The Waltham City Council at its meeting last week unanimously approved zoning amendments for medical and recreational marijuana establishments, with the amendments allowing dispensaries to operate from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., including Sundays, aligning Waltham’s regulations with state rules.
Valerio Romano, attorney for UMA Flowers Waltham LLC, spoke in favor of the changes, emphasizing the need for consistency in operating hours to avoid confusion for customers and staff. The proposed hours would be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Ward 1 Councilor Anthony LaFauci noted that the amendment would streamline the process for businesses like UMA Flowers, which has been navigating the city’s zoning regulations for years.
Also at its meeting last Monday night, the CIty Council discussed a special permit request for a six-story hotel at 1265 Main St., raising concerns about the building’s height and its potential impact on the surrounding community.
However, the council took no action, noting that the permit request will be reviewed in future meetings.
The council also addressed an amendment to Chapter 17 of the general ordinance concerning parking on private ways. A motion to table the amendment was made, as the city solicitor recommended creating a new ordinance to ensure proper Fire Department access.
Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy highlighted the challenges of regulating private ways and suggested involving the Traffic Commission and police chief to address the matter.
The council will revisit the matter in future meetings.The full April 28 City Council meeting can be seen here.
Armed with an iPhone and a passion for discovering good eats, Emmanuel “Manny” Mervil built a loyal following when he began food blogging on Instagram in 2019.
Under the handle “Everybody’s Gotta Eat,” the Cambridge man posted videos of the meals and drinks he ate at restaurants locally and across the country. He became a go-to source for food recommendations. The account now has 76,000 followers.
Mervil gradually built Everybody’s Gotta Eat into a company that offers catering, marketing services and networking tools. It also hosts pop-up meals and cookouts, runs youth programs and offers resources such as tax help, credit repair, real estate guidance and design workshops.
In December, Mervil established a nonprofit arm of Everybody’s Gotta Eat so he can raise donations to put on community food events and provide assistance to people in marginalized communities. The federal government approved the nonprofit status in December.
“Sometimes we’ll just come out to grill burgers and talk to people – we do it in different communities,” said Mervil, who is 40. “We try to help people and put them in the right direction.”
EGE organizes an annual barbecue that started in August 2020 and features entertainment, vendors and activities for kids. Children get back-to-school supplies, and parents can win prizes.
“They get things that they would need for school like backpacks and sometimes vendors giving away clothes or shoes,” said Manoucheca Lord, 36, the company’s content marketing strategist.
Honoring community service
At the barbecue Mervil presents awards to individuals who stand out for their service to the community. Zina Thompson, founder of Zina’s Hair Salon, received the award last August. She describes her salon – which she has operated for 27 years – as a community space that not only helps clients feel beautiful but connects them with resources that go beyond hair care.
“You don’t just get your hair done,” Thompson said. “If you need a dermatologist, a doctor, if you’re going through something – we’re there to talk to you. So it’s not just about being a stylist. We’re like therapists. That’s how I see it.”
Thompson, who lives in Lynn, was also named “an honorary Cantabrigian” because of how much she gives to the community. She mentors girls with aspirations in entrepreneurship and organizes an annual Thanksgiving Day brunch at the Cambridge Salvation Army.
“We need to help our homeless people, because homeless people sometimes don’t get that meal that we get on the holidays,” she said. “We eat good every day.”
Network of chefs
Everybody’s Gotta Eat has helped provide exposure and growth for those who partner with it. When catering services are requested, Mervil sends out a call to the company’s network of chefs and entertainers, looking for someone to take on the job.
Chef Monte “Busta” Bowens, 52, has grown his business from selling individual plates to catering events with more than 500 guests since joining the network.
“It got me out to a larger crowd,” Bowens said, “because I still was relatively new to catering in Cambridge and new to Massachusetts, so it got my name out there.”
Mervil and some of his team members are part of the Boston XChange program, a nonprofit founded by Celtics player Jaylen Brown that serves underserved communities to grow wealth and celebrate their cultures.
