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Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is adding textiles and mattresses to materials banned from trash disposal. Textiles include clothes, linens, towels, shoes, and accessories, like hats, gloves, socks, underwear, belts, and handbags. Residents can schedule a free mattress and textiles pickup online, or drop-off textiles at 12 locations.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Dr. Stephen Greenblatt—Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, general editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, and the author of fourteen books including The Swerve, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award—for a discussion of his new book Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival. He will be joined in conversation by Neel Mukherjee—author of four novels, including The Lives of Others, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Registration is required.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcomes Nicholas Epley—John Templeton Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and faculty director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business—for a discussion of his new book, A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection. He will be joined in conversation by Daniel Gilbert—Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness, and host and co-writer of the award-winning NOVA television series This Emotional Life. Registration is required.

The application period for Homeowners Rehab Inc. (HRI)’s 29-unit affordable development at 4 Mellen Street in Cambridge is now open. Click here to fill out the application online. Physical applications are available at the following locations: 810 Memorial Drive, #200, Cambridge, MA 02139 City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139 Multi-Service Center, 362 Green St, Cambridge, MA 02139 Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139 Completed applications can be returned to HRI as follows: Online: https://waitlistcheck.com/MA3398 By Email: FourMellen@Wingatecompanies.com By Mail: 810 Memorial Drive, #200, Cambridge, MA 02139 Applications are available from June 1, 2026 to July 31, 2026 at 5 p.m. with a lottery to be held August 13th, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. via Teams. Applicants are not required to attend the lottery. To learn more about the application and lottery process, please attend one of the upcoming information sessions: In person: Thursday, June 11, 2026 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at 810 Memorial Drive, 3rd Floor, Cambridge MA 02139 Online via Teams: Tuesday, July 7, 2026 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Teams Meeting link: https://shorturl.at/BxHwS For more information about this project, please visit https://linktr.ee/FourMellen. For information about eligibility or the application process, please contact HRI at (617) 693-0981or email FourMellen@wingatecompanies.com.

Health Insurance Open enrollment for active City employees and non-Medicare eligible retirees will be held this year from February 10-28, 2025. Please review your current health insurance elections and submit any changes you would like to make via the online portal no later than Friday, February 28, 2025.

This month's book: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus Reading Interests: The group concentrates on fiction and narrative nonfiction. Some past selections include: An Oral History of Atlantis by Ed Park, The Lilac People by Milo Todd, and Searches by Vauhini Vara. How to get the print book: Copies of the print book are set aside at the Main Library. Visit the Main Library Q&A Desk at 449 Broadway during service hours and a staff member can help you check out a copy. How to get the e-book or digital audiobook: This month’s book is available as an e-book and digital audiobook through OverDrive or the Libby app. The e-book is also available through Hoopla. How to register: Registration is not required. For more information, contact Brita (bzitin@cambridgema.gov).

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Robert J. Sampson—Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor at Harvard University, Affiliated Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences—for a discussion of his new book Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans. He will be joined in conversation by Robert D. Putnam—Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy, Emeritus at Harvard University and recipient of the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. Registration is required.

The Boston Festival Orchestra returns to the Cambridge Public Library for the second year of its AAPI Heritage Concert, celebrating the extraordinary breadth of musical voices from Asian American and Pacific Islander composers. This program brings together works that reflect personal history, cultural inheritance, and bold contemporary expression — offering a powerful snapshot of the many ways identity and artistry intersect. Join BFO Artistic Director Alyssa Wang, BFO musicians, and guest artists for an intimate chamber music experience that pairs performance with conversation, inviting audiences to engage with the cultural, historical, and human stories behind the music. This concert continues the BFO’s commitment to amplifying AAPI voices and creating space for meaningful artistic exchange. For registration: https://patron.bforchestra.org/ticketing/bfo/AAPImonth This concert is cosponsored by the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library.

This event was rescheduled from May 22 and will now take place on May 28. The new king Charles II sent royal commissioners to New England in 1664 in order to pressure colonists into compliance with his metropolitan agenda. When these royal commissioners tried to claim full authority over local courts and militias, Cambridge inhabitants were among the first to act in defiance. Their grassroots petition campaign drew on the experience of the English civil wars and pointed the way forward to the American Revolution. Adrian Chastain Weimer is a Professor of History at Providence College and is currently a Long-term Fellow at the John Carter Brown Library. She is the author of A Constitutional Culture: New England and the Struggle against Arbitrary Rule in the Restoration Empire (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023) and Martyrs' Mirror: Persecution and Holiness in Early New England (Oxford University Press, 2011).

This month's book: An Oral History of Atlantis: Stories by Ed Park Reading Interests: The group concentrates on fiction and narrative nonfiction. Some past selections include: Colored Television by Danzy Senna, Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters, and Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang. How to get the print book: Copies of the print book are set aside at the Main Library. Visit the Main Library Q&A Desk at 449 Broadway during service hours and a staff member can help you check out a copy. How to get the e-book or digital audiobook: This month’s book is available as an e-book and digital audiobook through OverDrive or the Libby app. Registration is not required. For more information, contact Brita (bzitin@cambridgema.gov).