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Markey dominates Moulton in new Senate primary poll

Sen. Ed Markey holds a massive 28-point lead over Rep. Seth Moulton with three weeks left.

Politics

Fresh poll numbers suggest U.S. Rep. <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Seth Moulton" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/07/08/markey-moulton-debate-massachusetts" data-vars-content-id="a2ead246-14f1-41ba-8f4a-27dab8abac9b" data-vars-headline="Markey dominates Moulton in new Senate primary poll" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/07/08/markey-moulton-debate-massachusetts" target="_self">Seth Moulton</a>&#x27;s attempt to unseat Sen. Ed Markey may be petering out before the Sept. 1 primary election.Why it matters: A new UMass Amherst/WCVB poll shows Markey with a commanding lead over Moulton.<ul><li>The polling gap has widened sharply from earlier surveys that put Moulton <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="within striking distance" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/07/01/markey-moulton-massachusetts-senate-primary-poll-june-2026-uhn-survey" data-vars-content-id="a2ead246-14f1-41ba-8f4a-27dab8abac9b" data-vars-headline="Markey dominates Moulton in new Senate primary poll" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/07/01/markey-moulton-massachusetts-senate-primary-poll-june-2026-uhn-survey" target="_self">within striking distance</a> of the veteran Markey.</li></ul>

Was this Boston's "best summer ever"? It depends on who you ask

Many in Boston profited off of this summer's major events, but it wasn't a win for everyone.

Business

Seven miles south of City Hall, Mayor Michelle Wu convened 17 city officials, business leaders and entrepreneurs in a brewery for a victory lap.<ul><li>A blue sign hanging at the center of the U-shaped table summed it up: &quot;Celebrating Boston&#x27;s best summer ever.&quot;</li></ul>

Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities

While homicides have plummeted in Boston and across the U.S. in 2026, an uptick in aggravated assaults tells a more complicated local story.

