A collaborative project between local business including Harvard, MIT and the Polaroid Foundation--and the city of Cambridge has begun efforts to place about 200 Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School students in summer jobs. The three-year old TeenWork program hopes to place the high school sophomores, junior and seniors in mostly clerical and office jobs, according to Director Susan L. Golden.

At its kickott luncheon March 1, Teen Work met with more than 70 representatives of city companies, trying to convince them to hire Teenager for the summer or pay the salary of a student to work in a public sector position Harvard has agreed to hire 12 students in jobs ranging from groundskeeper to office assistant.

TeenWork is sponsored by Cambridge Community Services, an agency whose purpose is to identify problems in the city and propose solutions. "One of the problems we identified was youth unemployment," said Golden. Teenage unemployment in some parts of the state is as high as 50 percent.

In the wake of Governor Dukakis's optimistic announcement of state aid to cities, Cambridge officials have expressed concern that the cherry sheet figures actually disguise a funding decrease.

"The actual net increase is substantially lower than earlier predictions," according to City Manager Robert J. Healy, who is charged with allocating the city budget. Healy said he would have to re-juggle an already tight budget.

In fiscal year 1986 Cambridge will receive a 10.5 percent increase in state aid over the current year. But, coming on the heals of a decrease in state aid to the city's schools and unusually high expenditures for water and sewage services, the increase falls short of the funds projected earlier.

You may already be impressed by the new, cave like Harvard Square subway stop. But there's more to come for art aficianados and general Red Line commuters alike.

Among the permanent subway art exhibits will be a "wall" of stained glass to greet riders of the yet to be completed underground bus line and an 80-foot-long tile mural of traditional New England images. The narrative work "is meant to be experienced as you move along it," said a spokesperson for Arts On The Line.

Arts On The Line, a subset of the Cambridge Arts Council, is coordinating visual arts for the MBTA at the new Harvard, Porter, Davis and Alewife stops.

In a bid to gain a spot for Cambridge in a national publication, Mayor Leonard J. Russel last week announced the guidelines for the first annual Mayor's Spring Photo Contest. The competition is open to any photographer, professional or amateur.

The pictures, however, must be taken on March 20, the first day of spring. "Cambridge is a beautiful city, particularly at the turn of the seasons," the proud mayor said.

A judging committee will choose the winning pictures, which will then be submitted to the U.S. Conference of Mayors for possible publication. The deadline to submit photos, black and white or color, is May 1.

Which Georgetown University senior superstar on the defending national collegiate basketball championship squad recently had a park named after him in Central Square? Who else but native Cantabrigian Patrick Ewing who got his hoop career underway at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.

The newly-named park on Western Ave., located near the Cambridge Police Station, will extend right in front of the Ewing home in the Riverside neighborhood.

Ewing, who won a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, received the honor from his number one lan, City Councilor and State Rep Saundra Graham.

"He makes Cambridge very proud and he deserves it," the proud politician said last night.

Chances are one in 24,000 that the average subway rider could be the victim of a crime on any given day on the Hub's mass transit system, according to MBTA Det. William D O'Connell.

Appearing before the Cambridge City Council last night. O'Connell described security measures on the subway's 50 miles of track extending through 78 cities and communities.

O'Connell said that 107 MBTA police officers protect commuters by driving cruisers from station to station and by making spot checks.

"Cambridge pays over $5 million to the 'T' on a yearly basis," said City Councilor Alice Wolf, adding that she feels the city deserves better police protection.