Cambridge
Rachel Zimmerman reports that during intermission at a play at a Cambridge school last night, the director announced the results of a procedural vote in the House on health care (not the actual, final vote):
The audience stood up and cheered.
Barwarrior recounts an incident March 14 during a special event at Green Street, involving EMTs rushing in to take care of somebody collapsed on the floor:
... I never saw the person on the floor because I, like everyone else, went back to the cocktails and conversation. The bartenders also provided a nice distraction from the potential crisis on the floor. ...
Capuano explains:
Although I am not happy with every aspect of this bill, I have come to the conclusion that the benefits for Massachusetts and the country outweigh the problems.
During the last week we have been able to significantly increase the amounts coming to Massachusetts and to secure other funds that had been in jeopardy. In total, during this last week, roughly $4 billion has been protected for the Commonwealth as this bill has been readied for a vote. From a more general view, this bill also extends coverage to millions more Americans, prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and creates health insurance exchanges for people to purchase affordable coverage. It also increases funding for Community Health Centers, and makes key investments in training doctors, nurses and other health care providers. And it does all this without harming the interests of Massachusetts.
From the other side, Sissy Willis reports from today's anti-HCR rally in front of Faneuil Hall.
Morgan Shaker is prominent among the young creatives at the Whitehaus – the Jamaica Plain musician, poet, and artist co-op known for its DIY philosophy and positive “yes wave” attitude. One of many musicians under that roof, he often takes a lead role as organizer and promoter of events. Friendly and thoughtful, he’s frequently called upon to share his philosophy about what the Whitehaus Family is and does.
Right now, Morgan Shaker is busy promoting Blastfest III, March 20th, at the Cambridge YMCA. It’s an equinox celebration that runs 11 AM to 11 PM and features the talents of over two dozen acts. It’s also all ages show, and admission is $5 to $10 “on a sliding scale…no one refused”– a remarkable bargain for twelve hours of entertainment. Once admitted, you may come and go as you please.
An improbably wide variety of musical styles will be represented. Taken collectively, these dissimilar sounds contribute to Blastfest’s “Weird New America” vibe. Blastfest is an unusual event for sure, but it’s also part of a tradition of independent event promoting–and simply independent doing–that is dear to a virtual community of like-minded artists worldwide. Read more
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today the legislature has the right to let the developers of the massive NorthPoint project build on what were once tidal marshes.
In practical terms, the decision on a lawsuit brought by John Moot - who died last year - may be moot because the developers of the project are embroiled in other legal wrangling and may never finish the project.
However, it does uphold the legislature's right to reduce requirements for building on "landlocked tidelands," such at NorthPoint, where the tidelands become landlocked in 1962, when the state let the Boston & Maine fill in some of the marshes. In 2007, the SJC agreed with Moot and said the developers had no right to build on the land under state law. In response, the legislature passed a law - signed by Gov. Patrick - that exempted such lands from the state law regulating coastal construction.
The court ruled today the law passes constitutional muster and that while the developers, if they ever get their act together, no longer have to go through licensing, they and the state still have to prove the public good of the work.
Complete decision.
A company founded by a Harvard professor is rolling out inhalable coffee, the Crimson reports:
In celebration of the official launch, a group of 30 Le Whif employees and fans gathered yesterday in Cambridge restaurant Tory Row to sample the newly released inhalable coffee lipstick-sized tubes—each of which contains the same amount of caffeine as one shot of espresso.
William McAdoo takes us on a two-part chocolate tour of Harvard Square here and here.
Although Neil Young Trunk Show, a hard-rocking performance movie directed by Jonathan Demme, only recently had its local premier at Coolidge Corner Theatre, it will be on DVD and Blu-ray before you know it. If you want to catch this film in a theater before then, one of the few places in the country to do so is Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge. There, starting March 19, it will run for one week. Read local review of Neil Young Trunk Show.
The Crimson reports Harvard officials are going to do everything they can to keep freshmen from dumping a whole truckload of fizzies - and burning boats - into the Charles River next week:
Committee members at yesterday's monthly meeting approved plans to discourage the annual "River Run," which they characterized as an unsafe, alcohol-laden pseudo-tradition.
“We're trying to tell people they shouldn't do it," said Dean of Freshmen Thomas A. Dingman '67 about River Run after the meeting. "For those who blunder ahead, they will be met by law enforcement."