News

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Violent crime" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/10/violent-crime-us-cities-trump" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/10/violent-crime-us-cities-trump" target="_self">Violent crime</a> kept falling across many of the nation&#x27;s largest cities through June, with homicides down 17.2% from the first half of 2025, according to preliminary data reviewed by Axios.Why it matters: The decline now spans two presidencies — it began falling under President Biden after the pandemic-era surge, and has kept dropping under President <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Trump" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_self">Trump</a>.Zoom in: Crime in Boston is going down, but violence is getting worse.<ul><li>While the city mirrors the national plunge in murders, overall violent crime ticked up slightly.</li><li>Homicides plummeted 52% in the first half of 2026, dropping from 21 to 10. Reported rapes also fell by roughly 24%.</li></ul>Yes, but: Aggravated assaults jumped more than 7% (from 1,155 to 1,240), pushing the city&#x27;s total violent crime numbers slightly higher than the same period last year, according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Major Cities Chiefs Association&#x27;s (MCCA) survey" data-vars-click-url="https://majorcitieschiefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/MCCA-Violent-Crime-Report-2026-and-2025-Midyear.pdf" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://majorcitieschiefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/MCCA-Violent-Crime-Report-2026-and-2025-Midyear.pdf" target="_blank">Major Cities Chiefs Association&#x27;s (MCCA) survey</a>.Trump came into office casting America as being overrun by crime at a time when the national numbers were already declining dramatically. <ul><li>As that decline has continued during his watch, he&#x27;s taken credit for it, often linking it to his deployment of the National Guard in cities such as Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tenn.</li></ul>By the numbers: An Axios analysis of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="MCCA" data-vars-click-url="https://majorcitieschiefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/MCCA-Violent-Crime-Report-2026-and-2025-Midyear.pdf" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://majorcitieschiefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/MCCA-Violent-Crime-Report-2026-and-2025-Midyear.pdf" target="_blank">MCCA</a> data on 66 large U.S. communities found drops in violent crime in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period last year.<ul><li>Homicides fell 17.2%.</li><li>Robberies dropped 16.6%.</li><li>Rapes declined 6.2%.</li><li>Aggravated assaults fell 5.7%.</li><li>Taken together, the four categories were down about 8.3%, for roughly 14,200 fewer reported violent crimes, according to the Axios review. </li></ul>Zoom in: The homicide drops are especially striking in several cities that have struggled with high levels of violence.<ul><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="D.C" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/26/national-guard-washington-dc-about" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/26/national-guard-washington-dc-about" target="_self">D.C</a>. reported 46 homicides, down 43.9% from 82 in the first half of 2025.</li><li>Homicides in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Memphis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/09/15/trump-national-guard-memphis-chicago-dc-crime" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/09/15/trump-national-guard-memphis-chicago-dc-crime" target="_self">Memphis</a> fell 43.7%, from 119 killings to 67, and 38.3% in Houston, from 154 to 95.</li><li>Philadelphia recorded 83 homicides, down 27.2% from 114.</li></ul>The intrigue: Aurora, Colo. — a city <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Trump falsely singled out" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/10/11/trump-operation-aurora-targeting-undocumented-criminals" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/10/11/trump-operation-aurora-targeting-undocumented-criminals" target="_self">Trump falsely singled out</a> as being overrun by Venezuelan immigrant gangs during the 2024 election — saw a 58.8% drop in homicides.Caveat: Some of the biggest percentage drops came in places with relatively few killings to begin with — which can make the declines look particularly.<ul><li>Newark fell 64.7% from 17 to six homicides, Raleigh fell 63.6% from 11 to four, for example.</li></ul>Yes, but: Some cities had relatively small homicide totals that were significantly higher than in the first six months of 2025.<ul><li>Honolulu jumped 85.7%, from seven homicides to 13.</li><li>San Diego jumped 81.3%, from 16 to 29 — continuing the increase Axios identified in the first quarter.</li></ul>Zoom out: Another major crime tracker is seeing similar trends in declining violent crime.<ul><li>A <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://counciloncj.org/homicide-likely-reaching-a-new-historic-low-as-most-crime-rates-continue-to-decline-at-mid-year/" data-vars-content-id="37f49a48-5bd6-4f05-9f2d-1e90a90b934a" data-vars-headline="Violent crime keeps falling in Boston and biggest U.S. cities" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://counciloncj.org/homicide-likely-reaching-a-new-historic-low-as-most-crime-rates-continue-to-decline-at-mid-year/" target="_blank">Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) analysis</a> found homicides down 18% among 30 reporting cities in the first half of 2026. The group says the decline began in the second half of 2022.</li><li>The finding is notable because crime has fallen across cities with different political leadership, policing strategies, economic conditions and levels of federal involvement, CCJ said.</li></ul>What they&#x27;re saying: &quot;President Trump promised to make America safe again — and the data proves he is delivering faster and more decisively than any administration in history,&quot; the White House said in a statement.

Trump deportations cost Mass. taxpayers $3,200 each on average

Deportations cost one town's taxpayers ten times as much, projections suggest.

Immigration

Massachusetts taxpayers will end up paying over $3,200 each on average for President <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Trump&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" data-vars-content-id="0ee992a2-ce20-4b73-89d7-fd9db211cb71" data-vars-headline="Trump deportations cost Mass. taxpayers $3,200 each on average" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_self">Trump&#x27;s</a> mass deportation push, according to a new calculator tool from the Economic Policy Institute.<ul><li>And taxpayers in one town will pay tenfold. </li></ul>Why it matters: The estimate fuels debate over whether billions of federal dollars devoted to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="deportations" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/15/ice-deportations-us-immigration-trump-biden-2025" data-vars-content-id="0ee992a2-ce20-4b73-89d7-fd9db211cb71" data-vars-headline="Trump deportations cost Mass. taxpayers $3,200 each on average" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/15/ice-deportations-us-immigration-trump-biden-2025" target="_self">deportations</a> should instead fund other public priorities such as food assistance, health care or housing.

White wealth dwarfs that of Black, Latino households, study finds

More than one-third of families said they couldn't cover a $400 emergency expense.

