The survey, conducted for the group by national pollster John Della Volpe, asked about Wu’s job performance, among other topics. Fifty-seven percent of registered voters believe she is doing a good job, while 35 percent rate her negatively.
By The Numbers
Posted inBy The Numbers
Mass. residents don’t support hemp THC loopholes
Those who say they have used or purchased marijuana are slightly more likely to support the sale of the hemp-based products outside of the dispensary system, but more say they still want it to be limited to dispensaries. A substantial majority – 65 percent of respondents – said that legalizing marijuana broadly was the right thing to do in the state.
Posted inEnvironment
When young people think about the climate, despair follows
A new Earth Month poll of middle school and high schoolers across the country found that 72 percent of poll respondents say climate change is already impacting their lives – with 30 percent saying it already has a major impact and 42 percent saying a minor impact – and 53 percent believe it will be a major problem over the course of their lives.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Half of state residents support legalizing teachers’ strikes
State leaders do not seem inclined to change state law to legalize teachers’ strike, but half of Massachusetts residents favor such a move compared with 34 percent who are opposed to a change.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Mass. residents say ‘immigration/migrants’ top issue facing state
Sixty-seven percent of those polled said the migrant situation was either a crisis (28 percent) or a major problem (39 percent).
Posted inBy The Numbers
Mass. residents conflicted on MBTA Communities Act
The poll seems to show a version of “NIMBY” thinking among residents, with most people supporting the broad goal of creating more housing, but a significant number of responders wary of having that housing forced on individual communities.
Posted inPolitics
Mass. poll finds likely voters lean more to Biden, echoing national trends
Joe Biden has a big lead over Donald Trump among voters in heavily Democratic-leaning Massachusetts, but results of a new statewide poll also show some intriguing other trends that mirror national surveys and could shape the outcome of the 2024 presidential contest.
Posted inBallot Questions
Audit-the-Legislature ballot effort sees slim majority support
A slim majority of Massachusetts residents support a potential ballot question that would grant state Auditor Diana DiZoglio the power to probe the inner workings of her former colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature, according to a CommonWeath Beacon/GBH News poll.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Poll indicates young people aren’t betting on sports as much as feared
One year into legalized sports gambling and growing concern about its impact on the young, a new CommonWealth Beacon/GBH News poll doesn’t paint a clear-cut apocalyptic picture.
Posted inPolitics
Majority of Mass. voters believe 2024 election could lead to violence
Massachusetts residents are deeply concerned about the prospect of violence as the 2024 presidential election approaches, according to a new CommonWealth Beacon/GBH News poll, with 72 percent of respondents saying political tensions in the United States are either very bad or constitute a crisis, while 64 percent said it’s either somewhat or very likely that the US will see major violence in relation to the presidential election.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Massachusetts political parties are fading away
If current trends continue, party registration will be so unusual that a young registered Democrat will be an unusual sight and young Republicans will go on the endangered species list.
Posted inOpinion
Debate over Everett soccer stadium shows flaws of decision-making by municipal boundary
Decisions about a possible professional soccer stadium along the Mystic River are being driven entirely by the City of Everett, though plenty of people in adjacent communities live closer to the site than some Everett residents. Does that make any sense?
Posted inOpinion
Is it time to rethink municipal financing?
Newton and communities like it need to look at the way they finance municipal government operations and at least look at some possible alternatives.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Incarceration and crime rates both down sharply since 2018 reforms
Five years after Massachusetts enacted sweeping reforms aimed at reducing incarceration and addressing racial disparities in the criminal justice system, a new study says the state has seen sharp decreases in both incarceration and crime rates.
Posted inBy The Numbers
How do Mass. academic medical centers stack up?
According to an analysis of the data, the 10 academic medical centers in Massachusetts generally performed poorly compared to 200 other peer institutions around the country when it comes to patient outcomes and patient safety, but fared well in avoiding the overuse of certain “low-value” medical procedures.
Posted inEconomy
Mass. springs up the progressive state tax rankings
With the passage of the Fair Share Amendment, or “millionaire’s tax,” Massachusetts is now the seventh most “progressive” state tax system in the country, according to a sweeping new report.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Emergency shelter facilities distributed unevenly across Mass.
A report released earlier this week indicates big disparities among communities in terms of emergency shelter facilities.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Mass. population grows slightly
The Massachusetts population was estimated at 7,001,399 in the latest “Vintage 2023” population estimates from the Census Bureau, an increase of 18,659 people (or 0.27 percent) between July 2022 and July 2023.
Posted inHousing
Yes, building more housing does lower rents, study says
Does increasing the supply of housing, even if it’s mainly higher-cost, market-priced units, temper the runup in costs that has so many residents straining to make ends meet? The idea follows the basic economic principle of supply and demand – when more of something is made available, its price falls. But there are plenty of “supply skeptics” who aren’t convinced that simply opening the housing production spigot will lower costs, and argue instead that it often just drives up prices by promoting gentrification.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Is ‘somewhat safe’ good enough when it comes to transportation?
“Very” and “somewhat” responses are often grouped together, particularly when measuring support or opposition to a policy proposal or a public figure’s approval rating. But when it comes to safety, the question is whether feeling “somewhat safe” getting around is good enough?
Posted inBy The Numbers
Remote work declining, traffic is not
When a new poll for the
Barr Foundation asked those surveyed to name the top transportation issue facing Massachusetts, 39 percent cited issues with the existing public transportation network. That was the clear top item, followed by traffic congestion at 21 percent.
Posted inNews Analysis
Healey polling lower than Baker on transportation
For her handling of the T specifically, about as many gave Healey a D (17 percent), or an F (13 percent) as gave her an A (6 percent) or B (24 percent).
Posted inBy The Numbers
Study finds Boston shoplifting rates up from pre-pandemic levels
With Black Friday signaling the arrival of the holiday shopping season, a new report says shoplifting rates in Boston are up compared to levels before the pandemic, though the city has avoided the spike in retail theft that several major US cities have experienced.
Posted inEducation
Mass. parents split on post-high school plans
When parents of grade-school children consider what those children will want to do after high school, a new poll finds the strongest indicator is the parents’ own resume and bank account.
