Leland Cheung

City councilors from both cities are planning a joint hearing, with the World Class Cities Partnership (yes, that's a thing), to talk about ways of encouraging our smart people to stay here.

Councilors Tito Jackson (Roxbury) and Leland Cheung (Cambridge) are spearheading the effort. In 2010, Cheung and Boston City Councilor Mike Ross organized a similar session (held at the Museum of Science, which straddles the border), but then relations chilled, in part because of that whole Vertex thing. Also, some Cambridge councilors fretted Tom Menino would steal their secrets.

In a statement, Jackson says it's time to put such pettiness in the past:

The Herald reports Cambridge is developing its own benefits package to try to keep Vertex in Cambridge, rather than letting it flee to South Boston - such as municipal "financing incentives."

"Cambridge is ready to go toe-to-toe," the Herald quotes Councilor Leland Cheung. Cheung, you may remember, was the guy who helped organize a Boston/Cambridge summit on ways to work together to develop the regional economy. Hmm, Cheung has youth on his side, but Menino has a few pounds on him, not to mention a lot more bare-knuckles experience.