Q: Why doesn't Cambridge have an alternative to Comcast, like Fios?

A: As someone also suffering at the hands of Comcast I feel your pain. Competitors are allowed and we would love to have Fios. If any Councillor had the power to bring in Fios they'd be universally revered! Several of us have begged Verizon to bring competition to the city. Unfortunately we're told that Verizon is not interested in doing city by city deals in Massachusetts; only in doing a state wide deal. Also, that was before the economic recession and Verizon’s announcement that they’re not doing any more Fios build outs. Verizon does have DSL service to homes in Cambridge if that's of interest; though I've had complaints about that as well. Additionally, the city is limited in the scope of its negotiation with Comcast by federal law.

Question from Dayna: Hi Leland, Thanks for keeping me on your email list. Glad to see you're keeping it real in politics! Quick question for you - I'm on the board of The Independent Film Festival Boston (which ironically doesn't host the festival in Boston -- Somerville Theatre is the center of the show for them). I was wondering if you had any info on local grants for arts/cultural institutions. The festival has been completely volunteer run over the past 7 years. It goes for almost a week in late April every year, and almost every show is sold out. They reach 30k viewers every year. They're looking to add to their coffers to bring on a full time exec director. I think they're a good candidate for government funding, but I have no idea where to start.

Question: What's going on with the Pacific Street Park?

Question: Where can I learn more about XYZ crime and safety trend in Cambridge?

Question: Dear Leland, is there a city ordinance about these very loud motorcycles? They go up and down Columbia St at all hours and are *extremely* loud. The other day I saw one of them go up and down the street several times. What can be done about them?

Q: I had a question for you. My roommate and I are interested to start a Cambridge health and exercise program involving both parents and kids. We believe that a healthy lifestyle has to be ingrained in a family in order to adequately fight childhood obesity and wholistically improve a community's health! We were wondering if there are any Cambridge initiatives we could apply to for funding, or if you are aware of any state or federal programs we could apply to for a program in Cambridge?