqui, JSW (who considers all roads “scary”), McGovern, Pickett, Wilson, Nolan, Owen O’Riordan, Toner; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0
I don’t know what exactly is planned for the BU Rotary/Reid Overpass, but I found this presentation from 5 years ago to be instructive (especially starting at page 40).
Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to support local news production as a public good by conducting a $100,000 per year city-backed news fund pilot for up to three years to be administered through an independent intermediary that will decide on funding criteria and selection of local newspapers that provide material coverage of Cambridge news. Councillor Azeem, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Pickett
pulled by Azeem; comments (mostly skeptical and indicating a NO vote) by Pickett, Nolan, Toner, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Siddiqui, Wilson, Yi-An Huang, McGovern, Megan Bayer; Charter Right – Azeem
In my view, this is a road best not traveled. I do like the idea of nonprofit journalism, but it seems obvious that the use of local taxes to support a newspaper or blog (except for fee for services) will inevitably lead to a loss in independence and objectivity. This is not to say that objectivity is the rule currently, but that should always be the ideal in journalism. This strikes me as nothing more than an indirect way to fund a specific publication. I remember various times over the course of the last few decades when there were calls to use local property taxes to support more neighborhood-based publications like 4Word (for Area 4, now called The Port) and The Alewife (N. Cambridge) when their UDAG and stabilization funds ran dry. Those proposals were denied at least in part for the reasons I just stated. I see no way that it would be any different today.
What I would really like to see is a concerted effort to revive the Cambridge Chronicle as an actual “paper of record” regardless of the fact that it has been horribly mismanaged by the Gannett corporation. An actual “paper of record” covers the whole local picture, including noncontroversial and non-political matters (e.g. Little League games, obituaries, the comings and goings of significant people). It’s not all about bike lanes, budgets, and building bigger buildings.
Order #4. That the City Council go on record urging Fenway Health to reconsider the closure of the Central Square Boomerangs thrift store, that the organization is requested to provide a detailed explanation to the community regarding the reasons for the closure of these thrift stores, and that the organization is requested to explore all possible alternatives to maintain this vital community resource. Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Wilson
pulled by McGovern; comments by Simmons (notes that it’s been there for over 25 years), McGovern (funds cut to Youth on Fire, hours cut at Needle Exchange), add Wilson as sponsor; Order Adopted as Amended 9-0
The closing of any business in Central Square is dreadful, but some enterprises simply run their course. The Salvation Army store is long gone, but the Goodwill store is still chugging along just down the street.
Charter Right #1. That the City Manager is requested to explore the feasibility of delaying the Mass Avenue reconstruction project to minimize its impact upon the busy season for restaurants and other affected businesses, and, should this not be found feasible, a method of providing financial assistance to the impacted businesses to cover the costs of removing their outdoor dining structures, designed to mitigate some of the financial impacts upon them, should be established. [Charter Right – Simmons, June 3, 2024]
comments by Simmons on amendments, Nolan, Owen O’Riordan, Kathy Watkins (explains why paving must take place no later than October), Nolan does not support Simmons amendments, McGovern, Wilson, Simmons, Toner (suggests doing job in July); Amendments Adopted 9-0; comments by McGovern (does not support delay), Azeem, Nolan (does not support delay); Tabled as Amended 8-1 (Nolan-No)
Resolution #3. Resolution for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program’s 50th Year. Mayor Simmons
Committee Report #1. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on May 21, 2024 to discuss Citizen’s Zoning Petition from Khalida Griffin-Sheperd, et al. to amend the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance in Section 11.206.1 and Subsections 11.206.1 and 11.206.2, AP24#10. [text of report]
Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0
Committee Report #2. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on May 22, 2024 to discuss a City Council Zoning Petition to amend the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance in Articles 2.000, 4.000, 5.000, 6.000, 11.000, 13.000, 14.000, 17.000, 20.000, and 22.000, AP24#12. The Committee voted to send the Petition as amended to the full City Council with a favorable recommendation to Pass to a 2nd Reading. [text of report]
Passed to 2nd Reading as Amended 9-0; Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0
Committee Report #3. The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on May 28, 2024 to discuss Citizen’s Zoning Petition by Joseph S. Ronayne et al. to amend the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance in Articles 4, 5, and 8, AP24#14. The Committee voted to send the Petition back to the full City Council with a recommendation that it be sent to the Housing Committee. [text of report]
Report referred to Housing Committee 9-0; Report Accepted, Placed on File 9-0
Late Order #5. In Support of Neville Center. Councillor Nolan, Councillor Siddiqui (PO24#80)
comments by Nolan, Siddiqui, Azeem (asks about how this might affect Neville’s ability to take out loans in future), Simmons; Order Adopted 9-0
What exactly are they going to do with the overpass and rotary?
