Episode 463 – Cambridge InsideOut: May 12, 2020 – Still Inside more than Outside
This episode was broadcast on May 12, 2020 at 6:30pm. Topics: The Empty City; closing of streets; mandatory face masks and social distancing; Coronagendas; carefully restarting construction; Catching Up with the City Council; FY2021 Budget; To Tweet or Not to Tweet – Councillors and the City Charter; access to recycling. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
Manager’s Agenda #4. Transmitting communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $1,200,000 from Free Cash, to the Public Investment Fund Public Works Extraordinary Expenditures Account for expanded tree planting and continued implementation of the Urban Forestry Master Plan recommendations.
Unfinished Business #3. TPO (Tree Protection Ordinance) Extension PO [Passed to a Second Reading on Jan 27, 2020. To Be Ordained on or after Feb 10, 2020]
It seems likely that the Tree Removal Moratorium extension will breeze through. Ideally, the Council would at least amend it to allow for some additional flexibility, especially for long-term residents who are simply maintaining their property rather than redeveloping it. Hope springs eternal, but I don’t have much faith that reason will prevail here or when they finally get around to implementing any master plan recommendations.
Manager’s Agenda #8. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to amending the Cambridge Municipal Code to insure a Welcoming Community Ordinance. [Red-Lined version][Clean version]
Unfinished Business #4. That the Cambridge City Council amend the Municipal Ordinances of the City of Cambridge to insert a new Chapter 2.129, entitled “WELCOMING COMMUNITY ORDINANCE” [Passed to a Second Reading on Jan 27, 2020. To Be Ordained on or after Feb 10, 2020.]
I expect this too will breeze through ordination either this week or very soon, but the rhetoric over restrictions on police activities should prove interesting, especially the clarifications from the City Solicitor in the section on the "Role of Police Department in immigration enforcement" to make it consistent with federal statutes.
Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate City staff to work with the residents of the Agassiz neighborhood in furthering this important neighborhood conversation and in helping make a determination as to how to arrive at an appropriate, official name change for this neighborhood. Councillor Simmons, Mayor Siddiqui
Cambridge neighborhood names have no real legal standing. Some of them, like Mid-Cambridge, were invented by what was once called the Planning Department back when they were making maps for federal grant programs. So in some sense this is just feel-good stuff. Maybe we should just use Zip Codes to avoid any future historical crisis.
Order #2. That the City Manager is requested to rename the maintenance area within the Ryan Garage at 147 Hampshire Street in honor of Sydney Cox, with this becoming known as the “Sydney James Cox Maintenance Facility”. Councillor Simmons, Councillor Toomey
This continues what has become a DPW tradition of naming its buildings and facilities for some of our great long-time dedicated DPW employees.
Order #4. That the City Manager is requested to confer with relevant City departments on the feasibility of instituting a program to install rings on parking meters to expand bicycle parking options. Councillor Nolan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Mayor Siddiqui
This has been suggested in the past by me and by others, and the stock answer at the time was that locking bikes to parking meters somehow obstructed access to motor vehicles. Geometry and reality contradict this. The only exception would be bikes with trailers. Maybe we’ll get a different answer this time around.
Order #6. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Department of Human Services and other relevant departments to determine the feasibility of both expanding the Head Start program hours and adding additional scholarships to improve access to high-quality, early childhood educational resources. Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Carlone, Councillor McGovern
The single most important thing we can do to lessen inequality is to support programs like Head Start that help to level the playing field so that residents can one day succeed on their own terms. If somebody wants education we should provide it one way or another.
Order #7. That the City Council go on record calling for the Parliament of India to uphold the Indian constitution by repealing the Citizenship Amendment Act, stopping the National Register of Citizens, and taking steps towards helping refugees by ratifying various UN treaties on refugees. Councillor Zondervan, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Nolan
We’re barely one month into this Council term and it’s already looking like we need a change in the City Council Rules to establish a standing Foreign Policy Committee.
