Reversal of fortune

A Harvard Square palm and tarot card reader who allegedly told a customer she would remove a curse for $7,875 in cash is facing a disciplinary hearing this month before the city's License Commission. Cambridge Police filed a complaint with the board, which issues fortune teller licenses, charging Rosita Stevens, manager of Mystic Rosa at 99 Mount Auburn St., with extortion of money and fraud. The customer reported the April incident to police, who say they launched an investigation, recovered the money, and returned it to the customer. The hearing, originally set for June 28, has been rescheduled for July 26, said Ellen Watson of the commission.

Scondras sighting
Former Boston city councilor David Scondras is now a part-time organizer for the Area 4 Neighborhood Coalition, an advocacy group for residents who live in the neighborhood between Central and Kendall squares. Scondras, a district city councilor in Boston from 1983 to 1993, moved from the Fenway section of Boston to Area 4. He is also the founder and president of Search for a Cure, a nonprofit HIV treatment and education agency.

Loft lottery
The city will hold an information session at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave. in Central Square, for income-eligible first-time homebuyers interested in applying for six affordable loft-style condos in West Cambridge. Applicants will be selected by lottery to purchase studios and multibedroom units in the Aberdeen Lofts, located in a renovated two-story brick building off Aberdeen Avenue. The maximum income for one person is $46,300; two is $52,950. The prices are atypical of Cambridge: A 765-square-foot studio would cost $134,000; and a two-bedroom, $161,000. The application deadline is July 25. Call 617-349-4622 for more information.

Light housekeepingNow that the city owns its streetlights, the electrical department this month begins a program to clean and re-lamp neighborhood lights to improve overall lighting and reduce the number of defective lamps, according to city officials. To report a nonworking light, residents should now call the city at 617-349-4925 during regular business hours, leave a voice mail after hours, or send an e-mail to: streetlightrepair@cambridgema.gov. The city's purchase of the streetlights from NStar four months ago was in response to resident complaints about the utility company's repair response times.

MARY HURLEY