Seasonal depression is waning, we're hitting consistent 60s, and I'm still not sure whether to wear a jacket each morning or not. But jacket or not, I'll be joining you in a lot more events this month, from Porchfest next Saturday to the Hong Kong Festival at the end of the month. I'm also thinking about setting up social group events like community cleanups + drinks, film shooting walks around the neighborhoods (Roll and Stroll?), and much more. If you have any ideas I'm all ears.
Thanks as always for following along, and May you have a great month ahead (if you unsubscribe after that, I get it).
Former Cambridge councilor Paul Toner gets pretrial probation in the Greater Boston brothel case - Boston.com
If you have a car in Cambridge, parking permits are set to increase to $75, seniors too as the city passes a new increase - Cambridge Day
Investigators are still trying to solve what sparked the Adams House fire that displaced 18 Harvard students - The Harvard Crimson
Two drivers are fighting for their lives after a pre-dawn crash sent one car into a tree on Alewife - NBC Boston
A Somerville dad and his two kids are quarantined after sharing a Logan flight with a measles-infected passenger - Boston.com
Somerville PorchFest 2026, Somerville — Somerville’s city wide music festival returns next week; turning porches, front yards and gardens across the city into live stages for one day, with local musicians and bands across genres performing from Teele to Porter Square
New England Hong Kong Festival @ Seven Hills Park, Somerville — The third annual Hong Kong Festival takes over Seven Hills Park with cultural and music performances, food, free games and small business vendors in what’s expected to have thousands show up
Call Your Mom 5K/10K Run @ Somerville Junction Park, Somerville — La Corsa Club takes over Somerville Junction Park for a Mother's Day weekend 5K/10K with custom bibs and medals, live Adidas shoe demos and live giveaways including Red Sox tickets. This is high-energy community takeover with no rules, just show up and get ready to run. See the running course on their IG HERE
Live Music x Everyone Single @ Bow Market, Somerville — Live music meets singles event at Upstairs at Bow, hosted by the in secret music peformances and singles events, Sofar and Thursday. One surprise artist plays an intimate set, everyone around you is single and the band handles the icebreaking
Secure the Bag Cornhole Mixer @ Club Volo, Somerville — a singles cornhole tourney and then hang at the on-site bar for a social hour, no skill or partner required, just a good attitude | May 7th
LEGO Adult Night: Flower Power @ LEGO Discovery Center, Somerville — an adult only night at the LEGO Discovery Center with themed building competitions, the Kingdom Quest ride, character photo ops and prizes | May 8th
Boston Hot Sauce Festival @ The Foundry, Cambridge — a spicy afternoon of global hot sauces from local makers, spicy food challenges, chef demos at the Spicy Food Lab | May 9th
May Makers Market @ Assembly Row, Somerville — an outdoor market with 30+ women-founded small businesses selling handmade jewelry, home goods, artisan food and gifts | May 9th
Dink n' Date Pickleball Mixer @ Club Volo, Somerville — a singles mixer where you rotate through short pickleball rounds with rotating partners | May 16th
39 Alston St, Somerville | 3 bed, 2 bath | 1,148 sq ft | $925,000
7 Washington St, East Somerville | 4 bed, 2 bath | 1,493 sq ft | $1,375,000 | newly built
8 Belmont Pl, Spring Hill, Somerville | 4 bed, 1 bath | 1,564 sq ft | $998,000
61 E Albion St, Somerville | 3 bed, 2 bath | 1,441 sq ft | $950,000
16 Hamlet St #16, Union Square, Somerville | 3 bed, 3 bath | 1,728 sq ft | $1,350,000 | newly built
30 Brookford St, North Cambridge | 4 bed, 1 bath | 2,171 sq ft | $1,250,000 | coming soon
21 Winter St, East Cambridge | 4 bed, 1 bath | 1,400 sq ft | $999,000
Cambridge (Monday, April 27)
City Council voted 5-4 to keep Garden Street one-way with bike lanes, reversing last year's 5-4 vote that would have brought back two-way traffic and eliminated street parking to make room for the lanes. The flip came from new Councillor Ayah Al-Zubi, who brought the order, plus Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Azeem, McGovern, and Sobrinho-Wheeler switching sides from last year. Over 70 people spoke during public comment, the majority in favor of keeping things as-is. For context, the the street was originally converted to one-way back in 2022.
Somerville (Thursday, April 23)
The big news was a joint Cambridge/Somerville/MWRA plan to stop dumping sewage into the Alewife, Mystic, and Charles rivers during heavy rainstorms (which currently happens because the cities have 1800s-era pipes that combine sewage and stormwater into the same system). The plan would cost about $1.29 billion split among the three partners and was submitted to state and federal regulators on April 30. The catch for residents: water and sewer rates would jump 20% next year and 17% for the three years after that. A typical single-family sewer bill would go from $852 to $2,600 a year, with the debt stretching to 2070.
Council also approved a $719,817 retroactive payment to settle a municipal employees union contract, an $8.28M bond to rehab aging water mains, and confirmed seven new firefighters. A $232,000 grant for police body-worn cameras was held in committee, since accepting it locks the city into roughly $430K a year in ongoing costs at a time when schools are being asked to find $1M in cuts.
The meeting's most charged moment came when Local 76 firefighters union president Mike Jefferson told councilors that the city's speed bumps and flex posts (the flexible plastic poles separating bike lanes from car lanes) are damaging fire trucks and slowing emergency response. The issue has been punted to the Public Health and Public Safety committee.
Btw if you’re in Somerville and love municipal info + in-depth breakdowns, I’d highly recommend checking out The Somerville Beacon by Ben Orenstein (no promo, just good content).
Simon | Male | 7yrs - A gentle, polite terrier-beagle mix who's bounced back from pancreatitis and is officially thriving again, comes with factory-installed manners (sit, paw, other paw, and some heel work in his past), walks like a true gentleman who's easily redirected when other animals catch his eye, housetrained, good with cats, and has a chill but communicative personality
Each monthly edition’s SBS will vary a bit. For this month, I’m going to highlight new local spots that just opened as well those that are in the works over the coming weeks and months. If you have a new business opening up in either Cambridge or Somerville (or just opened one) and want help telling your story on The Stoop, send me an email to the inbox at the bottom of this email.
Wildgrain, the bread subscription company founded in a Somerville kitchen by a French couple who couldn't find good European bread locally, finally opened its first-ever brick-and-mortar at Somernova
The family behind Reliable Market in Union Square decided the only thing missing in the neighborhood was a place to actually eat Korean fried chicken. So they opened K-Bok in the old Cantina La Mexicana space. Sandwiches by day, soju cocktails by night
Eastern Edge, Kendall Square's new food hall, took over an entire city block. Nine vendors, two bars, seating for 275, plus a Venetian-style café that turns into a wine bar at night. Highly suggest passing by if you’re near Kendall at some point
Moona, the James Beard-buzzed Inman Square restaurant, opened a much bigger Central Square location. Levantine-inspired croissants, soft serve, and date molasses-glazed lamb shank
Post 1917, the steakhouse Chef Jason Carron started in Reading's old post office, is opening its first urban location in Boynton Yards this spring. Wagyu dumplings, truffle-foam scallops, and a mostly gluten-free menu
After years as a pop-up, Third Time Together finally got its own Kendall Square space. The Levantine hot dog, topped with schug-spiced sauerkraut and pickled-mango mustard, is back
The owner of Source is opening two new spots in Kendall Square at once: Alice and Monarch, a restaurant and a lounge
Want to partner with The Stoop? Whether you’re a local business, event organizer, creator, or anyting else, you can now reach out to @[email protected] with any inquiries.