Committee Report #2. Report of the Ordinance Committee – Committee Meeting – Feb 5, 2020 5:30 PM [PDF][HTML]
This concerns the Alexandria zoning petition to establish a Grand Junction Pathway Overlay District. It is noteworthy in that the petition was likely to die a lonely death unless an alternative site for the proposed Eversource electrical substation on Fulkerson Street could be found. Thanks to the intervention of City Manager Louis DePasquale and others, an alternate site seems to have been identified but not yet revealed. – Robert Winters
This episode was broadcast on Oct 22, 2019 at 5:30pm. Topics: Election coming; election systems, district vs. at-large; Candidate page updates; slates & endorsing organizations; incumbency protection and feeders; how to vote a PR ballot. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Oct 22, 2019 at 6:00pm. Topics: Candidate forums; Cambridge Club event; some Plan E history; Devereux piece; myths about single-family zoning and density; Green Line Extension; growing the metropolis. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Oct 15, 2019 at 5:30pm. Topics: Candidate slates and election outlook; a look at municipal elections over the years; CCA history; Flotsam & Jetsam. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Oct 15, 2019 at 6:00pm. Topics: Slates, candidate forums, strategies, campaign spending, “developer money”; Ranked Choice Voting; MIT, energy; Opening King Open. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Sept 17, 2019 at 5:30pm. Topics: Sept 16 Council meeting (Part 1) – Cannabis, First Street Garage, Lobbying via Direct Mail, zoning history, changing nature of the city, New Street zoning failure. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Sept 17, 2019 at 6:00pm. Topics: Sept 16 Council meeting (Part 2) – UpperWest pandering and Charter ignorance, evolution of License Commission practices, Municipal Broadband feasibility and shelf life, candidate forums and endorsements, CDD policy failures. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on July 2, 2019 at 5:30pm. Topics: “Affordable Housing Overlay” at Planning Board & Ordinance Committee; Inclusionary Zoning; some housing history; CDD Housing Division as landlords. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on June July 2, 2019 at 6:00pm. Topics: Candidates pulling nomination papers; who is and is not running; School Committee toxicity; Open Archives highlights; Tom Magliozzi; hiding the state flag. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
Join the Cambridge Water Department at its annual Fresh Pond Day on Saturday, June 15, from 11am–3pm, to celebrate Fresh Pond Reservation. Fresh Pond Reservation is truly Cambridge’s green gem – an urban wild that protects Fresh Pond, Cambridge’s in-city drinking water reservoir. Fresh Pond Day serves as an annual community tribute to this unique Reservation that is a vital natural resource, an invaluable sanctuary for wildlife, and a beloved recreational escape in the city. This event is free and open to all; all dogs must be leashed.
Fresh Pond Day events will be at and around the Walter J. Sullivan Water Treatment Facility, 250 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge. Use of public transit and bicycles to get to the event is strongly encouraged. Bus routes 72, 74, 75, 78; & Alewife T are all nearby. Visitors arriving by car are asked to park at the Tobin School on 197 Vassal Lane.
Events Schedule
11:00am-2:00pm Learn to Stilt Walk
11:00am-3:00pm Open House of the Water Treatment Plant
11:00am-2:15pm Live Music from Allston Rock Records
2:30pm-3:00pm Global Water Dance Performance
11:00am-3:00pm Free bike tune-ups and bike rodeo; learn about pond life animals with Nature Knowledge for Kids; Junior Ranger badge activities; learn how to fix a leak
Peruse our community tables to learn more from various city departments and local organizations involved in sustainability and outdoor recreation.
Please note that rain or extreme weather cancels this event. For more information, visit www.cambridgema.gov/freshpondday or contact Ranger Tim at 617-349-6489, tpuopolo@cambridgeMA.gov.
The City of Cambridge is holding a community meeting on Wednesday, June 19 at 6:30pm at the Kennedy-Longfellow School, 158 Spring St., Cambridge to provide the community with an update on the status of the proposed disposition of a leasehold interest in 420 unassigned parking spaces and approximately 9,000 square feet of ground floor area intended for retail use in the City-owned First Street Garage property located at 55 First Street.
The meeting will include a summary of the LMP GP Holdings LLC’s disposition proposal received by the city and an update on the First Street Area Parking Planning Study commissioned by the city’s Director of Traffic, Parking, and Transportation in connection with the proposed disposition. The city is seeking the public’s input on the proposed leasehold disposition of 420 unassigned parking spaces and approximately 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail space in the First Street Garage.
