To be fair, I haven't followed this in Somerville and don't know whether this was the sort of development anticipated or not, but the idea that it's "abuse" to build housing that people want to live in, in accordance with the law as written, during a housing crisis, seems pretty silly on its face.
We're constantly hearing from the usual NIMBYs that developers are "abusing" zoning in Cambridge by...building to the heights and densities explicitly allowed by law, passed by the Council 8-1 after extensive public process. 🤷♀️
Davis Square Neighborhood Council is having an election, and surprisingly you don't have to just live in Somerville to vote. Lots of North Cambridge also qualifies, down past Porter.
Details here: sites.google.com/view/davissq...
Map here: map.davissquarenc.org
#Somerville #CambMA #CambridgeMA
I agree with this. Some community organizing is good, some is bad. It matters what they're organizing for.
NIMBYism isn't the only harmful form of it either - things like local library book bans often arise out of community organizing too. Organic, grassroots change isn't inherently positive.
Burhan has been able to raise the most so far this cycle, but he didn't start with a war chest like the other candidates. I just donated!
As always the voters will decide, but I want Burhan to have the funds he needs to get his message out and make his case to voters.
Help us close the $100k gap. Voteburhan.com
Join me for lunch and let’s talk about THE UPCOMING WALL
Ballot questions generally are a bad way to do policy, and we elect reps for a reason. But the MA state house is so opaque, and often moves so sluggishly on urgent matters, that people lose confidence in the legislative process. The call of proliferating ballot q's is coming from inside the House.
Very hot dog meme quote in today's MASSterlist:
""This thing about ‘let's do a ballot question, and it's going to fix everything,’ it's just such nonsense, and it's insulting to me, as someone who follows public policy, that they think that they can solve problems that way,” Mariano told reporters"
We once had the best metro system in North America, then we broke it, and now we finally have the chance to fix it
I think well of some individual members, but also think it's clearly dysfunctional as a body.
Tapping the sign
The law isn't written for social media specifically. The law's definition of social media platforms could mean internet forums, personal hobby websites with comments, blogs, "citizen journalist" newspapers, etc. The only exclusions are Google Docs (or equivalent) and text messaging.
I remember hearing about the proposed cell phones in school ban bill, but I believe the House added the social media ban to that <2 days before the vote. Many members may not have even understood what they were voting on.
I've been pretty wedding-brained (<2 mo out!) & so when I heard about the social media bill, I figured that was why I'd missed it coming along.
But it wasn't on the radar of any of my activist friends either. It was rushed.
More evidence the state house *can* move quickly - when it wants to.
THREAD: The Massachusetts House just advanced a draconian and unconstitutional social media ban bill.
"This legislation would have kicked Greta Thuneberg off social media before she organized her first climate protest. How does that make kids safer?"
www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-04...
But don't worry, I'm sure our famously wise, productive, & transparent state legislature is up to the task. What could go wrong?
Seems relevant that this is the same body we'd be relying on to step in and fix the rent control ballot measure if it passes. Even many supporters acknowledge it's flawed and would worsen the crisis if implemented as written.
This process was bad and the policy passed is bad.
This will require _adults_ to verify their identity before using social media. Where their IDs can then be stolen by incompetent vendors, or shared with Feds, or used for privacy-violating ad targeting.
Tell your MA House Rep to vote no: malegislature.gov/StateHouse/C...
A top-10 leaderboard of the 10 most popular Bluebikes stations of 2025. Cambridge held the top 3 and 6 of the top 10 most popular stations, mostly around Mass Ave and MIT.
🏅🏆🚴
In 2025, six of the ten most popular @ridebluebikes.bsky.social stations resided in @cambridgemass.bsky.social. Cambridge punched above its weight thanks to investment in station density and safety infrastructure.
Sometimes the good guys do win
Bar chart graph showing BlueBike ridership declined further from January into February in Boston (16.6%), Somerville (13.9%), and Brookline (13.9%), but rose slightly in Cambridge (2.9%).
Cambridge is built different!
This was a tough winter. Repeat storms and deep freezes caused conditions and ridership to decline.
Except in Cambridge.
It wasn’t perfect, but our network fared a bit better than elsewhere.
Thank you @cambridgemass.bsky.social DPW! Infrastructure and effort matter.
All the above paraphrased from my own reading of the report, any mistakes are my own, corrections welcome
The Bad:
- millennials still can't buy homes; higher-income households who can't afford to buy put pressure on rental market
- low income renters are still disproportionately people of color and disabled people
The Bad:
- multifamily construction is slowing & trend is likely to continue due to high construction costs
- rental stock is old and in disrepair, impacts renter health; needs "substantial" investment
- increasing frequency of natural disasters threatens rental supply
The Bad:
- renter cost burden and severe cost burden still very high. Highest in FL, NV, CA, and the Northeast
- lowest income households have barely anything left over after rent and food
- homelessness at record high
- federal cuts to social safety net hits renters especially hard
The Good:
- veteran homelessness continued to decline (showing the effectiveness of Housing First approaches!)
- Houston, Milwaukee, and Denver reduced homelessness by providing longer-term supportive housing and better coordinating resources
- state & local govts stepping up amid federal retreat
The Good:
- Some HCOL cities are addressing the crisis head on; Cambridge's new multifamily zoning is "groundbreaking"
- increased supply in the West and South caused rents to decline there
- other areas of the country saw more modest rent increases than in recent years
51% of MA renter households are cost burdened. Other highlights/lowlights...
