From Cambridge to Washington

September

15--State Rep. and City Councillor Saundra Graham loses the Democratic primary for a State House spot to Alvin E. Thompson, a little-known truant officer. She announces a "sticker" campaign for the November general election.

20--This week Boston University President John R. Silber proposes parietal rules for the school. Silber will later give up the plan in the face of widespread student opposition.

28--Hazardous chemicals slow development plans on two Harvard Square sites--the Harvard-owned Gulf station property across from the Harvard Union and a multi-million dollar condominium development. The next week, Harvard Real Estate officials criticize the state for the strictness of its environmental clean-up standards.

October

5--City Councillor David E. Sullivan, a popular liberal politician, announces that he will not seek a fifth term on the council. Councillor Graham has already announced that she will not enter the 1989 race, and the two vacancies leave city progressives scrambling to fill the gap.

17--The City Council reviews its 20-year-old in-lieu-of-tax agreement with Harvard, which expires this summer. City administrators begin negotiations on how much Harvard should pay Cambridge for the tax-exempt Peabody Terrace apartment complex and other affiliated housing.

24--A federal judge backs the May 1988 election victory of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. On November 4, Harvard announces that it will not appeal the ruling.

November

8--Election day. Vice President George Bush defeats Gov. Michael S. Dukakis to become the 41st president of the United States. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.) and U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.) both win re-election. In a hotly contested local election, Democratic nominee Thompson beats incumbent Graham by more than 3000 votes. Graham backers vow to contest the election, alleging that Thompson supporters sabotaged the voting machines and removed Graham's write-in stickers from ballots.

16--Benazir P. Bhutto '73--known as "Pinky" to her Radcliffe friends--triumphs in Pakistan's national elections, and is elected prime minister. Bhutto is Radcliffe's first chief of state. She will later be named this year's Commencement speaker.

18--Graham concedes defeat to Democratic nominee Thompson and reiterates her pledge not to seek a post on the City Council next fall. Her supporters call for a recount, saying that they may contest Thompson's election anyway. The recount, held on November 29, confirms Thompson's victory.

December

6--Supporters of Proposition 1-2-3, a measure allowing some tenants in rent-controlled housing to convert their apartments to condominiums, submit a petition with 7000 signatures to the city Election Commission, calling for a ballot referendum. The 1-2-3 proponents have actually collected more than 15,000 signatures, enough to force a special election on the question, but they decide that their chances of victory will be greater in a regular election. On election day, canvassers are paid to collect signatures in support of 1-2-3.

7--A devastating earthquake rocks Soviet Armenia, killing 50,000 and levelling several cities. Cambridge, whose sister city is Yerevan in Armenia, raises funds and sends doctors to the site of the disaster.

9--Mellon Professor of the Humanities William L. Moran and his wife Suzanne plead not guilty to charges that they sexually assaulted their grandchildren.

12--Cambridge landlord Steven Kapsalis begins serving a 58-day sentence in the Billerica House of Correction. He is the first person to be jailed for a violation of the city's rent-control laws.

20--After a six-month nationwide search, the Cambridge School Committee names insider Mary Lou McGrath as the city's 11th school superintendant.

27--Harvard officials order the destruction of the Gulf Station on Mass Ave., seeking to avert the legal hassles that would ensue if the building were allowed to reach 50 years of age. The decision 1993 the contract of City Manager Robert W. oppose Harvard Real Estate's proposal to build a five-story hotel on the land and from faculty members, who have already asked the University to consider using the site for library or office space.

January

3--Governor Dukakis announces that he will not seek re-election in 1990, paving the way for speculation that the Brookline native is contemplating a second presidential run.

5--In an effort to stake out his political identity after his election defeat, Dukakis outlines his goals for the second half of his gubernatorial term. He lashes out at critics of his fiscal policy but offers no concrete plan to rescue the state from its growing fiscal problems. Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn, considered by many to be a top contender for the governership in 1990, announces that he will not be candidate.

13--Cambridge Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci, a fixture of Cambridge politics and one of the architects of rent control, announces that he will not seek re-election to the city council next fall. His departure, along with those of Sullivan and Graham, throw the city's liberal forces into turmoil.

23--After hours of chaotic debate, the City Council votes on a measure allowing a city developer to tear down the University-owned Harvard Motor House and replace it with an office building. Critics of the move argue that the city gave away its rights on the property to Harvard and the developer too cheaply.

February

3--Harvard confirms that it is negotiating with the St. Paul's Parish to buy its rectory and parking lot, the largest plot of undeveloped land in Harvard Square.

13--The City Council votes 7-1 to extend until 1993 the contract of City Manager Robert W. Healy, the city's top administrator. The new contract includes a controversial "buy-out" clause, requiring the city to pay Healy even if the council removes him from his post, and several councillors argue that the move gives the city manager too much power.

16--Kristen S. Demong, the national finance director for Dukakis' presidential campaign, is named president of Harvard Real Estate, succeeding Vice President for Administration Sally Zeckhauser.

March

6--The state House of Representatives begins deliberation of the $12 billion fiscal 1990 budget, with House Speaker George Keverian '53 predicting swift passage.

10--Associate Vice President for State and Community Relations Jacqueline O'Neill confirms rumors that she will leave her post in June.

14--Police order two Black students--Andre L. Williams '89 and Craig A. Cochrane '91--off a University shuttle bus and search them, having mistaken one of them for the perpetrator of a nearby shoplifting. A police spokesperson defends the officers' action.

April

5--The University announces that it paid between $3 and $7 million for the St. Paul's lot and unveils a plan to build 80 units of affiliated housing and a day care center on the land.

10--Hundreds of thousands of people converge on Washington to support women's legal right to an abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment. Harvard sends one of the largest contingents of any college campus.

18--Noah M. Berger '89 is named executive director of the Cambridge Civic Association, a local "good government" political party. Members of the group hope he will help them regain a majority on the council.

22--Transcripts of a radio conversation on the night of March 14 reveal that the police who searched Cochrane and Williams were twice told to look for a white suspect.

29--The two Black students removed from a University shuttle bus by Cambridge police file a complaint with the city's Police Review and Advisory Board. They claim that they were singled out by the police because of their race.

May

3--Dean of the Faculty A. Michael Spence announces that the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will acquire the Gulf station site from Harvard Real Estate.

8--The City Council orders the preparation of a home-rule petition backed by some owners of rent-controlled buildings to decontrol certain apartments as they become vacant. Small property owners in the city say the move will give them protection from wealthier tenants, but rent-control activists say the move would, if passed, cripple the city's affordable housing supply.

16--Prosecutors drop all charges against the Moran's, saying they do not want to emotionally scar the children involved.

22--The city council amends a petition to rezone the eastern end of Harvard Square to include only the Gulf site. Several councillors express support for the new petition.

June

5--The City Council rezones the Gulf site, severely curtailing Harvard's development rights. Harvard threatens to sue.