‘Art in Public’: Film explores the relationship between creativity and enhancing community

A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville, from Valentine’s R&B show to Hasty Pudding. “Marking Their Place in History” exhibit of Cambridge Black Trailblazers (continued) from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge, and continuing through March 1. Free. Information is here.

Attend meetings in Cambridge Jan. 30-Feb. 5: East Cambridge plans and Gas Light Building. City Council and School Committee joint budget roundtable/working meeting, 5:30 p.m. Monday. Officials look at Cambridge Public Schools’ budget priorities for the upcoming 2024 fiscal year, which begins July 1. This is a remote meeting watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.

Kendall Square is always evolving. At the One Kendall Square complex, where restaurants replaced a firehose factory, gone is The Blue Room, that regal old go-to for casual fine dining, but the Cambridge Brewing Co. persists and so does The Smoke Shack BBQ and Big Dipper Hospitality, a local group that owns the Jewish-styled Mamaleh’s, post-work/post-dinner gathering spot State Park and Vincent’s.

Attend meetings in Somerville Jan. 30-Feb. 5 about rat damage, Davis labs, Porter rezoning. Rodent Issues Special Committee, 6:30 p.m. Monday. Members hear from staff about current rodent mitigation plans and consider residents’ concerns about rodent expenses, including car and home repairs. Watchable by videoconferencing. Intersection reconstruction due. Powder...

Test starting in April tows only repeat offenders for being in the way of monthly street cleanings. Cars in the way of crews on street-cleaning days in Cambridge this spring will now be ticketed $50 for the first two offenses instead of towed immediately. The City Council asked for a plan in December and accepted one Monday from staff saying cars will be towed on a third offense.

Avoid contact with Alewife Brook, Mystic River until Saturday morning, health officials warn. People and pets should avoid contact with the Alewife Brook and parts of the Mystic River through 5 a.m. Saturday due to the release of stormwater mixed with sewage into the brook, the Cambridge Public Health Department said Thursday.

Transportation leader promises better planning as MBTA red, green and orange lines disrupted. Cambridge and Somerville commuters on all three T lines into Boston can expect service disruptions this weekend and in February, with a state transportation official vowing fewer such surprises for riders. Somerville commuters who use the orange...

Traffic circle at Powder House and Parkway becoming a safer T-intersection in project. The northern entrance to Somerville – Powder House Boulevard at Alewife Brook Parkway – has long been identified as a high-crash location. Now, as part of the the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan to end traffic deaths and serious injuries from transportation, the intersection is getting an overhaul.

Review of county’s police-involved shootings show criminal charges for officer are unlikely. Demonstrators protesting the police shooting of Arif Sayed Faisal have called repeatedly for the officer who shot him to be charged with murder. If previous cases are any guide, that is unlikely. Prosecutors in Middlesex County have investigated 12 police shootings in the past nine years and have filed criminal charges against an officer only once, records provided by Middlesex County district attorney Marian Ryan show.