You can learn more or sign-up for email updates about the First Street Garage at CambridgeMA.gov/FirstStreetGarage.
Following the June 19 community meeting, public hearings will be conducted at the Planning Board and City Council in accordance with the provisions of the city’s disposition ordinance, Chapter 2.110 of the Cambridge Municipal Code. A City Council vote will be required in order to approve of the proposed disposition of the leasehold interest. State law (G. L. Chapter 30B) also requires that when public land or property is disposed of, proposals must be solicited from interested buyers prior to selecting a buyer. The city issued a Request for Proposals pertaining to the proposed leasehold interest, and conditionally awarded the proposed leasehold interest to LMP GP Holdings LLC subject to the process that must be conducted pursuant to the disposition ordinance and the vote of the City Council on the proposed disposition.
For additional information, please contact Lee Gianetti, Director of Communications, at 617-349-3317 or lgianetti@cambridgema.gov.
Dive into the tangled history of Cambridge politics and social activism at 7 local archives from June 24-28, 2019.
Archivists at each site will share treasures from their collections – photographs, art, posters, letters – that tell complex and unique stories about dynamic politicians and dedicated activists; fights over highways and development schemes; a strong mayor vs. Plan E.
See what an archive is, find out what archivists do all day, and see how you can use these resources to learn more about your family and community.
This year’s participating archives:
The Cambridge Room at the Cambridge Public Library
Cambridge Historical Commission
REGISTRATION OPENS MAY 31
Info here: http://www.cambridgema.gov/openarchives
This event is free but registration is required.
Questions? 617-349-4070 or chcarchives@cambridgema.gov
City of Cambridge Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day June 8
The second Household Hazardous Waste collection day of 2019 will take place on Saturday, June 8, from 9:00am-1:00pm, at Danehy Park, Field St lot (enter at Field & Fern St). This event is free and open to Cambridge residents (proof of Cambridge residency required).
Proper disposal of materials helps protect public health and environment. A list of accepted items can be found at CambridgeMA.gov/hazardouswaste.
Not sure how to dispose of items properly? Download the “Zero Waste Cambridge” app for iPhone/Android or visit CambridgeMA.gov/TheWorks to use the “Get Rid of It Right” search tool.
Accepted Items:
Batteries: Vehicle & Non-Alkaline
Car Fluids: Antifreeze, Brake, Engine Degreaser, Transmission
Car Tires (max four per household)
Chemicals: Cleaners, Glues, Removers, Photography & Swimming Pool
Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Mercury Items: Thermometers & Thermostats
Paints: Oil-Based & Latex
Poisons: Insecticides, Pesticides & Weed Killers
Prescription Medicines (also accepted year-round at Police Dept. 125 Sixth St)
Propane Cylinders (20 lbs. or less only)
Waste Fuels: Antifreeze, Gasoline, Kerosene, Sterno & Motor Oil (motor oil accepted year-round)
Items NOT Accepted:
NO Alkaline Batteries
NO Ammunition, Fireworks & Explosives (call Fire Dept. at 617-349-3300)
NO Asbestos (requires proper disposal)
NO Bleach or Ammonia
NO Commercial/Industrial Waste
NO Construction Debris
NO Empty Aerosol Cans
NO Compressed Gas Cylinders
NO Infectious or Biological Waste
NO Radioactive Waste
NO Smoke Detectors
NO Syringes (call Health Department at 617-665-3848)
Come help us celebrate the 40th Annual Boston Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday, June 9th, 2019, from 12:00-5:00pm rain or shine! The Boston Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is the oldest dragon boat festival in North America, founded in 1979.
Located by John W. Weeks Foot Bridge on the Charles River between JFK Avenue and Western Avenue, this year’s festival will feature a record 76 teams, with over 1500 paddlers, from all over Massachusetts, New England the US and Canada, competing in ten categories designated with special races and medals for the Colleges including Financial Institutions, Corporate, Health Care, College, Chinese University Alumni, Women’s, Club, Community and Recreational and Cancer Survivors Divisions.
Spectators will be able to watch brightly colored, 39 foot, Hong Kong style dragon boats as they race on a 500-meter course up the Charles River from the Western Avenue Bridge to the Weeks Footbridge.