Money

Black business owners and some officials rang the alarm after a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2015 study" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bostonindicators.org/article-pages/2015/october/living-with-a-net-worth-of-$8" data-vars-content-id="f5083c8b-7de9-4c32-a7d6-ce6f06ed24ff" data-vars-headline="White wealth dwarfs that of Black, Latino households, study finds" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bostonindicators.org/article-pages/2015/october/living-with-a-net-worth-of-$8" target="_blank">2015 study</a> revealed Boston&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="wealth disparities" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/08/21/greater-boston-sees-income-inequality-worsen" data-vars-content-id="f5083c8b-7de9-4c32-a7d6-ce6f06ed24ff" data-vars-headline="White wealth dwarfs that of Black, Latino households, study finds" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/08/21/greater-boston-sees-income-inequality-worsen" target="_self">wealth disparities</a> — a median net worth of $8 for Black households, compared with $250,000 for white households.<ul><li>In 2020, business leaders and politicians statewide vowed to do better.</li></ul>Why it matters: A follow-up study released Thursday by the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Boston Fed" data-vars-click-url="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/one-time-pubs/mass-echos.aspx__;!!Al82Z4c!wK13PkaPy3iNTfYYDwzqa6LmUoXLnqXaRQ2xQ63nKiJcDXfxtpjc5ycOHXTXeKldhwleu7WiWNEdQ---_7QzRXJ5f0U$" data-vars-content-id="f5083c8b-7de9-4c32-a7d6-ce6f06ed24ff" data-vars-headline="White wealth dwarfs that of Black, Latino households, study finds" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/one-time-pubs/mass-echos.aspx__;!!Al82Z4c!wK13PkaPy3iNTfYYDwzqa6LmUoXLnqXaRQ2xQ63nKiJcDXfxtpjc5ycOHXTXeKldhwleu7WiWNEdQ---_7QzRXJ5f0U$" target="_blank">Boston Fed</a> suggests those promises remain unfulfilled.

What to know about the 2026 Massachusetts sales tax holiday

The sales tax holiday falls on Aug. 8 and 9.

This weekend is your only chance in 2026 to bypass the Massachusett&#x27;s sales tax.The intrigue: If you know what to look for, you could be in for some hefty savings, like I did when I bought a bicycle a few years back.

Doing Dine Out Boston on a budget

Long gone are the days where customers could try an upscale dinner for under $30.

Food and Drink

Dine Out Boston returns Saturday with nearly 200 restaurants participating.Why it matters: The semi-annual dining event comes as restaurants are hungry for customers — and as some of those <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="would-be customers" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/16/groceries-volumes-decline-prices-bain" data-vars-content-id="1a0a25ea-cb97-4222-b850-66b513a7b1c9" data-vars-headline="Doing Dine Out Boston on a budget" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/16/groceries-volumes-decline-prices-bain" target="_self">would-be customers</a> are tightening their budgets.

Mass. will add 3 pilots to cut T fares, extend summer discounts

The MBTA pilots stand to benefit some bus riders, seniors and passengers who transfer often.

Transit

Massachusetts plans to launch three pilots to cut MBTA fares and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="extend Commuter Rail discounts" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/03/30/commuter-rail-world-cup-tickets" data-vars-content-id="0853ba03-ea32-4073-9372-7d7677a3d7ba" data-vars-headline="Mass. will add 3 pilots to cut T fares, extend summer discounts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/03/30/commuter-rail-world-cup-tickets" target="_self">extend Commuter Rail discounts</a> this fall.Between the lines: Transit leaders are trying to capitalize on the ridership boost they saw during the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="World Cup" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/07/13/world-cup-train-ridership-commuter-rail-amtrak" data-vars-content-id="0853ba03-ea32-4073-9372-7d7677a3d7ba" data-vars-headline="Mass. will add 3 pilots to cut T fares, extend summer discounts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/07/13/world-cup-train-ridership-commuter-rail-amtrak" target="_self">World Cup</a> and Sail Boston.

Poll findings that didn't make the front page

Here's what polled Massachusetts voters really think about AI, return-to-office and more.

