https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefsThe daily local brief for East Cambridge, MA.en-ushttps://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-02https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-02Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Mike Connolly defeated first-time challenger Neil Miller, a housing advocate, in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the 26th Middlesex seat covering East Cambridge and East Somerville. Cambridge's Election Commission released results at 2:08 a.m. showing Connolly with 3,853 of the district's 5,206 ballots, or 74 percent; in Somerville he took 82 percent. Connolly has held the seat since 2017, and with no known Republican or third-party candidates on the November ballot, the primary likely decides the race.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-01https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-01Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge Day published a fact check Monday of claims in the 25th Middlesex District primary between state Rep. Marjorie Decker and challenger Evan MacKay, whose rematch has escalated into accusations of lies, distortions and personal attacks. Flash points include personal finances, campaign finance and past political histories; the outlet asked both candidates to clarify the record before voters go to the polls Tuesday. The district is the only one that falls entirely within Cambridge.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-31https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-31Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000MIT's Emergency Management Department said the Camille Edouard Dreyfus Chemistry Building reopened at 6 a.m. Monday, more than four days after it was closed over the potential for dimethyl mercury poisoning. Decontamination was completed in the lab of the student who reported attempting to synthesize the compound, and the student's residence-hall suite was also decontaminated and unsealed; the residence hall was never closed. The department said its assessment, after consulting industrial hygienists, MIT Health medical experts and outside experts, is that the building is now safe.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-30https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-30Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000MIT's Building 18 at 21 Ames Street remains closed at least through Sunday after a graduate student went to an emergency room Wednesday night saying they had synthesized dimethyl mercury in a campus lab, prompting a hazardous materials response by Cambridge firefighters at about 9:40 p.m. A blood test Saturday showed no sign of mercury exposure, MIT said, and the university added that emerging information calls into question whether the compound was in fact synthesized. Dimethyl mercury can be fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin; MIT says the surrounding area is safe.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-29https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-29Sat, 29 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge Day reported Friday that the Democratic primary for Middlesex District Attorney has tightened between incumbent Marian Ryan, who has led the office since 2013, and challenger David Solet, a former colleague from inside her office. Solet accuses Ryan of failing to adequately advocate for victims of violent crime; Ryan counters that he would move the office in a more conservative, police-aligned direction. With no Republican on the ballot, Tuesday's winner is the presumptive winner in November.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-28https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-28Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000About 1,500 Cambridge Education Association members — teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and other staff — will begin the school year Sept. 1 without new contracts after more than 17 bargaining sessions failed to produce a deal for any of the union's five bargaining units. Most of those contracts expire Aug. 31; clerical workers have already been working under an expired agreement since the end of June, though union vice president of community relations Sarah Rosenberg said that unit is closer to a deal. The practical effect, Rosenberg said, is that "nobody is getting a raise at this time." CEA members also started the 2023-24 year under expired contracts.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-27https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-27Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Jafra Cafe & Lounge has opened as an outdoor Middle Eastern extension of Beauty's Pizza in Inman Square, serving halal finger foods, Levantine plates and hookah on a trellised patio. The launch is the project of Palestinian-born owner Ibrahim Abuhasan, who took over the long-running "Italian Kitchen" in January; much of the menu now meets halal requirements, the restaurant no longer serves beer and wine, and the shawarma, gyros and handmade falafel have been reworked along Levantine lines. The move comes as independent local restaurants face rising costs, with closures including Dear Annie nearby.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-26https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-26Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge raised its West Nile virus risk level from moderate to high on Monday after state health officials confirmed a second human case in Middlesex County; neither person diagnosed is a Cambridge resident, public health spokesperson Dawn Baxter said. She said the designation makes precautions against mosquito bites more important, particularly for older adults and people with weakened immune systems. Separately, a cyanobacteria bloom continues to keep part of the Charles River downstream of the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge closed to recreation.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-25https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-25Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Officials on Monday identified William Woodworth, 64, of Watertown as the man fatally shot by Cambridge police on Friday night. Police and the Middlesex District Attorney's office said officers responded to a report of people gathered in a parking lot off Temple Street and were engaged verbally with several individuals when they allege Woodworth got out of a vehicle and pointed a firearm at officers; police say they tried to disarm him before shooting. Officers were wearing body cameras and that footage is part of the ongoing investigation, though officials have not said when it will be released publicly.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-24https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-24Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager Yi-An Huang issued a statement Sunday on Friday's fatal officer-involved shooting on Temple Street. They noted that the Middlesex District Attorney's Office investigation is continuing, and announced community office hours.