The Dragon Boat Races start in the early morning and the cultural programs and festival will begin at 12 Noon. All programs are free and family friendly for visitors. Sponsors, founders, dignitaries and committee members will dot the eyes of the dragon head on each boat in a traditional Eye-dotting Ceremony. This is an ancient Chinese ceremony that is believed to enable the dragon to soar with the utmost power. The Eye-dotting Ceremony will take place at Noon at the docks on Boston side with the accompaniment of a traditional Chinese waist drum dance that will progress over the John W. Weeks Footbridge to open the festival.
The Eye-dotting Ceremony will be followed by cultural programs, demonstrations and performances in the festival tent on the Cambridge side. There will be traditional Chinese music, Chinese Yoyo performance, Filipino, Chinese and Indian Dance performances, Korean Tae Kwon-Do presentation, as well as returning favorites such as Dragon and Lion Dances, Chinese martial arts and traditional Japanese Taiko drumming.
This year there is a special treat that cannot be missed. A special delegation from Longquan China, seven celadon masters with UNESCO intangible cultural heritage status, will demonstrate the making of this ancient ceramic art. This group has also donated a new Dragon Boat to our fleet.
We will bring to visitors interactive cultural demonstrations. Join in a Taiji demonstration on the banks of Charles by Storrow Drive, try your own lion dance with Gunkwok Lion Dance Troupe or give square-dancing a try.
Visitors young and old will find fun, inspiration and cultural engagement with beautiful hands-on Chinese arts and crafts. Come also to sample various Asian foods featuring Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese and more lining the side of Memorial Drive.
The Boston Dragon Boat Festival is sponsored in part by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, State Street, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Eastern Bank and South Cove Community Health Center, Greater Boston Chinese Culture Association, Cambridge Arts Council, Longquan China and Boston Dragon Boat Festival Committee.
Traditionally held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (late May to mid June on the solar calendar), the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and death of Qu Yuan (340-278 BCE). A political leader of State of Chu, Qu Yuan is recognized as China’s first distinguished poet. Qu Yuan lost the king’s favor and was banished from his home state of Chu because of his opposition to the prevalent policy of compromise to the powerful state of Qin. In exile, he wrote the poem, “Encountering Sorrow,” which shows a great loyalty to his state and its people. In 278 BCE, Qu Yuan learned the news that Chu had been conquered by Qin. Heart broken, he drowned himself in the Mi Lo River. The people of Chu rushed to the river to rescue him. Too late to save Qu Yuan, they splashed furiously and threw zong-zi (traditional rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) into the river as a sacrifice to his spirit and to keep the fish away from his body.
Today, Dragon Boat Festivals and races are popular around the world. The first Dragon Boat Festival in the United States was held in Boston in 1979, the first in North America. It is now the largest Asian cultural festival in New England. The Boston festival is used as a vehicle to promote Asian cultures and dragon boat racing, as well as to bring diverse communities together in Boston and the surrounding areas. Every year, more than 20,000 people lined the banks of the Charles to enjoy the festivities and performances.
Website https://www.bostondragonboat.org
5:30pm Tom Magliozzi Commemorative Plaque Dedication "Hahvahd Squayah" (DeGuglielmo Plaza, 27 Brattle Street)
Following the unveiling of the plaque, Ray Magliozzi will be on hand to say a few words, along with Car Talk producer Doug Berman, and other Cambridge dignitaries. Denise Jillson, executive director for the Harvard Square Business Association said, “We invite folks to come for the commemoration and stay for dinner and an after-party. A complimentary Italian supper of pasta and meatballs will be served family-style on red and white checkered table cloths for as long as it lasts. In true Magliozzi fashion, dancing is encouraged and hip-swinging, toe-tapping, hand-clapping music will be provided by the Blue Suede Boppers! A festive beer garden sponsored by the Beat Brew Hall will add to the celebration. Brattle Street, between Eliot and Church will be closed for the event. A vintage ’56 Chevy (Tom’s favorite vehicle) will be on hand for viewing and photo-ops and for those who dare, an open mic will be available for sharing favorite Car Talk stories!”
7:00pm-11:00pm City Dance Party (Mass Ave. – from Prospect St. to Lee St.) will be Closed to Traffic (6pm to midnight) but Open for Dancing!)
