Cambridge streets get new (old) names

Also: The latest on the Israel-Gaza conflict; meet the 2023 Makers [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  October 16, 2023 ☁️ Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57 and some scattered showers. Good Morning Boston, We have another week of [ideal PSL weather]( though you may want to keep an umbrella and a windbreaker in your bag. You can get NPR's coverage of the latest developments in the Israel-Gaza war below. But let's start today's newsletter with what's happening here in Massachusetts. - Cambridge may have marked Indigenous Peoples' Day a week ago, but the city is working to recognize local Native people in a more permanent and (literally) visible way. WBUR's John Bender reports the city is putting up new street signs that translate street names into the language of the native Massachusett Tribe. The initial phase will install around 80 signs between First and Eighth streets in East Cambridge, according to Sage Carbone, who first proposed the idea. She says the project will help preserve Indigenous languages, as the city prepares to celebrate its 400th anniversary. "We need to make sure that we're including all of the history," Carbone said. "Too often, the history when we learn about it in Cambridge and Boston begins when Europeans first arrived — and that's just not the case." - Carbone says they're aiming to install all the signs by next summer. The project is [funded through Cambridge's annual participatory budgeting system]( which lets residents vote on how the city spends a limited pot of money. - What's next: The initiative is focusing on these specific numerical streets first because they're easily translatable. But Carbone hopes it inspires other Cambridge residents to ask for the signs in their own neighborhoods and that it "spark[s] curiosity about what the name of where you live now had been originally called." - Fun fact: As GBH [first noted]( Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to be given a Native name (though [many other states followed](. The translation: "Great-hill-small-place.” - Building up: Street signs may not be the only thing changing in Cambridge. The City Council is expected to vote tonight on new zoning rules that would allow taller affordable housing buildings to be built in certain parts of Cambridge without additional permits. The proposal would let buildings rise up to 15 stories high in major squares like Harvard, Central and Porter Square, while allowing them up to 12 stories along major corridors like Mass. Ave and Broadway. - Why? Supporters say progress on Cambridge's affordable housing goals has not come fast enough in the majority-renter city — where the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now $2,700, [per Zillow]( (that's higher than both Somerville and Boston). - Go deeper: [The Boston Globe has more on the debate over the proposal and its ramifications]( which comes less than a month before the next City Council election. - Heads up: Expect a vote this week on Massachusetts House's [new gun bill](. Speaker Ron Mariano says the chamber will pass the bill this week, despite [pushback by some of the state's police chiefs](. - What's next: The Senate is [crafting its own gun bill]( and legislative leaders have hinted they probably won't get anything to Gov. Maura Healey until sometime next year. - Sticking around: The humpback whale is staying on Massachusetts' endangered species list — at least for now. Healey's administration initially proposed removing the marine mammal this year, after [a similar move by federal officials in 2016](. But [according to the Globe]( officials withdrew the proposal this month. - No official reason was given, but the reversal comes amid concerns from conservationists about [the recent spike in humpback strandings]( (despite the population's [long-term rebound](. The state is planning to update their proposal with more information and submit it at a "later date." - Remember, Red Line riders: There's [no service]( on the Ashmont branch or Mattapan trolley line for the next two weeks. But [there are other public transportation alternatives](. Late last week, the T announced the[Route 18 bus]( will be free during the closure, in addition to shuttle buses and the Fairmount commuter rail line. - The City of Boston is also offering a "limited number" of free monthly Bluebikes passes to residents affected by the closure. [Click this link]( for the sign up form. P.S.— Our arts and culture team just announced this year's Makers! The annual list celebrates 10 creatives of color making an impact on the Boston arts scene. [Scroll through all 10 profiles here]( (or [listen to today's episode of The Common]( to see photos and videos of their work, and hear about what makes this year's class so deserving. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Blinken says the crossing to Egypt will open to aid as Israel prepares to strike Gaza]( Israel's military said that it would continue to allow Gazans to evacuate south as hundreds of thousands had already moved. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 2,600 Palestinians. [Read more.]