This could be shaping up to be one of the last warm weeks of the summer, with forecasts pointing cooler for the second half of August. That's why lectures, workshops and new spaces are on the menu starting tomorrow, as curiosity sets the theme for the week.
From brewery lectures to finance workshops, the new wave of social events keeps shifting toward learning: Astronomy on Tap at Aeronaut, and the Museum of Science's fandom night, where you can learn about the psychology behind why we love storytelling and the characters behind it. Heads up that Binge Thinking sold out as I was sending this, but you can still grab a spot on the waitlist.
Speaking of learning, you may also notice some format changes as I experiment on the newsletter design with better animations and headers. Stay cool this week.
Weather Report |
Stories 'Round The Squares |
ShotSpotter is back on for now: the City Council voted 6-3 to reactivate the gunshot detection system for 90 days, reversing May's decision to scrap it after a DPW worker's death on the Fourth reopened the debate · The Harvard Crimson
Talks between the district and its teachers union are getting louder as the union pushes for a deal before school starts. The district puts the union's full asks at $175 million over three years; the union says paraprofessionals earn sub-living wages · Patch
Inman Square's Muqueca landed on a national list of the best Brazilian restaurants in the country, on the strength of chef Fafá Langa's clay-pot stews · Wicked Local
Cambridge's half of the Elm Street redesign is coming too: the city plans to rebuild the Beech-Elm intersection this summer, with repaving, shorter crosswalks and six permit spots going away · City of Cambridge
National Night Out took over Donnelly Field Tuesday with a dunk tank, obstacle course and free food · Cambridge Police
Astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics say the "little red dots" in James Webb's photos of the early universe may be pulsating monster stars 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, collapsing into the universe's first black holes · Center for Astrophysics
The Elm-Beacon Connector is going in: crews start building protected bike lanes and a car-free Mossland Street as soon as this month, taking most parking on the south side of Elm with them. Most of the work wraps by November · Patch
Yart Sale took over the city Saturday, with turning porches and driveways into mini galleries selling paintings, band merch, plants and vintage finds · City of Somerville
The city wants to build the first Municipal Cultural Trust in Massachusetts to keep creative space affordable, and a three-part input series kicked off Wednesday at the Central Library · The Somerville Times
Ahead of the September 1 state primary, the city is hiring standby poll workers at $250 for the day. Voter registration closes August 22 · The Somerville Times
West Nile virus turned up in mosquitoes collected in Somerville, though the risk level stays moderate with no human cases statewide. Repellent at dusk is the move · The Somerville Times
Events |
Spotlight Of The Week |
Binge Thinking Bar Lecture: Sunscreen Myths @ Aeronaut Brewing, Somerville [WAITLIST OPEN] - Is sunscreen full of toxins? Does wearing it leave you short on Vitamin D? A Harvard dermatologist answers both at Aeronaut followed by a Q&A
Monday August 10th |
Cambridge Plays @ Parks and Plazas Throughout Cambridge - Cambridge is partnering up with local businesses and organizations to run free events in Cambridge parks and plazas. Catch everything from navigation games to outdoor yoga to dance parties through the 18th | FREE • AUG 10-18
Boston Leather Guild Monthly Meetup @ West Branch Library, Somerville - Leathercrafters get together at the West Branch every month to swap skills and teach people starting out. Drop in tomorrow if you're curious on picking up a new hobby | FREE • 5:30-8PM
Pitch-A-Friend @ Aeronaut Brewing, Somerville - The waitlist might be full for pitches but the seats to watch the pitches are still open. Drop by to watch a different spin on singles events where friends pitch each other through five minute slide decks | FREE • 8PM
Tuesday August 11th |
Plaza Open Market: Fun in the Sun @ Science Center Plaza, Cambridge - Harvard's plaza market is back with a summer theme. There's going to be a nine-hole mini golf course, lawn games, therapy animals and produce from Tangerini Farm | FREE • 11:30AM-5:30PM
Pure Barre Pop-Up Class @ Assembly Row, Somerville - If you've ever been curious about taking a barre class here's your chance and it costs nothing. Barre combines low-impact movement with strength training all while outside on the Assembly lawn | FREE • 6:30PM
Téa Obreht in Conversation with Allegra Goodman @ Porter Square Books, Cambridge - Sunrise is one of the most anticipated novels of the year, a three-timeline story built around a ghost town in the Wyoming mountains that refuses to give up its secrets. If happen to by on this release night, mention The Stoop and get 15% off the book | FREE • 7PM
Wednesday August 12th |
Astronomy on Tap Lecture: Discovering Dark Matter @ Aeronaut Brewing Company, Somerville - Harvard and MIT researchers take the stage at Aeronaut to cover the science and mysteries behind the Milky Way and dark matter at the taproom | FREE • 6-8PM
Fandom is a Science @ Museum of Science, Cambridge - The Museum of Science treats fandom as a research subject for a night, with scientists and writers talking about the neuroscience behind fan fiction and why stories stick | FREE • 7PM
Binge Thinking Bar Lecture: Sunscreen Myths @ Aeronaut Brewing, Somerville - TED talk meets cocktail night with Harvard dermatologist Dr. Abigail Waldman at Aeronaut to settle the sunscreen argument once and for all. Doors at seven, lecture at 7:30, and Q&A after | $33 • 7-9PM
The Stoop's Picks |
Astronomy (Lecture) on Tap: Discovering Dark Matter @ Aeronaut Brewing Company, Somerville - Lecture hall meets taproom. Researchers from Harvard and MIT come to Aeronaut to talk through what we know about the Milky Way and the open questions around dark matter
Girl on FIRE @ Remnant Satellite, Cambridge - Money conversations for women, run like a night out rather than a seminar. Two hours at Remnant Satellite on saving, career decisions and what takes to achieve F.I.R.E.