City Dance Party, Friday, June 28 7-11pm
Mass Ave. will be Closed to Traffic but Open for Dancing!
Join thousands of Cambridge residents and visitors who will gather on Massachusetts Avenue in front of Cambridge City Hall (795 Massachusetts Ave.) for the city’s annual Dance Party Friday, June 28, from 7-11pm. This event is free and open to the public. Take MBTA Red Line to Central Square and a short walk to City Hall!
The annual dance extravaganza with DJ spun music is a special opportunity for the entire Cambridge community to celebrate summer. After dark, colorful lights will be launched, adding to the magic of the evening.
Originally conceived in 1996 as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of Cambridge, the Dance Party returns each year attracting young and old to join in the festivities! The event is free and open to the public.
TRAFFIC IMPACTS: Massachusetts Avenue will be closed to traffic, from Prospect St. to Lee St. from approximately 6pm – Midnight. MBTA #1 Bus Line will reroute between Central Square and Harvard Square from approximately 6pm – Midnight and there will be no stop at City Hall.
For more information, contact Maryellen Carvello at 617-349-4301 or mcarvello@cambridgema.gov.
It’s possible that the City Council might at this meeting settle on the final patronage rules for which "social equity" or "economic empowerment" applicants get preference in opening up marijuana outlets in Cambridge. The Acapulco Gold Rush is definitely in full swing with all sorts of applicants trying to get in on the ground floor of this lucrative cash business. So maybe they’ll finalize the Special Rules for Special People at this meeting or perhaps that will come later this month. In any case, here a few things on the agenda that might interest me:
Manager’s Agenda #3. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the transfer of $2,000 from the General Fund Reserves Other Ordinary Maintenance Account to the General Fund Women’s Commission Department Other Ordinary Maintenance which will be used to cover the cost of the first phase of the Mapping Feminist Cambridge Project which will focus on Inman Square.
I participated in a "Women’s History Tour of Cambridge" walk in August 2017 hosted by the Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women. [Info] You can download a PDF for several different walks: Area IV, Cambridgeport, Riverside and Cambridgeport, Mid-Cambridge.
On a related note, Tim Devin from Somerville has been leading a series of walks on the topic of Mapping Utopia – a history of some of the counter-cultural activities that went on in and around Cambridge around the 1960s. He has another one coming up on July 13 starting in Inman Square. On a previous walk I was finally able to learn many of the details of the Trout Fishing in America school that was on Prospect Street at one time.
Manager’s Agenda #10. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Numbers 19-33 and 19-34, regarding bicycle count data.
It’s difficult to draw too many conclusions from this graphical data due to such factors as weather and construction, but my sense is that although bicycle use in Cambridge rapidly grew over the last 15 years there does seem to be some leveling off – not surprising when you factor in New England weather and various convenience factors. This data doesn’t really show it but I would say that Councillor Kelley’s frequent comments on the growth of other (non-bicycle) mobility devices are now starting to ring out loud and clear.
Communications from Peter Valentine:
#2: requesting that the City Council send a letter to President Donald Trump that at this delicate time of elections on serious matters that he not start a war with Iran.
#3: regarding the birth of the immortality of the United States of America.
#5: regarding his support for the death penalty for killing a police officer.
#6: regarding using the City Hall building for all of the people and not just for one groups’ concerns.
#12: regarding immortality.
Peter has apparently been very busy lately.
Resolution #2. Retirement of Mark McCabe from the Animal Commission. Councillor Toomey, Councillor Kelley
Alas, one more outstanding City employee who became a good friend is taking leave for new adventures. I will really miss seeing Mark around my neighborhood!
Order #3. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the City Solicitor, Inspectional Services Department and the Community Development Department to determine whether it is possible to reduce or eliminate Building Permit Fees for 100% affordable housing development projects, through an exemption or other means and investigate what types of real estate tax abatements are possible for 100% affordable housing moving forward. Vice Mayor Devereux, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Carlone, Mayor McGovern
Order #6. That the City Manager work with the Community Development Department to set up a series of informational and interactive Affordable Housing Overlay workshops in a variety of neighborhoods to give residents the chance to foster a productive and informational dialogue with City staff. Councillor Mallon, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Simmons, Mayor McGovern
Committee Report #3. A communication was received from Paula M. Crane, Deputy City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councilor E. Denise Simmons, and Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui, Co-Chairs of the Housing Committee for a public hearing held on Apr 16, 2019 to continue discussion on the Affordable Housing Overlay District.