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-23https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-23Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge police responding to a report of suspicious individuals in a loading dock behind Temple Street businesses shortly after 8 p.m. Friday shot and killed a man in his 60s who, according to a preliminary investigation, exited his vehicle and pointed a firearm at officers; a loaded firearm was recovered at the scene. Several officers were taken to area hospitals as a precaution and have been treated and released. The Middlesex District Attorney's office, State Police detectives assigned to that office and Cambridge police are investigating, including witness interviews and a review of available video and body-worn camera footage.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-22https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-22Sat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Saturday, Aug. 22 is the final day for Cambridge residents to register to vote or update their address or party affiliation ahead of the Sept. 1 State Primary. The Election Commission office at 689 Massachusetts Ave. is open for in-person registration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and online registration stays open until 11:59 p.m.; mailed registrations must be postmarked today. In-person early voting also begins today and runs through Friday, Aug. 28, and the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 5 p.m.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-21https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-21Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Harvard Film Archive reopens Friday after a three-month closure for restorations, launching a new season of rare screenings and curated programming. It opens with "The Cold Heart Is More Precious than Diamonds: The Cinema of Graham Greene," beginning with the 1948 adaptations "The Fallen Idol" and "Brighton Rock." Saturday brings Fritz Lang's "Ministry of Fear" (1944) and "This Gun for Hire" (1942), with the series continuing through late September.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-20https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-20Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The last of this summer's three CX Summer Nights concerts runs tonight from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Common at Cambridge Crossing, with Americana band Jake Swamp and the Pine on the lawn. The free, family- and pet-friendly series, presented by DivcoWest in partnership with the East Cambridge Business Association, also brings food trucks, lawn games and local brews and cocktails. This year marks the 10th season of the concert series, which returned on three Thursdays in June, July and August.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-19https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-19Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge police said ShotSpotter was turned on for the Emergency Communications Center on Friday afternoon and for the department Monday morning, more than a week after the City Council's Aug. 10 vote to reinstate the technology it had ended in May. The statement said the acoustic detection system covers all the areas of the city it covered before the shutdown; Acting Police Commissioner Pauline Wells has said police do not know the sensors' exact locations. The 90-day trial is supposed to be paired with a civic assembly of community members as a monitoring group, but that body was not in place as of Friday and its status is not currently known.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-18https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-18Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Mass Audubon runs two free guided paddling sessions today at Magazine Beach Park Nature Center, from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m., through DCR's Summer Nights Program. Kayaks, paddles and safety gear are provided, and each session opens with a beginner orientation, so paddlers of all abilities are welcome. Participants meet at the Cartop Launch; children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult, and parking is limited.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-17https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-17Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The city holds a drop-in open house today from 2 to 7 p.m. at 359 Broadway, the Old Longfellow School building, with food, festivities and a chance for residents to give feedback on the outdoor spaces there. Comments will help shape the design of play-space renovations planned for 2027. If weather forces a postponement, the rain date is Aug. 18; questions go to senior landscape architect Cortney Kirk at ckirk@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-1728.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-16https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-16Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, an 83-bed home on Dana Street, is among 33 facilities that won a settlement from the state making it easier to keep housing as many as four residents in a room. The state Department of Public Health had adopted the two-bed limit, set to take effect April 30, 2022, to curb the spread of infectious diseases; research has indicated respiratory outbreaks, including Covid-19, rise as more residents share a room. Under the June 2 settlement, homes can be exempted by meeting any five of eight requirements of their choosing, and the state says it knows of 126 nursing homes with rooms holding more than two beds.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-15https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-15Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Nine people and two dogs were displaced after a two-alarm fire broke out early Thursday, Aug. 13, at a three-family home on Roberts Road, with flames coming from the third floor. Crews under Acting Deputy Chief Joseph Fournier brought the blaze under control in just over an hour, and no injuries were reported. Somerville, Arlington, Belmont and Brookline firefighters provided mutual aid; those displaced were assisted by the Cambridge Fire Department's Office of Emergency Preparedness and the American Red Cross, and the cause remains under investigation.https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-14https://nanopress.net/east-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-14Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000More than a week after the City Council voted to reinstate ShotSpotter for 90 days and form a resident assembly to assess it, police say they have no timeline for turning the acoustic sensors back on, citing technical and operational steps and ongoing talks with maker SoundThinking. The 90-day clock started as soon as the council voted, a city spokesperson confirmed. Details on how the city's first-ever civic assembly would be structured and selected were not yet available, and Councillor Denise Simmons has questioned whether that format is the right way to reach residents in The Port.