Black business owners and some officials rang the alarm after a 2015 study revealed Boston's wealth disparities — a median net worth of $8 for Black households, compared with $250,000 for white households.

• In 2020, business leaders and politicians statewide vowed to do better.

Why it matters: A follow-up study released Thursday by the Boston Fed suggests those promises remain unfulfilled.

Context: This report isn't an apples-to-apples comparison of the infamous 2015 study.

• For one, the new study, based on a 2025 survey of 5,018 residents, analyzes households across multiple backgrounds in Massachusetts — not just Black and white households in Boston.
• It also measures wealth in Gateway Cities and smaller racial and ethnic enclaves throughout the state.

By the numbers: The median "net wealth" of a white family in Massachusetts was $549,000, while the overall median was $374,000.

• For Hispanic families, it was $1,200, ranging anywhere from minus-$1,400 to $3,800.
• For Black families, the range was even wider, ranging from minus-$7,600 to $23,300. The median was $7,800.
• The data also showed major differences based on college education, homeownership and geography, which affected residents across racial and ethnic groups.

1 stunning stat: More than one-third of all families surveyed said they couldn't cover a $400 emergency expense.

What they're saying: "If your car needs to be repaired, what's the ability for the families in the study to cover that sort of unexpected expense?" says Nicole Obi, president and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts.

• Obi, whose organization was born out of the 2015 study's results, served on the community advisory council for the 2025 study.
• "These real-life scenarios that were included in the study actually demonstrates wealthlessness."

Meanwhile, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce says it is bolstering existing initiatives on housing and small businesses.

Threat level: The findings come as new restrictions to SNAP, tariffs and federal funding cuts take effect.

• That means more middle-income households are joining lower-income neighbors in seeking food supplies and other resources, while the funding for that kind of relief dries up.

Case in point: Just under 17% of families across Greater Boston had zero or negative net wealth, mirroring statewide figures.

Keep reading: What we're watching

A former State House aide is accusing Rep. John Gaskey (R-Carver) of making unwanted advances while she was on the job and later firing her after she rejected him.

Why it matters: The suit, filed by Kayla Churchill, a Republican state committeewoman who worked for Gaskey as his State House aide, lays out a chronology of alleged misconduct.

The other side: "Mrs. Churchill has had some difficult personal circumstances, and she is more or less fishing for money," Gaskey's attorney, Michael Walsh, told Axios. "There is absolutely no basis to any of these charges."

• An investigation by the House's equal employment opportunity officer into Churchill's accusations found in March that Gaskey did not violate the House's rules against harassment and discrimination.

Churchill claims Gaskey invited her on a business trip to Indiana, which she called inappropriate and "a little creepy." Churchill ultimately did not go on the trip.

• Gaskey invited her to swim in his pool, saying, according to Churchill's suit, "'come by for a swim, and bring the kids, or don't,' followed by a suggestive wink."
• She claims Gaskey arrived uninvited to her hospital room after a minor car crash and gave her get-well gifts including bath salts, candles and body lotion.

Churchill says she was terminated in late 2025 after resisting Gaskey's advances, according to the civil complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court this month.

The suit alleges Gaskey made explicit quid pro quo demands tied to Churchill's continued employment.

• Churchill's complaint also alleges Gaskey resented her boyfriend and fired her over the phone when he learned of the relationship.
• "There was definitely no harassment. There was definitely no retaliation," Walsh told Axios.

The intrigue: Churchill claims she was given a $1,000 payment, framed as legal defense money, while she was in a feud among Somerset-area Republicans.

• The filing states Gaskey and his wife gave Churchill the cash to hire a "bulldog" attorney to sue a political rival for defamation.
• Walsh told Axios the $1,000 payment was a personal gift so Churchill could buy Christmas presents for her children.

Go deeper

🤖 Suffolk University will now let students "co-major" in AI. (BBJ)

Police arrested a driver who they say led them on a pursuit down I-93 in Boston, holding a pregnant woman hostage, yesterday morning. (NBC Boston)

🏥 The Codman Square Health Center now has a public health vending machine outside, with free Naloxone nasal sprays and other supplies. (Dorchester Reporter)

A 12-year-old boy was injured Tuesday after falling while trying to "train surf" on a train car at JFK/UMass station. (Boston.com)

ICYMI: Robert Gilman, a U.S. Marine veteran from Lowell, returned to the United States on Tuesday after being held in a Russian prison for four years. (WCVB)

👋🏼 Steph here. Common Craft traded in its caviar and hake pizzaiola for a more approachable selection this summer, as co-owner Tony Messina tells me.

The intrigue: This Southie restaurant, which the James Beard Award-winning chef opened in March, packs surprisingly complex flavors into sandwiches and fried chicken alongside upscale seafood dishes.

Case in point: The "CCFC," or Common Craft Fried Chicken.

• The half chicken takes three days to prepare — dry cured the first day, slow roasted the second and breaded and fried the third day.
• The result? A crunchy, juicy fried chicken in a comically familiar bucket.

Yes, and: The half-pound cheeseburger mixes ground chuck with beef chuck, flank and short rib.

• The meat is seasoned with miso and set in bone marrow.

What they're saying: "We thought it would be the right move to give people what they want more of … something more recognizable and more comforting," Messina says.

Tell a hungry Southie resident

The best views of yesterday's partial solar eclipse were in Europe.

Yes, but: Boston didn't totally miss out, with the moon covering 16% of the sun at 1:55pm, the eclipse's peak.

• A Perseid meteor shower was also visible from Boston last night.