Your Friendly Neighborhood Puppet Master cascadeanalytics.substack.com/p/friendly-n...

Canvass TODAY and TOMORROW for our pro-housing slate! More info and sign up here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Hear from our volunteers in 2023 about why they canvassed. Come join us and share your "Why?" for our next newsletter!

A housing proposal at 84-86 Ellery St, #CambMA was blocked in part b/c architect Eleanor Raymond was born there. In 1981, Raymond said "I grew up alone by myself". "No, the house I grew up in was not important to me. I got out of it just as soon as I could." www.newspapers.com/newspage/436...

Police Planning Places for People: how "stakeholder engagement" inflates reduces livability and increases the cost of affordable housing in Massachusetts open.substack.com/pub/cascadea...

Freudian slip? "Chapter 40B has a long history of succession Massachusetts" - home rule must really be important in some places. www.mass.gov/info-details...

My friend @neilsmiller.bsky.social had this excellent piece published in the Dorchester Reporter on how to get MA's common public benefits app moving. I only just got around to reading it but wish I had earlier! It's very accessible, clear writing on a vital but often wonky topic. Check it out!

Boston cares! @bostonchildrens.bsky.social Blood Center sent out urgent need for platelets yesterday afternoon, and they've been full all day today. Make an appointment to donate: www.bostonchildrens.org/halfpints

@mbta.com @mbtaslowzonebot.bsky.social Shuttles replaced red line through Kendall-- ok, great. But now the train broke at Kendall, my wife and many others are stuck there. It's late, please help everyone get home!

Powerful tour on Underground Railroad and abolitionist history in Boston @ Museum of African-American History. 1854: Bostonians stormed the courthouse where Anthony Burns was being held under the Fugitive Slave Act. May his legacy be a blessing for us today. img: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Burns

An anonymous Trump official said they were ending $100 million in contracts with Harvard. Dozens of outlets quoted them. I did the math, and that's not possible. The most "damage" that can be done to Harvard is half of that amount. New: open.substack.com/pub/cascadea...

New in the Dorchester Reporter's opinion section: @neilsmiller.bsky.social says Massachusetts is way behind on implementing a 2022 law intended to cut paperwork for people applying for public benefits like SNAP. www.dotnews.com/2025/let-s-g...

In 2023, Mass. allocated millions to build a 'common app' for benefits like SNAP and MassHealth. The $ is still sitting there, stuck in contracting purgatory, and the work hasn't even started yet. 10,000s of families eligible for SNAP now go without cascadeanalytics.substack.com/p/friends-wi...

From a new Cambridge-area neighbor. Tired of being devoured? Donate to our pro-housing movement secure.actblue.com/donate/abc20... so the apartments stop hunting you.

open.substack.com/pub/cascadea... Trying something new: a blog based on my 3 years as a gov data scientist, diving into the guts of management policy. First off, five red flags you can recognize in solicitations everywhere, OR, how DOD is spending $40M on a website that makes websites

@cambridgemass.bsky.social has a housing crisis. Yet unaccountable "Neighborhood Conservation Districts" (NCDs) run by the city drastically decrease housing construction and increase down-converted unit losses compared to equivalent parcels outside NCDs. dan-sprague.github.io/2025/03/30/ncd

Central Square was blessed by Keytar Bear last night @universalhub.com @cambridgeday.bsky.social Let's level up Porter Square too. More homes in the square = more neighbors hanging out = more Keytar Bear. Don't let the NIMBYs take this away from you. Keytar Bear in Porter Square! #campaignpromise

Weigh in on the future of Porter Square and North Mass! Inclusionary housing, and all homes, ARE a public good -- let the city know you support at least 12 stories on Mass Ave and 18 stories in Porter by right 🧵

BOSTON! Friday, 5:30 PM, fight back with Federal workers. Rally at the JFK Building to stop the firings and stop the cuts to Medicare and Social Security.

literally nothing can prepare you for this EPA press release www.epa.gov/newsreleases...

I created the Sole Source Spotter to catch waste and corruption in Federal contracting: neilsmiller.github.io/Contract_opp... E.g. the Navy plans to give Leidos a 5-year sole source contract to support air traffic software that Leidos itself developed, continuing a *previous* 5-year no-bid contract

In many ways it's fitting that the showdown between monarchy and democracy ends up being over NYC congestion pricing. Cities are where the power of kings were first challenged, and few things are more fundamental to government than control of public space. The cameras are staying on!

For any procurement pros, housing advocates and transit fans, sharing a proposal I just submitted. 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝘁𝘀: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 lnkd.in/gZ5BFquN This focuses on Federal technology solicitations, but also applicable to planning and transportation RFPs

You did it! On Monday night, City Council ended exclusionary zoning and paved the way for new homes in Cambridge's vibrant neighborhoods. All invited to celebrate at ABC's social TONIGHT 6:30pm, at 730 Tavern in Central Square. There may even be some ABC mugs for sale, to mark this milestone 🥳

I can’t believe it - after years of advocacy, exclusionary zoning has ended in Cambridge. We just passed the single most comprehensive rezoning in the US—legalizing multifamily housing up to 6 stories citywide in a Paris style Here’s the details 🧵

From the debate - democrats need to be fighters. Appointment of the next state Supreme Court judge - a place where we disagreed last night at the debate. I feel strongly that the others were wrong here.

Recap: #YIMBY comments outnumbered opposition more than 2-1. Cambridge, MA poised to re-legalize 4 or 6 stories by-right in #walkable neighborhoods city-wide as multifamily zoning passes with 8 of 9 City Councillors supporting. Another vote on Feb. 10 will finalize the change. #urbanism

Will try to liveblog tonight's Cambridge City Council meeting - hopefully the second-to-last meeting on ending exclusionary zoning. Thread below, follow along: #CambMA

Gentrification in the Central Square Arts District #CambMA