( [Blinken says the crossing to Egypt will open to aid as Israel prepares to strike Gaza]( Israel's military said that it would continue to allow Gazans to evacuate south as hundreds of thousands had already moved. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 2,600 Palestinians. [Read more.]( [As state rents 3,000 hotel and motel rooms for family shelter units, some longtime occupants end up displaced]( While state officials and shelter providers work to avoid displacing longtime motel residents to make space for unhoused families, housing advocates say they are aware of cases where people have been pushed out of motels and into homelessness. [Read more.]( [As state rents 3,000 hotel and motel rooms for family shelter units, some longtime occupants end up displaced]( While state officials and shelter providers work to avoid displacing longtime motel residents to make space for unhoused families, housing advocates say they are aware of cases where people have been pushed out of motels and into homelessness. [Read more.]( [A 6-year-old boy was killed in an anti-Muslim attack in Illinois, authorities say]( Law enforcement said the 71-year-old suspect who fatally stabbed a young boy and seriously wounded a woman was motivated by the Israel-Hamas war. The suspect has been charged with a hate crime. [Read more.]( [A 6-year-old boy was killed in an anti-Muslim attack in Illinois, authorities say]( Law enforcement said the 71-year-old suspect who fatally stabbed a young boy and seriously wounded a woman was motivated by the Israel-Hamas war. The suspect has been charged with a hate crime. [Read more.]( [Springfield Museums to offer free admission 1st Wednesday of every month starting in 2024]( The Museums will introduce “Free First Wednesdays," beginning in January 2024. All visitors will receive free admission on the first Wednesday of every month for the the next three years. [Read more.]( [Springfield Museums to offer free admission 1st Wednesday of every month starting in 2024]( The Museums will introduce “Free First Wednesdays," beginning in January 2024. All visitors will receive free admission on the first Wednesday of every month for the the next three years. [Read more.]( [To rein in climate change, Biden pledges $7 billion to regional 'hydrogen hubs']( President Joe Biden announced billions of federal dollars for the creation of regional hydrogen hubs across the country. Hydrogen could be a climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels. [Read more.]( [To rein in climate change, Biden pledges $7 billion to regional 'hydrogen hubs']( President Joe Biden announced billions of federal dollars for the creation of regional hydrogen hubs across the country. Hydrogen could be a climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - This week at CitySpace: We're hosting [a talk Wednesday night]( with the James Beard semi-finalist chef behind an acclaimed Somali restaurant in East Boston. And on Friday night, everyone's favorite — [The Crossword Show with Zach Sherwin]( — returns to Comm. Ave. Check out the full schedule and scoop up your tickets [here](. - [A new exhibit at the Boston Athenaeum]( shows images of Boston's development between the 1930s and the 1960s. Radio Boston spoke with assistant curator Lauren Graves to learn more about what the comparison tells us about the city's growth throughout the 20th century. - This weekend's "ring of fire" solar eclipse missed New England by many a mile (Houston, Albuquerque and Las Vegas got some of the best views of the celestial event). Luckily for us, sky-gazers captured lots of photos of the rare eclipse. Check them out [here](. - Rich Barlow calls for an end to religious exemptions to vaccination mandates in [this Cognoscenti commentary](.  What We're Reading 📚 - There’s an urban farm in Boston growing 6,000 pounds of produce a year. It happens to be located on the roof of Fenway Park ([CNN]( - Boston wants 250 additional liquor licenses. Here’s why it needs state approval first. ([Boston.com]( - Known for His Pointed Questions, a 15-Year-Old Is Ejected From a G.O.P. Event ([The New York Times](  Tell Me Something Good [Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners show the beauty — and precarity — of nature]( The winning photographs star different species from around the world, all highlighting the interplay between animals and humans. The two grand titles went to shots of a horseshoe crab and barn owls. [Read more.]( [Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners show the beauty — and precarity — of nature]( The winning photographs star different species from around the world, all highlighting the interplay between animals and humans. The two grand titles went to shots of a horseshoe crab and barn owls. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common discusses the 10 creatives WBUR's arts and culture desk will be highlighting for [the 2023 Makers series](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [Monday, personified.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. 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