Why Cambridge is doubling this parking ticket

Also: More turmoil at the CCC; why a mom turned to supervising illegal opioid use at her home [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  December 12, 2023 ☀️Sunny, with a high near 44. Good Morning Boston, While you continue reading the tea leaves [on whether Taylor Swift will be at the Patriots game this weekend]( here's what to know for today (the first thing being [don't ask Bill Belichick about Taylor Swift]( - PSA for off-street parkers: Cambridge is planning to double the cost of a ticket for those who don't move their cars during street cleaning next year, as the city extends a new no-tow experiment. Since this past spring, the city has [put a pause on towing cars parked on the wrong side of the street]( during the once-a-month sweepings and instead fined violators $50 (a softer punishment than the cost and inconvenience of getting towed). But now, Cambridge officials say $50 fines might not be harsh enough. So, they're moving to increase penalties to $100 in 2024. Here's why and what's next: - Tickets are up: People seem willing to pay the occasional $50 fine rather than move their car and find a new spot in the dense, residential city. According to [a city report released last week]( street cleaning tickets are up 93% — from 6,905 tickets in April-October 2022 to 13,322 during the same time this year. The number of repeat offenders also increased from 632 to 1,883 this year. "A $50 [ticket] doesn't seem to encourage people to move," City Councilor Paul Toner told WBUR's John Bender, adding that $100 "might be more of a sting." (That said, it still costs residents less time and money than getting towed, which added up to $130, plus storage fees of $40 a day). - Streets are also a bit dirtier: While Cambridge has employed workers with rakes and leaf blowers to clean around unmoved cars, the city says the volume of material swept is down 10% this year. "I've been getting emails with people sending me pictures with their streets covered in leaves," Toner said during a meeting last week. However, the city's report said they were able to maintain an "appropriate level of cleanliness." - The pilot has been popular: In a randomized telephone survey, Cambridge found 69% of residents supported making the no-tow program permanent, with 21% opposed. - What's next: The Council voted 7-2 last week to extend the pilot a year. However, they still need approval from the State House to raise the fines to $100 before the 2024 street sweeping season begins in April. The city also plans to assess the program again in January 2025. Depending on how it goes, they could bring towing back or make another change, like gradually increasing fines for repeat offenders. - One other thing: Cambridge is also going back to a male voice for its [infamous street sweeping announcement truck]( after trying a female voice. The reason: according to residents [(and science)]( the higher-pitch female voice was harder to hear through walls. - If at first you don't succeed: Geoff Diehl is eyeing another run for elected office in Massachusetts. Diehl — the (unsuccessful) GOP nominee [for U.S. Senate in 2018]( and [for governor in 2022]( — filed paperwork Monday indicating he [may run for state Senate in 2024](. - It would be Diehl's second shot at the Brockton-area state Senate seat, which includes his hometown of Whitman. The seat is currently held by state Sen. Michael Brady, a Democrat who[ won it in a 2015 special election against Diehl](. - Heads up, South Coast: MassDOT is advising drivers entering Rhode Island to prepare for a disruptive highway closure just over the border. Officials abruptly announced yesterday that all I-195 westbound lanes on the Washington Bridge in Providence will be [closed and detoured]( for two to three weeks so crews can make repairs after finding "a critical failure of some bridge components." And so far this morning, the traffic [looks BAD](. - After the detour, westbound traffic is expected to move to two lanes on the eastbound side of the bridge. But permanent repairs could take three months or more to complete. - One of Boston's biggest employers, the financial services company State Street, is laying off 1,500 people this month — a 3.6% cut to its 42,000-person workforce. [According to the Boston Business Journal]( State Street had 7,500 employees in Boston as of 2022, but the company isn't saying how many will be impacted. P.S.— The best way to avoid street sweeping tickets and tows? Sign up for your city's text alerts. [Here's the link]( for Cambridge's reminders for street sweeping days. ([Boston]( and [Somerville]( have them, too.) Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Why a mom turned to supervising illegal opioid use at her home]( In Renae's backyard, people she loves trust that they can use drugs without fear of being raped, robbed or dying after an overdose. Renae keeps watch and revives people, if needed. 