The Big Summer News Around Town

While most of you went home or just out of town for the summer, Cambridge and city news stayed behind.

Here's a re-cap.

Embattled Police Force

A number of "serious charges" levied against the Cambridge Police Department prompted several city officials to question the force's leadership this summer.

The department, headed by three chiefs in the last six months, first came under public scrutiny when the lockers of five minority policemen were found painted with the letters "KKK." In August, two charges of brutality were brought against the force, and the Boston Bar Association's civil rights department threatened to sue the city over the department's poor affirmative action record.

City officials, launching investigations into all of the charges, said they hope the recent return to duty of Acting Chief Anthony Paolillo will help to stabilize the department. Paolillo suffered a heart attack only months after taking command of the department.

City Manager Robert S. Healy has asked the FBI to enter the "KKK" case, after an internal investigation failed to turn up any leads. Both city and police officials said they believe the author of the racial slurs is a member of the police department.

Healy responded in reference to the charges over affirmative action that because of budget cutbacks, there are presently no openings in the department Healy added, however, that he has requested Paolillo to devise a hiring plan which includes the affirmative action concerns.

The city council's public safety committee investigated the charges of police brutality, and the committee's chairman. Councilor David Wylie, said a report will be released soon.

Jobs Plan

Troubled by the city's high unemployment rate, but at the same time encouraged by the more than $1 billion in new development projects currently in the works here, city officials began devising a plan which they hope will guarantee Cantabrigians a fair share of the returns from the construction boom.

City Manager Healy, in conjunction with county officials, proposed that approximately 25 percent of new employment opportunities in Cambridge be reserved for Cambridge residents.

But several councilors found that the program lacked a number of needed provisions and sent the planners back to the drawing board.

The councilors were concerned that the city currently has no agency to oversee the employment plan. There is no funding budgeted for the program, and there is no certainty that a hiring quota is legally enforceable.

Councilors said they expect the planners to resubmit their hiring proposal next month.

City vs. MIT

Longtime antagonists are currently gearing up for another campaign in the ongoing war between the city and its universities. This time, however observers predict that Cambridge's main adversary will not be the university based in Harvard Square.

According to Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci, "MIT is now wearing the crown as the biggest land plunderer of the century."

MIT ended its voluntary moratorium on physical expansion this summer and bought eight townhouses in Cambridgeport and a number of other buildings which it had been renting. Both moves drew the ire of city councilors, but it was the purchase of the townhouses that received the most attention.

City Councilor David Sullivan charged that the purchase was illegal under laws governing university housing. To remove any cause for doubt. Sullivan introduced new legislation before the council that tightens codes prohibiting university purchases in residential neighborhoods.

In addition to the dispute over the purchase of the townhouses there were signs this summer of another city-university confrontation. MIT has indicated that it plans in October to choose a developer for 27 acres of its Cambridgeport property.

MIT is expected to build offices for white collar industries including research and development firms and consulting companies. Many neighborhood residents, and five of the city councilors, would like to see low-income housing, a public park, and manufacturing firms located on the property.

Attempts to reach a compromise between neighborhood leaders and MIT, as well as proposals for rezoning of the area, have failed. Under current zoning, MIT has wide discretion over construction on the site.

Dinner with Derek

President Bok served as host in the second week of June when the city's top officials city councilors, school committee members and the city manager gathered for a dinner party with Harvard administrators who formulate the University's policy on Cambridge relations.

The menu included shrimp cocktail and steak, and Bok was careful to insure that meal-time conversation did not stray from social chatter to serious negotiation. Some city councilors complained after the gathering that discussions had been too limited and that University officials would not respond to general questions of policy on broad Harvard-city issues.

The dinner meeting did result in plans to begin a program, utilizing some Harvard resources, for retraining the city's teachers in specialized fields, such as science. There was also talk of forming a standing committee to investigate other avenues of cooperation between Cambridge and its biggest resident.

Old River, New Name

After successfully leading a campaign last fall to change the name of Boylston St. to John F. Kennedy St., Mayor Vellucci moved on to bigger targets this summer, supporting a request for switching the name of the Charles River to the Kwa Na Ha Nee River.

The proposal came as part of a petition by a Concord-based Indian organization, which asked for the use of city property for a regional festival. In return for his backing. Vellucci was promised the title of Chief Little Velvet a loose translation of his Italian surname.

Unfortunately, Vellucci's fellows on the city council could not decide if they had the authority to rename the Charles and postponed any definite action. The request has yet to be reconsidered.

The nine councilors were more sympathetic to the proposal to host an Indian festival and authorized the city manager to make the necessary arrangements. The celebration will be held this weekend at the Cambridge Common and on the banks of the Kwa Na Ha Nee, with a crowd of several thousand expected to attend.

Craigie Relocation

The Craigie Arms Apartments, located at 122 Mt. Auburn St., have been a thorn in the University's side for more than two years, and although Harvard signed a settlement with Craigie tenants in May to end the long-running feud, complaints continued into the summer.

Harvard Real Estate (HRE), which manages the University's property, agreed to relocate tenants in order to make way for extensive renovations.

The tenants complained, however, that HRE was not making enough Harvard housing available as potential relocation sites. They threatened to occupy their Craigie units until new apartments were found.

HRE officials blamed an unexpected shortage of comparable apartments for the dispute.

Unable to get a complete list of vacant apartments from HRE, the Craigie tenants conducted a canvassing of other Harvard-owned buildings with the help of the Harvard Tenants Union. In early August, they presented HRE officials with a list of apartments they had located.

Several additional apartments were added to HRE's list of available housing as a result and most of the remaining tenants plan to move out of the building within the next several days.

State Aid

City Manager Healy received good news in early July when the state Department of Revenue released figures for direct and to municipalities during the current fiscal year. Cambridge tallied a whopping $9 million increase from the previous year.

Coupled with a $750,000 decrease in state fees charged to cities and towns, Cambridge's revenue increase way nearly $10 million.

Healy has yet to present a complete proposal to the city council for spending the additional state funds. So far, the councilors have asked that $335,000 be used to replace a 1 percent tax on rents that had been designed to fund the city's Rent Control Board.

Ware St. Building

An eight month dispute between HRE and tenants in apartments at 9-13a Ware St. continued this summer.

Last winter, HRE asked the rent board for a rent increase to cover the cost of installing energy saving windows in the apartments. Many of the tenants objected to the rent hike, charging that the new windows were unnecessary and overpriced.

Rent Board Hearing Examiner James Packer took testimony in the case on three occasions this summer, and he is currently preparing a report for consideration by the rent board.