A study of home mortgage lending in Massachusetts provides yet another window on racial segregation in Massachusetts.
The study, by the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council, found blacks in 2015 received either no home loans or one loan in nearly two-thirds of the 351 Massachusetts cities and towns. In just over 40 percent of the communities, Latinos received either one home loan or no loans. In 86 communities, or a fifth of the total, neither blacks nor Latinos obtained any loans.
Home loans to minorities tended to be concentrated in a handful of communities. Brockton, Boston, Worcester, Randolph, and Springfield accounted for 46 percent of home-purchase loans to blacks. Seven communities — Lawrence, Springfield, Lynn, Boston, Worcester, Revere, and Methuen — accounted for 46 percent of home-purchase loans to Latinos.
Boston shows up on both lists, but even within the city loans tend to be concentrated in specific communities. Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, Roslindale, and Hyde Park accounted for 93 percent of all Boston loans to blacks. Blacks received no loans in eight Boston neighborhoods — the North End, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway, Mission Hill, Allston, downtown, and the South Boston waterfront.
Three Boston neighborhoods — Hyde Park, Dorchester, and East Boston — accounted for 56 percent of Boston loans to Latinos. Latinos received no loans in the Fenway, Mission Hill, North End, and the South Boston waterfront.
The numbers speak for themselves, but the Boston Globe tried to put a face on them by profiling Naomi Cordova, a single mother of Puerto Rican and African-American descent who ended up buying a home in Brockton even though she focused her property search elsewhere initially.
“She dreams of moving to a more prosperous town, with better schools for [her son] and more professionals living next door,” the Globe reports. “At the same time, she doesn’t want to raise her son in a lily-white town — a balance she admits may be difficult to achieve.”
The banking study, which was released four months ago, reveals that the state’s eight sanctuary cities, which are welcoming to immigrants who are in the country illegally, are generally not places where minorities receive many home loans. In Amherst and Newton, only 4 percent of home loans in 2015 went to blacks and Latinos. In Northampton and Somerville, the percentage was 5 percent. In Brookline and Cambridge, the numbers were 5.7 and 6.5 percent, respectively. Blacks and Latinos received 17 percent of the Boston home loans, while the percentage was 53 percent in Chelsea.
–BRUCE MOHL
BEACON HILL
State Sen. James Timilty is leaving the Senate to take over as Norfolk County Treasurer. (State House News Service)
A Herald editorial decries a legislative proposal to increase the deeds transfer fee for all property deals in order to bolster the depleted fund that matches local contributions to the Community Preservation Act.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick meets with State Police officials to plot strategy in response to a spurt of gun-related violence. (Eagle-Tribune) Fitzpatrick also called for the appointment of a special prosecutor. (Eagle-Tribune)
A wealthy Braintree developer has won his appeal in a long-running suit against the town’s Planning Board and a neighboring construction company, whose storage of equipment he says is responsible for the deaths of more than half his goats he raised on his property. (Patriot Ledger)
After a decade running the Hoosic River Revival, Judy Grinnell is stepping away. (CommonWealth)
Cities and towns are grappling with social media policies with an eye on the state Public Records Law and looking for ways to retain online postings to comply with the statute. (The Enterprise)
A judge has issued a restraining order against a Barnstable town councilor who was accused by a roommate of threatening her and obtaining a prescription for OxyContin for her under false premises. (Cape Cod Times)
BOSTON MARATHON
Racing resolve: Peter Gelzinis writes about the spirit and determination of 2014 bombing victim Patrick Downes, who completed yesterday’s marathon on a hand cycle. (Boston Herald) Then there was Staff Sgt. Jose Luis Sanchez, a Marine who lost a leg to an IED in Afghanistan, crossing the finish line waving a huge American flag. (Boston Herald)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
America Rising PAC, the conservative group that dogged Hillary Clinton during her 2014 book tour, says it will do the same to Elizabeth Warren, whose new book, This Fight Is Our Fight, is out today. (Politico)
President Trump’s popularity in Russia has plummeted as well, according to polls there. (U.S. News & World Report)
ELECTIONS
Hillary in 2020? Crazier things have happened, says Joan Vennochi. (Boston Globe)
The state’s Democratic congressional delegation, led by Rep. Seth Moulton, is on a fundraising tear based thanks to a riled up anti-Trump base. (Boston Herald)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
It’s not a headline that’s likely to draw many tears, but Vertex Pharmaceuticals CEO Jeffrey Leiden saw his pay fall 38 percent — to $17.4 million last year. (Boston Globe)
An increase in Greater Boston’s housing supply seems to be tempering rent increases. (Boston Globe) The theory, one pushed by the administration of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, is that an influx of new luxury housing is attracting people who leave behind older units that have helped stabilize the rental market. (CommonWealth)
Democrats are vowing not to work with Trump on a tax overhaul until he releases his tax returns so they can see whether the changes would benefit the billionaire president. (New York Times)
Both Boston magazine and the Boston Globe have big takeouts on CEO Jeff Immelt and the city’s new corporate neighbor that he leads, General Electric.
EDUCATION
The Southbridge school system, which is under state receivership, is preparing a merit-based teacher salary structure for next year. (Telegram & Gazette)
UMass Amherst investing heavily in innovation. (CommonWealth)
UMass Lowell nears the $100 million mark in its $125 million fundraising campaign. Big donors include Roy J. Zuckerberg, Susan and Alan Solomont, and Donna Manning. (Lowell Sun)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
The Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers is a big success, but much of that success has come at the expense of Salem Hospital and Union Hospital in Lynn. (Salem News)
Massachusetts fishing boats are stocking the overdose-reversing drug Narcan on board because of the prevalence of opioid addiction in the industry. (Boston Globe)
TRANSPORTATION
Britt Harter of PwC says the earth isn’t as flat as everyone thought. (CommonWealth)
New York City officials are considering requiring Uber to include a tipping option on its app, which could lead to other markets following suit. (New York Times)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted an exemption to the owners of the Pilgrim power plant from installing safety measures mandated in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011. (Cape Cod Times)
Larry Chretien says Eversource’s electric vehicle proposal is worth pursuing, but notes it has been overshadowed by the utility’s big rate hike request. (CommonWealth)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
Angelo Colon-Ortiz is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in connection with the murder of Vanessa Marcotte, the Princeton woman who was killed while out taking a job eight months ago. (MassLive)
Yusuf Alptekin, a Turk who has been in this country illegally for the last 10 years, was one of five people arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at an appointment in Lawrence where he was taking initial attempts seeking legal residency. (WBUR)
Despite legalization, pot arrests continue in Massachusetts, although most are for distribution not consumption. (Eagle-Tribune)
MEDIA
Dear New York Times: People from South Boston (like famed foodie Barbara Lynch, whom you wrote about on Sunday) can be said to be from Southie. Such an individual is not, however, “a Southie.”
Some interesting thoughts on Globe editor Brian McGrory’s latest memo to the troops on a “digital first” philosophy while trying to retain print subscriptions. (Media Nation)
Channel 25 drops “Fox” from its newscast name. (Boston Globe)