The juggernaut toward replacing private residential property with "social housing" continues. I’m sure the potential beneficiaries of the proposed double standards will be busing in lots of supporters to pack the upcoming Planning Board and Ordinance Committee meetings. I find Order #3 especially amusing. If the authors did a little research they’d learn that once deed restrictions are established on a residential property the taxable value of the property plummets. In many cases these properties produce only the legal minimum in real estate taxes. Every such deed restriction shifts the residential tax burden further onto the remaining privately-owned residential properties (unless the City presses for additional commercial development to make up the difference).
Order #5. That the City Manager is requested to instruct the City Solicitor to work with the local taxi industry and other interested parties to prepare a Home Rule Petition for the City Council to submit to the State Legislature that would address Cambridge-specific issues and give the City Council the ability to ensure TNCs operate in a safe and responsible manner. Councillor Kelley, Councillor Mallon, Councillor Simmons
Note: The proposed Home Rule Petition comes from the Cambridge Taxi Drivers Owner Association. Is this about safety or protectionism for the taxi medallion owners?
Order #8. That the City Manager is requested to report back to the City Council on the timeline and process for the creation of a stakeholder group to conduct the Cambridge Net Zero Action Plan review, as well as any other details on the process by which the quinquennial review will be conducted in 2020. Councillor Zondervan, Vice Mayor Devereux
Order #9. Request for Draft Language Related to the Net Zero Action Plan. Councillor Zondervan, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Mallon, Vice Mayor Devereux
My sense is that if you need some building work done and you don’t want to pay enormously more for that work, you may want to get that work done sooner than later even if you have every intention of increasing your energy efficiency. Unless there are generous grant programs coming to cover some of the costs, new requirements may well cost you a small fortune. Your elected officials don’t trust you to exercise good judgment.
Order #10. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Department of Public Works, the Community Development Department, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation on the feasibility of implementing suggested restoration projects in the area surrounding Jerry’s Pond, in order to make the Pond more accessible and inviting to the community. Councillor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Devereux, Councillor Carlone
Actual restoration of Jerry’s Pond as an aesthetic or recreational resource is highly unlikely, but at least they could dress up the surrounding area. Don’t expect it to be accessible any time soon.
Order #11. That the City Manager hereby is requested to direct the Community Development Department to obtain data from Eversource on electrical demand projections by year until at least 2030, including a breakdown of commercial vs residential demand growth, as well as a ten year historical look back. Councillor Zondervan, Councillor Carlone
So what happens if, as I suspect, Eversource comes back with accurate projections that electrical demand will continue to increase significantly, especially if people choose to migrate away from fossil fuels? Will everyone then embrace the need for more power capacity and additional substations?
Committee Report #1. A communication was received from Donna P. Lopez, City Clerk transmitting a report from Vice Mayor Jan Devereux and Councillor Quinton Zondervan, Co-Chairs of the Health and Environment Committee for a public hearing held on Apr 23, 2019 to discuss the Zero Waste Master Plan and ways to reduce single use plastics in Cambridge.
The recycling landscape is ever-changing with or without bans of bags or straws or plastics or anything else. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Right.
Unfinished Business #3. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the proposed Cannabis Business Permitting Ordinance. [ON OR AFTER APR 22, 2019 THE QUESTION COMES ON PASSAGE TO BE ORDAINED]
Committee Report #4. A communication was received from Donna P. Lopez, City Clerk, transmitting a report from Councillor Dennis J. Carlone and Councillor Craig A. Kelley, Co-Chairs of the Ordinance Committee, for a public hearing held on May 9, 2019 to continue discussion on a proposed amendment to the Municipal Code by adding a new Chapter 5.50 entitled “Cannabis Business Permitting” Ordinance.
So, are they ready to pick the winners in the Acapulco Gold Invitational Tournament? It’s remarkable how politically connected some of the applicants are. When it comes to making money, some things never change. – Robert Winters
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