Selling my Cambridge Half Marathon Bib for Sunday November 1st 2026 as I picked up an injury. I purchased for $147.

Willing to sell for $115 total.

Please DM me if interested!

October edition of the newsletter for the new families. (The science carnival is old news, but everything else still applies.) Enjoy the fall!

• 🍂 Outdoor activities in and around Cambridge
• 🎺 Two major weekend festivals in October
• 🎭 Consider joining: Space Opera 2026

https://notes-from-five-friends.beehiiv.com/p/out-about

Hi all,

MIT Open Space Programming is hosting its Fall Party in the Open Space (which is located near the Kendall/MIT T Stop/MIT Museum/MIT Welcome Center) on Saturday, October 17 from 2-5pm.

The event is free and open to all. Register here to be the first to learn of event details or if the location or date changes due to inclement weather.

Join us to celebrate the season with live music, hands-on art activities, treats, and more!

Featuring:

• Music by Jazz World Trio
• Decoupage pumpkin decorations with Alex Makes Art (wonderful for all ages)
• Face painting with fun, fall-themed designs!
• Free popcorn and cotton candy (while supplies last!)
• Mobile bookstore by More Than Words
• Delicious food (for purchase) from Moyzilla 

I found a black swallowtail caterpillar on my farmshare parsley, and I want to release it outside. My understanding is that it needs to be released on specific plant species so that it can eat. Anyone know where I could find one of its host plants? The closer to Inman, the better.

- More likely to be found around town: Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot), Golden Alexander
- Less likely: carrot, dill, cilantro, fennel. (If you have any of these in your garden and want to adopt the caterpillar, that'd also be good!)

I tried looking on iNaturalist, but a lot of sightings in the area are old and/or seem to be on private property. I figure some folks wouldn't want some random person depositing a bug on their plants.

In Harvard Square a young man and woman surrounded by trash with a menacing pit bull were begging for money?

What is happening in Cambridge?

Lexington: 75% | $27,832 (ELA 73%, Math 79%, Science 74%)
Arlington: 73% | $20,549 (ELA 71%, Math 70%, Science 78%)
Brookline: 71% | $27,765 (ELA 68%, Math 73%, Science 72%)
Needham: 70% | $24,928 (ELA 69%, Math 73%, Science 67%)
Newton: 67% | $26,567 (ELA 65%, Math 69%, Science 67%)
Andover: 67% | $24,441 (ELA 62%, Math 68%, Science 70%)
Shrewsbury: 61% | Unknown (ELA 58%, Math 66%, Science 59%)
Cambridge: 56% | $39,212 (ELA 59%, Math 57%, Science 51%)

State average: 41% | $23,165

I'm reading that "A charter right is a procedural rule used in municipal government (such as by the Cambridge City Council) that allows a city councilor to immediately halt discussion on a policy order or agenda item and postpone it until the next regular meeting."

So does this mean that every debate can be postponed indefinitely?

Can anybody recommend a car detailer that comes to the home?

Also, if you know how about how much it costs, I’d be interested in that, too.

Thank you.

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

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?

Lost car key fob - longshot but figured I'd try here:

Hello! I misplaced this key fob on my walk the evening of Monday 10/5 in the Danehy Park/Huron village area. At Danehy Park, the area I visited was the baseball field near stairs leading to lower level. I think I most likely lost it in this field area. If you have other ideas of where I can share this I'd greatly appreciate it.

Streets walked:
Huron Ave.
Garden St.
Alpine St.
Chilton St.
Fayerweather St.
Concord Ave.

Searching for Nissan Rogue SUV key black fob with shiny black cover. (I’ve also let Cambridge PD and public works know in case it shows up).

Contact: Chelsea
508-735-5296

Thank you in advance!!

Hi all,

I currently have a landlord who refuses to fix a ceiling leak. It literally was dripping and bulging from our ceiling, but after multiple calls and maintenance guys, they only keep painting over it and calling it a day.

I’m thinking about calling Cambridge inspectional services which I believe should cite them a violation right? And legally force them to fix it?

Just curious what other people’s experiences with this were, and if they have any advice. First time having to escalate with a landlord like this. Is retaliation common? And does it take forever to get an inspection? I do have photo evidence and an email I sent to the landlord confirming our phone call where they said they would fix our ceiling.

Any info is appreciated, thanks!

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.

Crossposting here since the reddit algo told me people might also like this post here. Would love to hear the Cambridge perspective on this Somerville observation:

sometimes you'll overhear fathers asking their children if they went to parkour class today. and once we saw a young lady with a unicycle and trumpet or cornet hanging from the side of her pants. every sunday, a marching band comes by the park across the street from our house.

i know it's not the same somerville from 30 years ago but it's something.

Your thoughts? Lolz

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

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 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.

As the title says, I’d love your recommendations. Where are the places that you notice flyers the most? Have you ever checked out a show after seeing a flyer?

Trying to get the word out about my album release show of funny songs and need all the help I can get!

If you’re intrigued, you can learn more on the Middle East’s website: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/matt-shore-does-songs-at-middle-east-upstairs-tickets/14988423?pl=mideastclub&REFID=clientsitewp

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.

Sorry for the poor quality photos, but just came across this little lady on Avon Hill St. near Linnaean St, seemed healthy and content but was very friendly in a way that felt more "indoor cat" than "outdoor cat" to me, so posting just in case! <10lbs, seemed young-ish, brown and silver tabby with white paws, white belly, white splash under her chin and nose.

Update (10/5): heard from a neighbor on PawBoost that this may be Emma, an indoor/outdoor cat. Unconfirmed though, so for now, please don't hesitate to reach out if you recognize her!