10 years ago, Renae couldn't have imagined doing this. That was before her own daughter got addicted to opioids. [Read more.]( [Why a mom turned to supervising illegal opioid use at her home]( In Renae's backyard, people she loves trust that they can use drugs without fear of being raped, robbed or dying after an overdose. Renae keeps watch and revives people, if needed. 10 years ago, Renae couldn't have imagined doing this. That was before her own daughter got addicted to opioids. [Read more.]( [2 top managers suspended at Cannabis Control Commission]( Acting Executive Director Debbie Hilton-Creek suspended chief communications officer Cedric Sinclair and director of human resources Justin Shrader on Dec. 4, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events. [Read more.]( [2 top managers suspended at Cannabis Control Commission]( Acting Executive Director Debbie Hilton-Creek suspended chief communications officer Cedric Sinclair and director of human resources Justin Shrader on Dec. 4, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events. [Read more.]( [Amid deep grief in Lewiston, calls for gun control from victims' families and lawmakers]( As is the case in so many American communities scarred by this kind of carnage, family members of victims have begun calling for stricter gun laws. [Read more.]( [Amid deep grief in Lewiston, calls for gun control from victims' families and lawmakers]( As is the case in so many American communities scarred by this kind of carnage, family members of victims have begun calling for stricter gun laws. [Read more.]( ['Pretty bleak': Waitlist for family shelter tops 200 households after first month]( Two overflow shelters have come online, but advocates said they don't have enough space for all the waitlisted families. That’s left some families sleeping in cars and even outside. [Read more.]( ['Pretty bleak': Waitlist for family shelter tops 200 households after first month]( Two overflow shelters have come online, but advocates said they don't have enough space for all the waitlisted families. That’s left some families sleeping in cars and even outside. [Read more.]( [Air Force disciplines 15 in connection to Teixeira case]( The punitive actions range from relieving personnel from their positions, including command positions, to non-judicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. [Read more.]( [Air Force disciplines 15 in connection to Teixeira case]( The punitive actions range from relieving personnel from their positions, including command positions, to non-judicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. [Read more.]( 👋 We want to get to know you! We have a [super short end-of-year survey]( that will help us better personalize our newsletters to your interests. Please help us out — it will only take 60 seconds or less. Anything Else? - Did CTE contribute to Robert Card's unusual behavior leading up to the Oct. 25 shootings in Lewiston? Maine's chief medical examiner [has sent tissue samples of Card's brain to a Boston University lab that specializes in problems associated with brain trauma]( to better understand the health effects of his exposure to repeated blasts while training U.S. Military Academy cadets about guns and weapons. - Famed filmmaker John Waters is coming to the Berklee Performance Center this weekend for a Christmas-themed, one-man show that he says celebrates "the new sexual revolution." What exactly will it include? Music writer Jim Sullivan [has a preview here](. - Former Tufts professor Sol Gittleman [writes in this commentary for Cognoscenti]( that the outrage at Harvard, Penn and MIT had more to do with anti-intellectualism than concern about antisemitism.  What We're Reading 📚 - Years later, a look at the media’s sins in the Stuart case ([The Boston Globe]( - Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night? ([The New York Times]( - The Patriots are so bad it’s finally OK to campaign in New Hampshire during games ([Politico](  Tell Me Something Good [Skiing Santas hit the slopes in Maine]( Santa’s helpers took the day off to hit the slopes in Maine. With beards and stocking caps flapping, about 300 Santas dressed in red were lively and quick as they took a break from the holiday hustle at the foggy Sunday River ski resort in western Maine to raise funds for charity. [Read more.]( [Skiing Santas hit the slopes in Maine]( Santa’s helpers took the day off to hit the slopes in Maine. With beards and stocking caps flapping, about 300 Santas dressed in red were lively and quick as they took a break from the holiday hustle at the foggy Sunday River ski resort in western Maine to raise funds for charity. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common has [a closer look at the new Boston police union contract]( what it means for policing in the city. 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