“He’s always striving to make sure that his business is growing and continues to grow and impact people simultaneously,” Lord said.
A savvy businessman
Richard Harding, 52, founder of the Green Soul Cannabis Dispensary, had his grand opening March 28. Mervil played a key role in the event’s marketing and catering efforts.
“He’s a very sophisticated and savvy businessman who understands culture, community and commitment in a way that I haven’t seen in a long time,” Harding said.
Harding has attended several events where Mervil offered services such as catering, organizing and donating food for charitable events.
“I believe he has a limitless amount of talent as it relates to the food world,” Harding said.
Mervil hopes to one day serve his own food from a permanent location.
“We’re thinking about getting into the food truck space and the brick and mortar,” Mervil said, “but we just want to take it one step at a time.”
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism
Fire Chief Andrew Mullin presents a grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to the council. Photo: Vivian Ainomugisha.
The City Council accepted a $17,150 state grant Monday night for the purchase of firefighting and safety equipment.
Fire Chief Andrew Mullin presented the grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security at Monday’s council meeting, noting that funds are in addition to a $135,000 grant received earlier this year. Under the grant, all equipment must be delivered by June 30. The city must approve the grant contract before any equipment can be ordered.
The City Council praised the Fire Department, along with police and EMS, for their work, noting that their response to a four-alarm High Street fire on April 1 “was a perfect example of your department and mutual aid saving people.”
Other CIty Council action
Councilor Sean T. Durkee addresses fellow council members – Photo: Vivian Ainomugisha
In other action at Monday’s meeting:
Councilors discussed possible changes to the city’s regulations on private ways, aiming to address public safety concerns – particularly fire truck access during emergencies. Previous efforts to regulate parking and signage on private ways, such as Stanley Road, were blocked because of legal issues. The proposed changes would allow the Traffic Commission to take action on these matters and improve safety in situations where emergency vehicles struggle to access certain private roads.
The City Council approved street work at 64-66 Orange St. to allow for the installation of water, sewage and gas connections for a new residential building. The existing four-family home will be torn down and replaced, with construction expected to take about three months to complete. Street work will last two to three days, and the entire road will be repaved after the utility connections are completed. Orange Street is a one-way road in a busy area near restaurants and a funeral home. The petitioner agreed to follow city guidelines and use the proper procedures to notify the residents and businesses that will be affected.
The council approved a resolution recognizing World Irritable Bowel Syndrome Day, observed April 17-19, to raise awareness for the disease. “Thank you to the court for showing that although it can be uncomfortable talking about this, it’s important because thousands of Waltham residents, and millions of Americans, suffer from this very serious condition,” said Ward 1 Councilor Anthony LaFauci, who introduced the resolution. LaFauci also cited the importance of the city’s biotech companies in developing breakthrough treatments, including companies such as Ardelyx, which developed an IBS medicine.
This story is part of a partnership between The Waltham Times and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha – Alan Meyers, left, and Tom Johnson protest in a weekly demonstration for Black Lives Matter in Cambridge
A group of Cambridge residents began holding up “Black Lives Matters” signs at a busy intersection in The Port neighborhood every Friday after a white police officer killed George Floyd. Five years later, five of them are still there every Friday.
The protest began when a call for a Black Lives Matter demonstration was sent out on a neighborhood email group, rallying people to gather at Prospect and Broadway.
“Initially there were probably four or five people on each of these four corners, and we kept coming out Friday afternoons,” said Alan Meyers, 75, a retired pediatrician. “The group got whittled down so that now there’s just five of us. We’ve become this little unit.”
A video of Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, sparked national outrage and led to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests calling for justice and police reform. The footage showed Derek Chauvin, a white officer who suspected Floyd of passing a counterfeit bill, kneeling on the African American man’s neck, causing cardiac arrest. Chauvin was convicted of murder and sentenced to 21 years in prison.
