https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefsThe daily local brief for Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA.en-ushttps://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-02https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-02Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge police say a man brandished an edged weapon at a Harvard Square coffee shop at 8:47 a.m. Tuesday, prompting a Harvard police emergency alert near 124 Mount Auburn Street and a shelter-in-place request for the area. Officers from Harvard, Cambridge and State police searched the vicinity and arrested him near Mount Auburn Hospital; the shelter-in-place alert has been lifted. He will be charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-01https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-09-01Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Voters in the 25th Middlesex District go to the polls today in the rematch between state Rep. Marjorie Decker and challenger Evan MacKay, a race that has escalated into accusations of lies, distortions and personal attacks. Cambridge Day asked both candidates to clarify the record on flash points including personal finances, campaign finance and past political histories. Decker has contrasted her mortgage and utility bills with MacKay's residence in Harvard dorms; MacKay's campaign confirmed they work as a residential tutor, a role that requires living on campus, and they say they would leave their PhD program if elected.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-31https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-31Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge's five satellite ballot drop boxes — at City Hall, the Morse School, police headquarters, the Baldwin School and O'Neill Library — close Monday at 8 p.m. and will not reopen for Tuesday's Sept. 1 State Primary. Only the Election Commission's main box at 689 Massachusetts Ave. stays open on Election Day. Officials ask that voted ballots be sealed inside the yellow jurat envelope with the affirmation signed before drop-off.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-30https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-30Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000MIT Environment, Health, and Safety, the Cambridge Fire Department, and Pro EMS responded to a report of dimethylmercury exposure in Building 18, home to the chemistry department, around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26, after a graduate student self-reported to a local emergency room and claimed to have synthesized the substance. The building remains closed for decontamination, though the Institute says the risk of further exposure is "very low" and that emerging information calls into question whether the compound was in fact synthesized. An initial blood test received Aug. 29 showed no sign of mercury exposure in the student, who is still under medical supervision.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-29https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-29Sat, 29 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000District Attorney Marian Ryan, who has led the office since 2013, is seeking another four years on the argument that she has made Middlesex one of the country's safest counties, citing its homicide rate and her court challenge to ICE arrests at Massachusetts courthouses. Challenger David Solet, a former colleague, says he ran because he saw the shortcomings of her leadership from inside the office, and accuses her 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 Democratic primary winner is the presumptive winner in November.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-28https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-28Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui is holding open office hours at her City Hall office, 795 Massachusetts Ave., today from 10 a.m. to noon, in response to the fatal officer-involved shooting of a man in his 60s on Temple Street on Friday, Aug. 21. The Mayor, City Manager and Acting Police Commissioner are each hosting sessions over the course of the week so residents can ask questions or share concerns directly; the meetings are open to anyone in the community, with food and beverages available. Acting Police Commissioner Pauline Wells met with residents Thursday morning at Street Theory Collective, and City Manager Yi-An Huang is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Donut Villa, 20 Prospect St.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-27https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-27Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Harvard student move-in runs Thursday, Aug. 27 through Sunday, Aug. 30, and Harvard Parking Services is again offering accommodations to make room for families. Unreserved Cowperthwaite, Mill, Malkin and Eliot Triangle permit holders may park at the University Place Garage at 124 Mount Auburn St., taking an entry ticket and asking the attendant for a chaser ticket to exit free of charge. Permit holders who prefer another campus location can register their vehicle for access to the 52 Oxford Street Garage.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-26https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-26Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Sign of the Dove artisans' cooperative reopens Sept. 1 at Lesley University's University Hall, next to Porter Square Books, after losing its lease at the Porter Square Shopping Center on April 30 following 23 years there. Member Susan Tornheim said the new space is 50 percent larger, making room for 15 new artists alongside the 19 represented at the old location. Members create ceramics, jewelry, stained glass, textiles, prints and wood pieces, and work cashier shifts themselves; the store expects to have work on display for the citywide open studios event Sept. 19-20.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-25https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-25Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced the season's second human case of West Nile Virus on Aug. 24 and raised the risk level to high in Cambridge and six other Metro Boston communities. State officials said the person in the second case does not live in Cambridge but nearby. Most people do not develop severe symptoms, but residents over 60 and those with certain chronic medical conditions face higher risk, and health officials urge steps such as using insect repellent to avoid mosquito bites.