Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How a longtime Cambridge safety leader is reshaping BARCC’s future direction

Happening soon: 19-Pc Compaq Big Band @ 'Boston's Big Band Christmas' w/ Special Guest Vocalist Anaïs Reno - Late on the Cambridge Patch…

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Wednesday December 17th Patch AM
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Coffee in hand, Cambridge? We've got the latest town updates for you. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • How a longtime Cambridge safety leader is reshaping BARCC’s future direction
  • Will new height caps reshape future buildings in Inman and along Mass. Ave.?
  • How a quirky MIT train club quietly rewired the digital world

Also on today's calendar: 19-Pc Compaq Big Band @ 'Boston's Big Band Christmas' w/ Special Guest Vocalist Anaïs Reno - Late and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Cambridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

📸 Have a great pic of holiday decorations from around Cambridge? Post it to Cambridge photos of the day! ☃️ 🟢-🟠-🟣-🔴-🟡-🔵 ☃️

Today's riddle: The doctor told me to drink carrot juice after a hot bath. - Did it help? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Find out what's happening in Cambridgefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Weather forecast:

  • Wednesday: Breezy with sun and clouds, with a high of 43 and low of 27 degrees.
  • Thursday: Times of clouds and sun, temps: high: 45, low: 41.
  • Friday: Windy with rain, with a high of 59 and low of 26 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Boston Area Rape Crisis Center appoints Liz Speakman as Executive Director (massnonprofit.org) — Cambridge residents will recognize Liz Speakman, who helped launch the city’s Community Safety Department and led its Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Prevention Initiative, as she steps into the permanent Executive Director role at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Her appointment signals continued regional focus on survivor services, trauma‑informed responses, and stronger cross-city partnerships.
   

• City Council backs shorter buildings around Inman Square (cambridgeday.com) — Cambridge city councillors are pushing to lower proposed height limits for new residential buildings in Inman Square and along key stretches of Cambridge Street and Massachusetts Avenue, potentially capping most projects at eight or 11 stories. The move aims to balance added housing, incentives for 100% affordable projects, and neighborhood concerns about scale and retail vitality, with crucial zoning votes expected before petitions expire in late January.
   

• How amateur hackers designed our future (unherd.com) — MIT’s legendary Tech Model Railroad Club, tucked inside Building N52 in Cambridge, helped spark the original “hacker” culture that shaped modern computing. The piece traces how those playful, rule-bending experiments evolved into today’s global hacker gatherings and AI-driven cybersecurity battles, showing how a Cambridge club’s curiosity still echoes through technology today.
   

📸 Around Cambridge

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Cambridge

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🪧 Patch Classifieds

  • Clean and Dependable 2016 Range Rover Evoque $11,600
    2016 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque SE. Great Price. $11,600... (More info)

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • The Tufts Street redesign in Somerville forces cyclists to play a deadly game of chicken with oncoming traffic at the "pinch points.
    " Seriously, who designs these horrible "road diet" schemes?! https://youtu.be/doBucjlS2pM (Nextdoor North Cambridge)
  • Maynard Fire Department extinguishes a house fire on Parker Street, with traffic detoured at Great Road and Parker Street.
    2:49PM on Dec 15: A structure fire is reported on Parker Street in Maynard, MA, with fire showing on the Charlie side of the first floor of a two… (Nextdoor )
  • Supreme Fitness Group posted a job opening for Daytime Custodian in Cambridge. Apply here.
  • Cambridge School District posted a job opening for ETS, Morse Instructional Technology Specialist (0.9), Morse in Cambridge. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Cambridge here.

🗞 Nearby News

Somerville

  • Community Invited to Somerville 2026 Inaugural Events (thesomervillenewsweekly.blog)
  • U.N. Human Rights Watchdogs Blast Columbia for Using Immigration Status to Suppress Students' Pro-Palestine Speech (theintercept.com)
  • Somerville Irish Pub Recognized as 'Love Pub' (wror.com)

Watertown

  • Housing for All Watertown Hosts Third Annual Happy HAW-lidays Cookie Exchange (watertownmanews.com)

Medford

Ok Cambridge! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don’t know. I can never finish drinking the hot bath!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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