The Cambridge residents meet at Prospect and Broadway for 30 minutes on Friday afternoons, holding “Black Lives Matter” signs. They wave and smile at passersby, ready to engage in conversation with anyone who approaches.
“The problem is that, for some people, Black lives don’t matter,” said lifelong activist Tom Johnson, 69, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. “It’s important to keep this in people’s minds, not so that they don’t think it was just a fad or a passing phase of 2020.”
Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha – Susan Bruce flashes this peace symbol to a passing driver as she participates in a neighborhood Black Lives Matters demonstration
Johnson’s passion for activism began at an early age. He recalls attending his first rally at 6 years old, advocating for desegregation after four Black college students started a sit-in when they were denied service at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960. His mother was involved with the NAACP, and his father served as a draft counselor during the Vietnam War. His family maintained a close relationship with Albert Bigelow, one of the original Freedom Riders, activists who fought for desegregation. He said these experiences shaped his lifelong commitment to social justice.
Susan Bruce, 68, joined the group early on at the invitation of another protester.
“I went to the protests in Cambridge in relation to George Floyd being murdered, and I thought, ‘I don’t want it to be like I did a protest and that’s it. Now it’s over. What do I keep doing in relation to this problem that our country has?’” said Bruce, who spent her career in public policy and social science research.
Support and opposition
Drivers passing by honked and offered kind words on a recent Friday. A police officer handed them water bottles, and one woman gave them tea bags. Meyers uses a counter to track honks each week and remembers days when the group got more than 50.
“A couple of weeks ago a guy was stopped at the light he stepped out [of his car] and stopped to yell that he loves us,” Meyers said.
A retired couple – who would not speak on the record, saying they feared for their safety – joined the weekly demonstrations in the summer of 2020, became regulars and have kept showing up, even as the crowd thinned. Now, they stand on the corner, holding signs saying, “Protect and support a multiracial democracy.”
The group has encountered people who oppose their message, some arguing that “All lives matter” and others questioning why a group of white people is advocating for the Black Lives Matter cause.
“One person said, ‘How come you’re all white?’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s mostly who’s in this neighborhood,’” Meyers said. “Black people don’t need to hear this. They already know it all from their life experience. White people need to tell other white people.”
“Power in consistency”
Beena Sarwar, a Pakistani journalist and activist, said she was deeply moved to see a group of older white people advocating for a cause that extends beyond their own community. While she’s not a member of the group, she said she supports their efforts.
“In this day and age of social media, where everything is about standing on a soapbox and making yourself visible, people are all about promoting themselves,” Sarwar said. “They’re not doing that at all.”
Sarwar, who began her activism in Pakistan, has been an advocate for human rights and peace. From resisting the injustices of martial law under Pakistan’s military dictatorship in the 1980s to advocating for cross-border peace initiatives, she has witnessed the impact of supporting a cause.
“There’s power in consistency, integrity and constantly speaking out – in solidarity that transcends borders, boundaries, race and class,” she said.
A group of residents has gathered in the early mornings at daily Somerville High School to hold daily standouts in support of Palestine – the longest-running pro-Palestine protest at a high school in the country. They began in February 2024, paused at the end of the 2023-2024 school year and began again when the 2024-2025 school year started.
Driving change, and waiting for it
While one person or group can’t change the entire system, Sarwar said, they can be an effective part of a movement that drives change. Her father, the late Dr. Mohammed Sarwar, played a key role in founding the Democratic Students Federation, Pakistan’s first student union. The DSF fought for better education, democratic rights and social justice in 1950s Pakistan, inspiring activism.
A commitment to being a voice for change in their neighborhood has kept this group returning to this corner week after week, year after year.
“We’ll be here next week unless there’s no more injustice in the world,” Johnson said.
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
Enactors and guests filled the rooms of the Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds on Saturday for a racy Revolution-themed cocktail party. Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha
“Naughty Newton at Night: Revolution After Hours” followed “Revolutionary Newton,” a family-friendly daytime gathering featuring crafts and games. The cocktail party offered adults a look at 18th-century life, exploring its risqué side, said Historic Newton’s education manager, Allison Pagliaro.