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-24https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-24Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Candidates running to represent Cambridge in the state legislature laid out their positions on housing affordability and legislative transparency at a forum organized by the Cambridge Democratic City Committee on Thursday at the Cambridge Public Library. Each candidate got 10 minutes for a personal statement and questions from CDCC leaders, with speaking order drawn from a hat; three of the four remaining 2nd Middlesex candidates attended. The primary is Sept. 1, and Tuesday, Aug. 25 is the last day to request a mail-in ballot.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-23https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-23Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge crews begin overnight paving in Central Square tonight at 8 p.m., with work expected to run until about 4 a.m. Monday. Closures and detours are planned on Massachusetts Avenue, Western Avenue, Green Street, River Street, Prospect Street, Franklin Street and Magazine Street, and areas will reopen as work allows. Drivers should check posted No Parking signs; the city says it coordinated with fire, police and the MBTA to maintain bus service and emergency access.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-22https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-22Sat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge police shot a man in his 60s multiple times shortly after 8 p.m. Friday behind a business on Temple Street in Central Square, after officials say he stepped out of a vehicle and pointed a loaded firearm at officers. Police had responded to a call about suspicious individuals in a loading dock and parking lot behind area businesses; the man was pronounced dead at the scene, and several officers were treated at area hospitals and released. Officers were wearing body cameras and the footage is being reviewed, and the Middlesex District Attorney's office is conducting an inquest.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-21https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-21Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Harvard Film Archive reopens today after a three-month closure for structural restoration work, launching a new season of rare screenings. The first series is "The Cold Heart Is More Precious than Diamonds: The Cinema of Graham Greene," opening tonight with the 1948 adaptations "The Fallen Idol" and "Brighton Rock." The retrospective continues through late September, with Fritz Lang's "Ministry of Fear" and "This Gun for Hire" on Saturday.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-20https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-20Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Cambridge residents who are not yet registered have until Saturday, Aug. 22 to sign up for the Sept. 1 state primary. The Election Commission office at 689 Massachusetts Ave. will be open for in-person registration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., online registration closes at 11:59 p.m., and mailed forms must be postmarked that day. The deadline to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot is Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 5 p.m.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-19https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-19Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to settle class-action lawsuits alleging that its medical school mishandled remains stolen from its morgue, according to a Reuters report from Boston dated Aug. 18. The settlement resolves the consolidated claims brought over the thefts.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-18https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-18Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Police arrested Jayson Wilson in Everett on Monday morning in the July 9 electric scooter hit-and-run that seriously injured a 12-year-old girl on Vassar Street. State Police's Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section made the arrest with help from Everett police and State Police technical services. Wilson was arraigned later Monday in Cambridge District Court on charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of personal injury, and reckless and negligent operation.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-17https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-17Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000More than a week after the City Council voted to reinstate ShotSpotter for 90 days and form a resident civic assembly to assess it, neither has happened, according to an Aug. 13 update. Cambridge police say there is no timeline yet for restoring the acoustic sensing technology, citing technical and operational steps and ongoing discussions with maker SoundThinking. A city spokesperson confirmed the 90-day clock started when the council passed the policy order, and details on how the civic assembly would be structured are not yet available.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-16https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-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 nursing homes that settled a lawsuit against the state over a pandemic-linked rule capping occupancy at two beds per room. Under the settlement, homes can be exempted from the limit if they meet any five of eight requirements, which they may choose themselves; the Cambridge home's earlier exemption request had been denied. State health officials said they adopted the cap to limit the spread of infectious disease, and research has indicated respiratory outbreaks rise as more residents share a room.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-15https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-15Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The union representing about 2,600 non-tenured researchers, teachers and instructors at Harvard said Aug. 14 that nearly 94% of the 1,366 members who voted authorized a strike, clearing the two-thirds threshold. No strike date has been set; members will decide on a deadline in the coming weeks and plan to bargain up until then. Contract talks have been stalled for nearly two years, and a bargaining committee member said it would take a significant shift by the administration to avoid a walkout.https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-14https://nanopress.net/harvard-square-cambridge-ma/briefs/2026-08-14Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns on Thursday dismissed the Trump administration's March lawsuit accusing Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment during pro-Palestinian demonstrations after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. Stearns wrote that the cited incidents, mostly from the 2023-24 academic year with a few from March 2025, were "too isolated and episodic" to show an ongoing federal civil rights violation. Justice Department civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon said the government disagrees with the ruling and is assessing next steps; Harvard did not immediately comment.