Thursday August 13th |
Urban Park Beer Garden @ Urban Park Roof Garden, Cambridge - Lamplighter's monthly rooftop takeover is back on Thursday with all beer tokens going straight to charity plus complimentary hot dogs and pretzels for anyone there | $7 • 4:30-9PM
Tiki Thursdays @ Paperback Tavern, Cambridge - Paper is throwing a tiki night every Thursday this month on the riverside. Tastings, pop ups from local vendors, giveaways and special tiki cocktails on the menu | FREE • 5-8PM
Wolfpack Open Magic Draft @ Dragon Pizza, Somerville - Wolfpack's five-day Magic tournament stops at Dragon Pizza on Thursday with the championship main event landing at the Crystal Ballroom on Sunday. All cards are provided | $30 • 6-10PM
After Dark Monthly Museum Night: Gardens @ MIT Museum, Cambridge - MIT's monthly after hours museum night is here and this month's theme is celebrating gardens, green spaces and everything local. Hands-on demos from Green Cambridge and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on site | $25 • 6-9PM
Girl on FIRE @ Remnant Satellite, Cambridge - Money conversations for women, made social. Join Anastasia and Chloe for a night of socializing, new friends, fun drinks and a conversation about navigating career, lifestyle decisions and financial independence | $12 • 7-9PM
Weekend Sneak Peek |
Somerville Fermentation Festival @ Arts at the Armory, Somerville - Fermentation Festival is back for a second year in Somerville with more than 20 New England makers. Pickles, kombucha, miso, chocolate and bread to taste, plus a session where you make sauerkraut to take home
LEGO Adult Night @ LEGO Discovery Center, Somerville - Calling all adult LEGO lovers. Assembly Row’s LEGO Discovery Center opens the doors to adults only a few night a year and next week’s adults only night is one of them. Two and a half hours of building challenges and prizes
Around The Corner |
Bookstore Romance Day Book Swap @ Harvard Book Store, Cambridge - Harvard Book Store's version of a book swap: browse separately, buy something for the person you came with in secret, then reveal both picks together. 15% off at check-in in during the event
Stoop Selects |
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Crime & Safety |
Cambridge
66 INCIDENTS 5 ARRESTS Per day · Most recent available · Jul 17-20
| Fri | 15 | |
| Sat | 21 | |
| Sun | 10 | |
| Mon | 20 |
CPD's most recent posted logs cover four days, July 17-20, and run 66 incidents and 5 arrests, a slightly slower daily pace than the week before.
NOTABLE: A group took a moped valued at $1,100 from its owner outside a Massachusetts Ave. business on the night of July 20 in a reported carjacking, the second moped carjacking in Cambridge inside two weeks after the armed one in Central Square on July 11.
Break-ins set the tone: two cars were entered overnight on the same Standish St. block in one day, a Clay St. resident came home to signs that strangers had been living inside, and a Temple St. residence was entered repeatedly for about $500 in items. With Sept. 1 lease season approaching, one renter wired a $3,300 deposit on an apartment that was never actually for rent, and package thefts from lobbies ran $150 to $500. The bike-theft streak continues too: a $1,500 bike, a rented bike, $400 in tires and a scooter all went missing. Two would-be robbers failed to take $80 from a person inside a JFK St. business, EOD cleared an unattended package on Massachusetts Ave., and the log closes with someone on Bow St. throwing eggs at pedestrians.
Somerville
4 ARRESTS Per day · Most recent available · Jul 20-26
| Mon | 0 | |
| Tue | 1 | |
| Wed | 1 | |
| Thu | 0 | |
| Fri | 0 | |
| Sat | 1 | |
| Sun | 1 |
Somerville's most recent posted arrest log covers July 20-26 and shows four arrests across the week.
One arrest was for an open-container ordinance violation, one came on an out-of-town warrant and added several drug possession counts, one started as a speeding stop that turned up a suspended license, and the most serious paired an OUI with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and reckless operation charges.
Somerville's log excludes arrests involving juveniles, domestic violence, and sexual assault, as required by state law.
Sources: Cambridge Police daily log and Somerville Police weekly arrest log.
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