(And how many years will it take?)
To the 3 Councillors who are sponsoring Order 3: if the press is to be considered objective, it shouldn’t be government-funded.
From which papers will you expect endorsements out of this?
Comment by FRED BAKER — June 9, 2024 @ 11:39 pm
There are some B.U. Rotary/ Reid Overpass Concepts here (meeting 5 years ago) starting at page 40:
https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2019/06/26/MDG%20PhaseIII%20Public%20Meeting-presentation.pdf
I don’t know what other concepts are being considered.
As for Order #3, I think this is a pretty bad road to follow. With the current absence of the Cambridge Chronicle, many of us still want to see coverage of local news, but replacing the Chronicle with overtly political alternatives is not an answer. As for government funding of a publication, that has all sorts of risks and down sides. Whether such a publication is critical of local government (biting the hand that feeds it) or if it fawns over local officials, it will become very suspect very quickly, and I doubt whether objectivity will be the rule of the day. Endorsement of candidates (which I think is something best avoided) complicates things even further.
More significantly, a real local paper needs to cover more than just the juicy controversial stuff. Little League scores, obituaries, the comings and goings of significant people, etc. are what a real “paper of record” has to offer in addition to all the local government coverage.
Even more significantly, a local “paper of record” has to transcend the efforts and inclinations of any single individual, and all I have seen have been projects that come and go with a single individual (and that includes my efforts).
Comment by Robert Winters — June 10, 2024 @ 12:01 am
I’m with you concerning the endorsements of candidates: never understood why newspapers became involved with that, except to exert influence to advance their special interest(s).
Otherwise, I believe I’m missing something here: what exactly has happened to the Chronicle?
Comment by FRED BAKER — June 10, 2024 @ 8:31 am
Regarding candidate endorsements, I have always felt that this is nothing more than editors and editorial boards asserting power. Choosing to not assert power (unless absolutely necessary) is by far the better option, but people with even the slightest perception of power often cannot help themselves. For what it’s worth I have chosen to avoid candidate endorsements consistently. This, of course, has never prevented me from writing complimentary things or condemnations on specific actions or statements from candidates and elected officials.
As for the Cambridge Chronicle, I still hold out some hope that it will be restored at some point. Gannett put themselves deep in debt with their purchases of local newspapers and have chosen to lay off essential staff recklessly. In the case of the Chronicle, when Will Dowd (who was absolutely great) left as editor, he was not replaced. This left the Chronicle with no reporters and no editor (which is shameful) and Gannett has have resisted all efforts to reinvent the Chronicle for the good of Cambridge. I have made many suggestions to their people, but all of my calls and emails have gone unanswered. I even volunteered to recruit unpaid people to contribute stories/articles, and they never responded. I still choose to believe that if ever the day comes when most of their debt is retired they will see the value in reviving the Cambridge Chronicle. In my opinion, alternatives to a true “paper of record” that will outlive the the editors of various interim publications are not the best course of action. These alternatives will always be associated with the individuals who have invented them – including me. The real “paper of record” has to be an institution that transcends individual editors.
Comment by Robert Winters — June 10, 2024 @ 11:14 am