Grub Street Boston interviews the owners of a Kendall Square eatery planning to serve Cantabridgian-American cuisine.
Back when the region was awash in cash, a private developer proposed replacing the Lechmere Green Line stop with a fancy-shmancy indoor station as part of the T's plans to extend the line into Somerville and Medford. When that crashed and burned, the T proposed a simple Riverside-like station with no real way to get commuters to the station from across a six-lane highway.
Mark Jaquith outlines a proposal by a working group of local residents and merchants to build something better, even if not as grandiose as the old NorthPoint plan:
... A triangle between Cambridge Street and the O'Brien Highway divided by First Street where it extends into NorthPoint is what there is to work with. The group crafted a plan that incorporates substantial commercial development, some of it quite bold, into a new Lechmere Square that would anchor the eastern end of the city with a civic plaza, and a year-round public market and a seasonal farmers’ market.
This "transit-oriented" development would complement the Cambridge and First Street business districts, benefit residents, attract shoppers from the region, offset the DOT project cost, and add to the city’s commercial tax revenues.
National Grid outages at 11:30 p.m.: Does NStar have something similar?
Reports are coming in of power outages across the area, like mid-Cambridge, Tremont Street downtown and Newton Centre.
And Georgy Cohen reports Somerville Police had to help her and other riders off an 89 bus that hit a downed tree and power line.
Thanks to William Ricker for the link to the National Grid map.
Jen says don't let appearances fool you at Izzy's on Harvard Street in Cambridge:
... Izzy's is not much to look at from the outside. It looks like a run down sub shop. You enter, and the place looks like it hasn't changed since it opened 18 years ago. The decor is very eclectic, from colorful vinyl table coverings to a huge Puerto Rican flag hanging at the counter.
Oh but the food. The food belies the humble decor. It's vibrant, flavorful, and all around very satisfying. I can't believe it's taken me this long to try this place. ...
The BU Bridge was closed for repairs tonight, but apparently nobody told at least one driver on the 47 bus. Marti V. tweeted her ride from the Boston side of the river to Central Square tonight: Read more
The Boston Neighborhood Project is a collection of photos from Boston neighborhoods (and surrounding communities).
Cambridge News Weekly reports Cambridge mail carriers will be the judges in a competition. They don't say what the winning block gets; the losing block presumably is the one with the most complaints filed with the city's snow complaint system.
The Crimson reports record numbers of Harvard students are showing up at the university clinic dead drunk - the economy is to blame, of course - and that college officials are worried about an upcoming event that mixes "alcohol and fire," which they are thinking is not the best of ideas.
Meanwhile, Harvardians tired of spoiling their own nest (vomit is so hard to get out of those 500-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets) can always go slumming at Tufts, which, as the paper informs its readers, is a school much like Harvard, only with fewer attractive people - but with more parties.
Rick Sawyer suggests really daring H-shirters try MIT next time.
There seem to be a LOT of sudden retail vacancies this month. Central Square lost Pearl Art and the Attic. Downtown Crossing, which was pretty vacant to begin with, lost a whole block of stores on Winter Street - whatever building Staples (soon CVS) is in.
We've had lots of closings over the past few years as the recession hit, but I don't remember so many places disappearing at once. Any theories? Post-holiday slump?
16WadeSt spots Audrey Hepburn on the Red Line at Harvard Square.
Copyright 16WadeSt. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.
NotloB surveys recent changes at the venerable Cambridge folk emporium.
Akamai Technologies, which helps companies speed up their Web sites, yesterday sued Deutsche Bank for the money Akamai says it lost due to a fraudulent investment by a bank subsidiary. Read more
J.L. Bell reports that in August, 1775, Gen. Washington had to issue an order to stop troops who were cooling off in the Charles from running naked on a bridge that stood where the Anderson now crosses the Charles:
The General does not mean to discourage the practice of bathing whilst the weather is warm enough to continue it, but he expressly forbids any person's doing it at or near the bridge in Cambridge, where it has been observed and complained of that many men, lost to all sense of decency and common modesty, are running about naked upon the bridge, while passengers, and even ladies of the first fashion in the neighborhood, are passing over it, as if they meant to glory in their shame.
River Gods in Central Square is having a fundraiser for Haiti this Sunday. A suggested $5 donation gets you Haitian food, a live DJ and raffles - with proceeds going to Partners in Health, a Boston group that was working in Haiti long before last month's earthquake. Starts at 7 p.m., 21+.
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