“It is our 21-plus historic cocktail party, where people can learn about life in the 18th century with the more risqué side of things—gambling, drinking, sex and prostitution,” Pagliaro said.
Both events were part of Newton’s involvement with Revolution 250, an initiative to commemorate the events leading up to the American Revolution.
Taverns were a central social space for men in the 18th century, serving as venues for conversation and community gatherings over drinks. At Saturday’s event, Glenn Siner, a history teacher from Rhode Island, displayed spirits such as gin and whiskey from countries like Portugal and Spain, and explained their use in cocktails of that era.
Glenn Siner, a historian from Rhode Island, explains the ingredients included in 18th century cocktails at Historic Newton’s “Naughty Revolution” event on March 15, 2025. Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha
“A lot of people feel like the Revolution was born in the tavern,” Siner said. “Every time you get men with strong opinions and alcohol it leads to fiery reactions.”
Not only did reenactors dress in period costumes, but some attendees also embraced the Revolutionary-era fashion. Guest Debbie Wasson described her look as “the wench in the bar.”
Wasson wore a dark brown and olive green dress with a brown corset top and a green skirt. The outfit was finished with white puffy sleeves, giving it a historical touch. “I thought for this period, this time, this is a perfect outfit,” she said.
She attended the event to support a friend who was one of the organizers and to enjoy herself. To immerse herself in the period atmosphere, Wasson prepared by listening to 18th-century music.
“I went on Spotify and got this music just to get in the mood,” she said. “It was called Tavern Music from the 1700s. It was marvelous.”
Two friends from Newton, Annie Greene and Allison Antonakas, arrived dressed as “Renaissance fairies,” wearing matching outfits—one in pink and the other in green—with winged headbands, unaware that the event had a different theme.
“We were told that it was a renaissance party… so we were wrong,” Greene said. “We love a themed party and knew that it was gonna support Newton in different ways, so we were for it.”
Despite the costume mishap, the two “enjoyed the rum punch” and walked through the exhibits.
Annie Greene and Allison Antonakas attend Historic Newton’s “Naughty Revolution” event as “Renaissance fairies.” Photo by Vivian Ainomugisha
One of the rooms had games for the attendees to play, with cards and colonial-style games like “Tabletop Ninepins,” a bowling-like game played with nine pins and two balls.
Other exhibits depicted bedrooms from that era, women’s fashion and affectionate letters.
Ward 1 City Councilor-at-Large Alison Leary, who was among the attendees, emphasized the city’s commitment to historic preservation and fostering community connections.
“Newton is committed to our historic past and how important it is to understand our history,” Leary said.
While Leary said events like these help raise awareness about historic preservation, she also appreciates the role that they play in bringing people together.
“In the past, people engaged with their neighbors through women’s clubs and in-person events,” she said. “Now, it’s so easy to isolate at home, and that contributes to the loneliness epidemic. Events like these bring people together and help build stronger communities.”
This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
Charles “Muvawala” Bukenya was found alive with signs of torture
In a social media post by Bobi Wine, leader of the National Unity Party in Uganda, shares news about Charles “Muvawala” Bukenya’s abduction.
About a dozen members of a Ugandan political group demonstrated from Copley Square to the State House in red berets on Friday, following the abduction of a key figure in their organization.
Charles “Muvawala” Bukenya — a Waltham resident — was abducted in Nakulabye, Uganda, shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday on his way to withdraw money from an ATM, according to Ugandan news media. He was found alive Friday, according to photos posted on social media. His captors, who have not been identified, dropped him off at a swamp, brutally beaten and scarred.
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“He went on vacation and disappeared,” said Maureen Kalemba, president of the Uganda Boston Community Association. “Before we knew it we were seeing pictures of him bruised and tortured. We don’t know what happened to him.”
Muvawala plays a key role in the Massachusetts Ugandan community as the vice president of the Ugandan North American Association and a member of the National Unity Party (NUP). He traveled to Uganda last month to visit family, according to people at the rally.
NUP members believe his association with the party was the reason behind his abduction.
“They stopped him to put fear into people like us, in the diaspora, maybe to stop us from going there [Uganda],” said Robert Kabuye, an NUP member.
Local pro-democracy activists seek change in Ugandan government
NUP is a Ugandan political party led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. Kyagulanyi, also known by his stage name “Bobi Wine,” is a Ugandan singer, musician, actor, activist and politician. He created the slogan “People power, our power,” which led to the formation of the People Power Movement.
Since its formation in 2017, the People Power Movement has stood for democracy, human rights and reform. The NUP is the political arm of the People Power Movement.
The movement has fought to remove the National Resistance Movement (NRM), led by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, from power. Museveni has been in office since 1986.
The NUP was defeated by the NRM in the 2021 election, leaving Museveni in power until the next election in 2026.
To some Ugandans, that is far too long for any one person to stay in office.
“I’m turning 41 soon, and guess what? This president that we’re talking about has been in power for the last 40 years,” said Marvin Bbale, Massachusetts NUP chapter leader. “My generation is literally gone, you can imagine.”
“But this is the new generation,” he said. “We believe in peace. We believe in freedom for all. We believe in democracy. We believe in human rights. We believe in justice.”
NRM’s opposition associates the party with dictatorship, violence and election fraud. Despite six elections since 1986, no one has succeeded in replacing Museveni.
“Looking at things that are happening back home, there’s a lot of injustice,” Bbale said. “Each time we go into elections, you see the kidnapping and the killing.”
Demonstrators want U.S. to stop aiding Uganda
Others in the Ugandan community say that going back to Uganda has now become a risk.
“We do not have a guarantee that when you go home, you come back alive, or you won’t be kidnapped, or you won’t go missing, or your property won’t also go missing,” said Maureen Asiimwe, also known as Afande Momo, chairperson of the Uganda Boston Community Association.
“I know that when I go home, I may not come back alive, or that something may happen to me, so I decide to stay,” she said. “It’s a decision I have to make on my own for the security of my kids, my parents and my family.”
“But do I have to do that when that is my nation? That’s where I hail from?” she added. “No. So that is what we are coming and standing for.”
Asiimwe said that despite the law saying that they are free to go to Uganda, and that Uganda is free and safe, it doesn’t feel that way at all.
“The example which they have just shown to Charles Bukenya shows us that we are not free, and that is why I’m here today in this protest,” she said.
Being part of this movement comes at a great cost for many, including 33-year-old Habib Male, who no longer travels to Uganda after experiencing repeated acts of brutality.
“I’m a survivor of kidnapping. I’ve been arrested four times in Uganda,” Male said. “I’ve been detained and tortured two times.”
In captivity Male was beaten by batons and hit with a weapon.
He grew up in a household affected by domestic violence and was inspired by figures like Kyagulanyi to become a human rights activist. His passion has driven him to continue resisting oppression.
“The people that inspire me have never given up,” Male said. “I don’t see a reason to give up.”
At the end of the demonstration, Bbale and other group members presented a petition to Senate President Karen E. Spilka and House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano. Their goal is to advocate for the United States to stop sending aid to the Ugandan government, citing the harm it has caused its people.
“We’re scheduled for more meetings,” Bbale said. “We’re going to be coming up, and we’ll get to amplify our message, to stop funding the Ugandan government, our message that Ugandan voices need to be heard.”
This story is part of a partnership between the Waltham Times and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
Robert Kabuye addresses the public on the group’s reason for rallying.
Habib Male, a human rights activist, holds a sign and wears the Ugandan flag in solidarity with Ugandan human rights.
Arnold Nsubuga shouts, “People power, our power,” during a demonstration Friday at Copley Square.
