Boston Globe will kill City Weekly section after March 22

[ron_newman]

I am appalled and distressed to read that the Globe will discontinue the Sunday City Weekly section after March 22.

The Globe internal memo says that "the suburban zones [Globe North, Globe West, and Globe South]... are too important to readers to dramatically reduce." Well, how about us Cambridge and Somerville readers? Without City Weekly, the Globe provides almost no local news coverage of either city (or of Brookline, for that matter). Why are we less worthy than suburban readers who will still get TWO zoned sections a week?

Every home I've ever lived in has had home delivery of at least one daily newspaper, for over 50 years. But I think I'm about to break the chain and cancel my Globe subscription.

(x-posted to b0st0n)

Reposted Concert Information

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

The Hanneke Cassel Band w/ Fionnuala O'Donovan, Saturday

Fionnuala O'Donovan (and a very special guest) opens!

Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, 155 Powderhouse Blvd., Somerville
Doors 7:30, Concert 8:00
$15 suggested donation at the door
$12.50 with advance reservation by email to notlobreservations @ comcast . net
$10 seniors and students

( More Information )

Housing question

[ohyeah36.livejournal.com]

Hi there!
I am fairly new to davis_square. I am a current NYC resident looking to move to Davis Sq sometime around August 1st. I walked around the neighborhood when I was visiting this past weekend and totally fell in love with the area. I've checked the tags and I had a couple of questions I was hoping y'all could help me with.
Since I'm from NYC, I'm no stranger to outrageous rent prices--to me, 1600 for a 2 bedroom is a steal! If I was looking for a 1.5 bed around the Davis Square area, is 1400 a reasonable price? I'm hoping to be about 10-15 minutes from the T (closer is better, obviously, as I probably won't have a car). I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about where to look for listings. I'm checking Craigslist, obviously, but I know in NYC, it's hard to find a legitimate listing--a lot of them are scams, or brokers just looking for you to call them. On that note, any broker recommendations would be great.
I've also heard that it's better to look early for an apartment in the Boston area. I'm used to looking no more than a month before I want to move, but I get the impression that I should be starting to look soon. Is it hard to find available apartments over the summer?
I appreciate the help in advance and look forward to hopefully being a Massachusetts resident sometime soon! :)

(no subject)

[heliopsis.livejournal.com]

Cambridge Rindge and Latin school has one of the oldest gay-straight alliances in the country.

Fred Phelps is planning a protest there on March 13. You know who this is: it's the "God Hates Fags" monster from Kansas.

One could show up there and scream at him, but that's what he wants. Instead, the clever citizens of Cambridge have come up with a better idea. They're having a phelps-a-thon to raise money for the GSA. They're soliciting donations, so every minute he's there, showing his signs to no-one, the GSA earns money.

There will be a sign in front of Phelps et al telling them how much money they are raising for the GSA.

The GSA will send them a thank-you card for the donation.

Go to the website. Make your pledge.

plumber-type person recommendation?

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have a plumber in the area that they can recommend, or someone with enough knowledge to tell me if I need a plumber? I'm in my first winter in my new condo, and I seem to have a drip in two places on a pipe that feeds a radiator. I used HUB for a gas leak and liked them, but don't know if they are costly cuz they are so professional and have matching red shirts. I have no idea what plumbers can/should charge.

Attempted Mugging near Porter Square

[solarpanda.livejournal.com]

Two guys wearing baggy clothes, one with a bandana and we believe Latino, just attempted to mug my roommate on our front porch as he was about to open the front door. Police are aware of it though we couldn't give them any better of a description.

He's not hurt and nothing was stolen, but he saw them trying the door to our neighbors' place before they came after him.

Last October, we also had a break-in similar to the one described here: http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/1651025.html

We live right on Somerville Ave, less than 2 blocks from Porter, so PLEASE BE CAREFUL when walking around the area at night!

Finally, thank you to the kind stranger who stopped to investigate and who offered to call the police :-)

The Spare Change Swapper is back!

[toilandtrouble.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend got duped in the Davis Square station this morning.  A tall man wearing sunglasses, disheveled clothing, and missing several teeth, approached him while he was waiting for the T.  The man asked him to buy the Spare Change newspaper, showing him a stack of papers with a Spare Change News on top.  Once my BF agreed to buy a paper from him and open his wallet, the man had the gall to ask for an additional $5 for a meal.  My BF, having a kind heart, decided that he would give the man an extra dollar.  Then the man gave my BF a paper from the bottom of his stack, which ended up being some other free newspaper. When my BF asked about it, the man gave him some roundabout explanation about how they were trying to get more Spare Change papers printed, etc.  My BF, realizing he'd been taken for a ride, told the man to get lost, and once he got to work, he reported the man to both Spare Change News and the MBTA.  Here's hoping that something comes of it.

T riders beware!  Don't be fooled into "buying" a Spare Change newspaper from this man!