Coming soon: A route with a view

BROOKLINE

Think of the view as you drive into Brookline from the east on Route 9. Lovely and green don't spring to mind? The town aims to change that. On Feb. 13 , the Gateway East Citizens' Advisory Committee presented plans for the intersection of Boylston, Washington, Walnut, and Juniper streets to the Board of Selectmen. Besides more trees and wider sidewalks, the plan would lose the much-tagged concrete pedestrian bridge and several Jersey barriers that block Route 9 jaywalkers. Instead, pedestrians will have a signal and crosswalk. Car traffic may also benefit, according to Selectman Robert Allen , who cochaired the committee with Selectman Gil Hoy . "This is going to beautify the entrance to Brookline," Allen said. The Planning Department is taking bids from contractors interested in doing the work.

It appears School Committee members remain eminently promotable. After a few terms on the board, Frank Smizik ran successfully for state representative in 2000. Now Ruth Kaplan, a lawyer known for her special education advocacy and opposition to the MCAS graduation requirement, has been picked to chair the urban division of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees . The association represents more than 330 school districts in the state.

It's official. Jesse Mermell, library trustee and Town Meeting member, will run for selectman again in May. Mermell came in third behind Robert Allen and Betsy DeWitt in last year's five-way selectmen's race. Active in the Democratic Party and in town politics -- Mermell is also on the Runkle School Council -- she has already secured the backing of Allen, who is chairman of the Board of Selectmen. She is executive director of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus. Other possible candidates for the opening include Jules Levine , a law professor, and Andrew Ghobrial , who is studying criminal justice.

Got a news item for Brookline? E-mail Andreae Downs at ciweek@globe.com. CAMBRIDGE

When filling out housing forms at Harvard, students can check one of two gender choices: male or female. But starting in the fall of 2008 , students may be able to select a third choice: transgender . The proposal comes as part of an ongoing effort to meet the needs of all students.

Wondering why people are snapping photos in front of colorful characters painted and hung in Harvard Square windows? They're trying to win two round-trip tickets on JetBlue as part of the Smile You're in Harvard Square contest, launched by the Harvard Square Business Association . E-mail a digital photograph of you smiling beside one of the drawings to photo10@harvardsquare.com by April 2 to enter yourself in the contest. The winner will be announced in early April .

MIT graduate student Nathan Ball scooped up the 2007 Lemelson--MIT Student Prize for inventing the Atlas powered rope ascender, a device that could allow a firefighter to reach the top of a 30-story building in 30 seconds . The win comes with a $30,000 award , not quite enough to cover the $33,600 tuition for two terms of Ball's graduate study in MIT's mechanical engineering program.

Got a news item for Cambridge? E-mail Janice O'Leary at ciweek@globe.com.

SOMERVILLE

A study examining the feasibility of hotel development in Somerville over the next 10 years has concluded that a market exists for two new hotels along the Route 28 corridor and in Davis Square. Pinnacle Advisory Group of Boston, a hospitality consulting firm, determined that there will also be long-term demand for a hotel around Union Square. The group suggested a 100- to 125-room boutique or select-service hotel, such as Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard by Marriot, or Wingate Inns, in Davis. And it proposed a limited-service hotel, such as Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express, of 80 to 125 rooms for the Route 28 corridor. The mayor's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development is seeking proposals for both areas. The study is available on the city's website at ci.somerville.ma.us.

Union Square Main Streets will celebrate its second birthday on Tuesday. Doug Foy, the former president of the Conservation Law Foundation and former secretary of the Office of Commonwealth Development, will be the featured speaker. Foy, who has assisted Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone in transit-oriented government planning and negotiations at Assembly Square, will discuss how Union Square can leverage its location and future Green Line T stop. A $30 donation is requested. Refreshments and musical entertainment will be provided. The birthday bash starts at 6 p.m. at the Independent, 75 Union Square.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone has put together a draft ordinance that would require people engaged in guerilla marketing to register with the city's police chief and to follow city regulations. The proposal is a response to the hysteria caused last month when battery-powered lighted boards were discovered on bridges and buildings. Somerville public safety units were dispatched twice -- once to help manage traffic after a device was reported in Sullivan Square and again when one was discovered under a McGrath Highway overpass. Curtatone derided the advertising campaign for a show on the Cartoon Network as irresponsible and had threatened an independent lawsuit. Somerville received $69,000 of a $2 million settlement with Turner Broadcasting System. Artists are exempted from the draft ordinance, which has been sent to the Board of Aldermen's Legislative Matters Committee for review.

Got a news item for Somerville? E-mail Kristen Green at ciweek@globe.com.