Beyond headlines on voters&#x27; attitudes about the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="cost of living" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/16/metro/mass-voters-considered-leaving-suffolk-globe-poll/" data-vars-content-id="6eb3c303-3cf4-4bf1-9fdd-7b0b1ef97bc3" data-vars-headline="Poll findings that didn&#x27;t make the front page" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/16/metro/mass-voters-considered-leaving-suffolk-globe-poll/" target="_blank">cost of living</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="politicians&#x27; popularity" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/16/metro/healey-voter-suffolk-poll-2026-midterm/" data-vars-content-id="6eb3c303-3cf4-4bf1-9fdd-7b0b1ef97bc3" data-vars-headline="Poll findings that didn&#x27;t make the front page" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/16/metro/healey-voter-suffolk-poll-2026-midterm/" target="_blank">politicians&#x27; popularity</a> in Massachusetts, many of the findings from Tuesday&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/16/metro/full-results-poll-of-massachusetts-voters/" data-vars-content-id="6eb3c303-3cf4-4bf1-9fdd-7b0b1ef97bc3" data-vars-headline="Poll findings that didn&#x27;t make the front page" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/16/metro/full-results-poll-of-massachusetts-voters/" target="_blank">Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll</a> got little attention in the paper.Why it matters: The overlooked poll data shows a deeper picture of where Bay State voters stand on AI, remote work and kids in classrooms.

New Día dispensary fights receivership request

A lender alleges the dispensary is behind on several obligations, including $5 million in rent.

A lender asked a Suffolk Superior Court judge to place New Día cannabis retailer into receivership, claiming it has racked up millions in debt. <ul><li>New Día disputes the claims and is fighting the lender&#x27;s request that the court appoint someone to take over the company and its assets.</li></ul>

Massachusetts' electricity bills exceeded national average in 2025

Nantucket had the highest estimated average monthly electric bills in the continental U.S.

Massachusetts residents have some of the highest home electric bills in the country, per a new Axios analysis of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="data" data-vars-click-url="https://electricity.heatmap.news/" data-vars-content-id="c6737cb4-1650-4cbf-b315-71e535e4a340" data-vars-headline="Massachusetts&#x27; electricity bills exceeded national average in 2025" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://electricity.heatmap.news/" target="_blank">data</a> collected and shared by climate newsroom Heatmap News.Why it matters: Tensions over rising energy bills and power-hungry AI data centers are emerging as a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="key political issue" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/05/data-centers-midterms-state-bans-bills-ai" data-vars-content-id="c6737cb4-1650-4cbf-b315-71e535e4a340" data-vars-headline="Massachusetts&#x27; electricity bills exceeded national average in 2025" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/05/data-centers-midterms-state-bans-bills-ai" target="_self">key political issue</a>, and should be a potent force in this year&#x27;s midterms.

Less than 1% of Greater Boston nonprofit revenue helps women of color

Less than 1% of revenue for women's nonprofits went to groups serving women and girls of color.

Less than 1% of the revenue that Greater Boston nonprofits serving women, girls and gender-expansive people reported in 2024 went to groups prioritizing girls and women of color.Why it matters: Those groups&#x27; leaders reported being understaffed, overworked and less supported than other nonprofits, according to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new report" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bostonwomensfund.org/carryingtheweight" data-vars-content-id="d5991ea0-3ceb-4bb3-95e5-94bc39177dd1" data-vars-headline="Less than 1% of Greater Boston nonprofit revenue helps women of color" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bostonwomensfund.org/carryingtheweight" target="_blank">new report</a> from the Boston Women&#x27;s Fund and UMass Boston.<ul><li>The findings come six years after U.S. business, philanthropic and political leaders pledged to address racial inequities.</li></ul>

Coworking can be costly in Boston, but options abound

Coworking companies promise a haven for productivity and community, but it'll cost you.

Coworking companies, large and small, promise a haven for productivity and maybe even community, but it&#x27;ll cost you.The big picture: Boston coworking spaces must balance the cost of doing business in one of the nation&#x27;s costliest real estate markets with members&#x27; tighter budgets.

A choropleth map showing the estimated cost per taxpayer for federal immigrant deportation and detention funding across the U.S. states. The average cost is $2.4k. Washington, D.C., has the highest load, at $3.9k.

Estimated cost per taxpayer for federal immigrant deportation and detainment funding

The cost per taxpayer in Boston is at least $3,988. Data: Economic Policy Institute; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios