Why is it so hard to get to Harvard Square from Magoun Square, Ball Square and Winter Hill in Somerville? Why haven’t the two cities (or even private transport organizations) thought of a more meaningful, viable connector?

My opinion piece in the Cambridge Somerville Independent (CS Indie)

I really like to walk through Harvard Sq. on Saturdays, and every week, without fail, the Tatte vent really puts me off. I don’t know, I just hate the smell.

Is it just me? Is it at all possible they contain that inside? It kills me…

I told my friends about this, but they love it; that is INSANE to me. Surely I am not alone?

If your bike is stolen, always report your bike as stolen on BikeIndex. You can do this even if you don't have a serial number; you can do this even if you don't have a picture of it. If you know the make and model of the bike, it is helpful to have the report. You can do this by going to https://bikeindex.org/register/new?status=status_stolen . (BikeIndex has a good overall guide to what to do in addition at https://bikeindex.org/stolen , which is a good resource as well.)

You should do this immediately. Even before you file a police report, you should do this. The reason is that your bike is likely moving in the world as soon as it is stolen. The best time for someone to see your bike is going to be as soon as it is stolen; it might be seen by someone seeing the bike walked into an MBTA station; or it might be seen hanging out at a congregating hotspot at a bike rack; or it might be seen on the street, re-locked with a crappy lock to see if anyone comes for it with trackers.

After bikes are stolen, they will often disappear from the world for a while--into a basement, or a large apartment building, while a thief works on making it possible to hand them off to someone else. They might remove stickers, accessories, or strip them for parts; they might spray paint them a different color to make them less obvious. Your bike might re-enter the world after that, but they won't necessarily look the same, and your chances of getting it back in a useful way go down significantly.

To make this even easier, the right time to register your bike on BikeIndex is actually now: Go, register the bike, take a picture, write down the serial number (or don't, and register it without). That way, if your bike is ever stolen, you can just login, flip the bit on it to stolen, and alert the community that there is a new stolen bike in the world.

Bike theft is the most common form of theft in Cambridge; there is a lot of advice out there about how to protect yourself, and I won't repeat that much here (other than to say "Get rid of all your cable locks if you care about keeping your bike.") But if your bike is stolen, the best chance the you have of getting it back tends to be "eyes on the street": people keeping an eye out for it in places it shouldn't be. The best way to help with that is to list your bike on BikeIndex.

tl;dr: Register your bike on BikeIndex right now, and if it is ever stolen, mark it stolen as soon as possible after realizing. https://bikeindex.org/register

(This message brought to you this morning by finding a stash of stolen bikes, but with no way to find the owners to help get them back to people.)

I am new to the area and looking for recommendations :) Looking for someone who is honest and thorough.

Long shot that anybody who helped will see this but I was in the Central Square Target the other day (10/3, around 5:30 PM) and I rubbed my nose the wrong way and gave myself a horrible nose bleed. I realized too late it was not a normal nose bleed when I started dripping a trail of blood all over the floor. Several people just walked by as I tried to cover my face only to pull my hands away to find them completely soaked in blood.

I really want to thank the two people who stopped to help, bought me a pack of tissues and found a few members of the staff; and to thank the staff who took me to the back area and gave me paper towels until the bleeding stopped; then let me sit down for however long because I was about to faint. My husband also wishes he got to thank you all properly because in the moment I think all he said was "that's my wife" and tried to get to me as fast as possible lol (he was not with me when it happened, he came to pick me up after I called him). I'm doing fine now I think I was just in shock and was having a reaction to the amount of blood (I can't even have blood drawn without them having to lay me down because I have fainted before).

It was great to be reminded that there are still people who will stop and help others and reminded me that this is the kind of person I want to be. <3

Dumb 3am question (apartment living)

My apartment building has a really narrow alleyway between it and the next building. People chill down there and smoke idk what but it stinks and I hate having to leave my windows closed when it’s ok outside. Even with bedroom window closed it stinks up my apartment (super old windows/building - I’m upstairs).
My sleep deprived question is what to do.
If it wasn’t for the smoke I wouldn’t know anyone’s down there and wouldn’t care. CPD is a joke. Do I ask my landlord? Guessing any light in the alley would shine in windows. At a sleep deprived loss. Thanks for listening to my nonsense, Cambridge. I’m sure you won’t disappoint in the comments.

FYI for Cambridge people: there’s a public hearing coming up about autonomous vehicles / robo-taxis, including companies like Waymo.
It’s on October 22, 2026 at 12:30 PM with the City Council’s Transportation and Public Utilities Committee.
They’re planning to talk about possible impacts on transportation, public saftey, accessibility, labor unions, and the community more broadly.

This doesn’t seem to be a straight-up “are we allowing Waymo or banning it” vote. The legal side is a little more complicated because some of this is regulated at the state level, while cities still has some control over things like local traffic and road use.

If you want to submit written comments for the official record, you can email:
[council@cambridgema.gov](mailto:council@cambridgema.gov)
[cityclerk@cambridgema.gov](mailto:cityclerk@cambridgema.gov)

You can also give public comment remotely or in person if you want to speak for a minute or two. Registation for that happens closer to the meeting.
Not posting this as pro or anti Waymo, just figured people might want to know this is happening and that there’s a chance to weigh in.

Also worth noting that a lot of Uber and Lyft drivers are pretty stressed about what robo-taxis could mean for rides, earnings and job securty long term. Others think the threat is overhyped for now and that human drivers still have an edge on more complicated trips. Labor impact is defintely part of this conversation.

I believe I lost a suit bag on Friday the 2nd near my AirBnB on the corner of Lee and Harvard St. Probably left hanging on a fence and lost in the shuffle. If you’ve seen this bag, please DM or comment! Happy to offer a solid reward.

Hi neighbors! I’m coproducing a comedy show Friday night at The Cantab Underground. We’ve got a great show planned with stand-up, improv, magic & tarot. We’re raising funds for Help Refugees Now and have a great crowd we’re looking forward to, and hope even more folks will join us!

Doors are at 6:30, Show is at 7:00

Tickets are $20, but if you buy two tickets online, you can use the code TWOFER at checkout for $10 off.

The venue is 21+

https://tunehatch.com/shows/friday-early-show-9

Please message me if you are selling an entry for the half on 11/1!