Affordable housing is proposed to replace the parking lot at the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House in The Port neighborhood of Cambridge. Vivian Ainomugisha
A plan to replace the parking lot at the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House nonprofit with affordable housing met resistance Wednesday at a meeting with around a dozen residents, several of whom wondered where the parking would go.
The project, led by the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority and designed by Studio G Architects, would include eight to 12 units at 71 Cherry St. that could be apartments, townhomes or three-story condos. The developers are gathering community input to decide. The homes will be on the back side of the 9,000-square-foot lot facing Pine and Eaton streets, where the CRA hopes to begin construction by 2027.
It would be built under the rules of Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Overlay, zoning intended to make it easier to build affordable housing citywide. The 6-year-old idea to build on the parking lot, with construction once expected to start in 2023, was reintroduced in the spring, bringing this first community meeting.
“The CRA has made a public commitment to deliver at least 20,000 square feet of affordable homeownership housing,” said Kyle Vangel, the redevelopment authority’s director of projects and planning. “And we see this project as a way to deliver some of that commitment that we’ve made here.”
The project’s goal is to provide residents with affordable homeownership opportunities, the CRA says – in a way, a continuation of the work of the Margaret Fuller House to meet the needs of its neighborhood. Built in 1807, it was the childhood home of Margaret Fuller, the first female war correspondent, and has served as a community center since the Industrial Revolution. The Port community has relied on it to host events, a food pantry and recreational activities.
New pantry space and a community meeting facility would be part of the project, the CRA says.
Support and concerns
Neil Miller, 29, a longtime resident of Cambridge who recently moved to The Port, said he is proud of how much Cambridge has done to provide affordable housing opportunities and feels that the addition will be good for the community.
“Cambridge has done so much to encourage affordable housing,” Miller said. “It’s so great that this is taking advantage of the Affordable Housing Overlay to create homeownership for people in my neighborhood.”
Dorothy Lane, who lives near the Fuller house, said she is concerned that the city is putting more low-income housing in crowded low-income neighborhoods where there is a parking shortage.
“I’m 75 years old,” she said. “I work three days a week. When I come home at 7 or 8 I can’t find parking, and that is a concern. It’s just very unpleasant day to day to have to struggle to find parking two or three blocks away.”
The Fuller house parking lot is shared by many businesses in the area. Lane fears that the new units will cause people to look for parking along her street – making it even more difficult for her to park near her home.
Answers through design
She and her neighbors also shared a flurry of other concerns, including the “heat island effect” – higher temperatures in urban areas as trees and other greenery is paved over – as well as safety issues and a rat problem at the food pantry that could be worsened with more population density.
“Our neighborhood has some of the highest percentages of gun violence and shootings in the city,” said Daniel Jeffs, who opposed the lot as a location for the project. “We have a lot of rats from the food pantry, and that has been an ongoing problem ever since I lived here. So my question is, if you’re going to subdivide a lot, how is Margaret Fuller going to expand their food pantry capabilities? If they can’t currently run it on their footprint.”
A Studio G representative said the firm plans to work with the city to address residents’ environmental, safety and parking concerns.
“We’re meeting the city’s main factor requirements, and that is all about cool streets and heat island effect and planting trees,” said Rashmi Ramaswami, Studio G project manager. “Our hope is that by being able to design buildings that have reflective roofs, that have planted areas, in combination with the DPW shared streets initiative, some of those concerns that you have will improve things for the better.”
This development comes as Cambridge continues to change its zoning to create more housing. The Affordable Housing Overlay was updated in October to allow higher affordable-housing buildings by right in squares and along major traffic corridors; a vote this month allows four-story residential buildings to go into areas once limited to single- or two-family homes, and to go up to six stories if buildings include affordable units.
“The city has had success with some affordable homeownership projects in the past, including inclusionary units that are affordable homeownership and larger condo projects,” Vangel said. “But it’s relatively scarce. We’re excited to contribute to the housing ecosystem in the city for a project like this.”
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
This article was originally published on February 21, 2025.
