Elise Rapoza
@datadrivenelise.bsky.social
Public policy researcher supporting informed decision making in Massachusetts and its Gateway Cities. Walking the walk in my hometown of New Bedford, MA.
Proposed cuts to federal budget could make 11,000 kids homeless in Greater Boston alone through cuts to Section-8 voucher program: commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/...
‘Forewarned is forearmed’ on housing voucher cuts
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Kenzie Bok, head of the Boston Housing Authority, to discuss the threat of President Trump’s budget on rental assista...
commonwealthbeacon.org
June 2, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Proposed cuts to federal budget could make 11,000 kids homeless in Greater Boston alone through cuts to Section-8 voucher program: commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/...
So glad to see this topic finally get some attention. However, the thing I don't think gets enough attention is the role of HMOs in creating sometimes unnecessary paperwork and visits to the PCP #masspoli #healthcare #HMOs #primarycare newbedfordlight.org/massachusett...
Massachusetts seeks to address shortage of primary care doctors - The New Bedford Light
A 25-member task force will collaborate with legislators, the governor, advocates and providers to find consensus on urgently needed policy solutions.
newbedfordlight.org
May 19, 2025 at 5:03 PM
So glad to see this topic finally get some attention. However, the thing I don't think gets enough attention is the role of HMOs in creating sometimes unnecessary paperwork and visits to the PCP #masspoli #healthcare #HMOs #primarycare newbedfordlight.org/massachusett...
81% of Massachusetts voters support legislation to make it easier to build more #housing and offer a greater variety of housing types. commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/vote...
Voters support more action to boost housing, new poll finds
Some 57 percent of voters think that the cost of housing is a "a big problem" in their own communities, according to a new poll conducted by the MassINC Polling Group for Abundant Housing Massachusett...
commonwealthbeacon.org
May 14, 2025 at 2:31 PM
81% of Massachusetts voters support legislation to make it easier to build more #housing and offer a greater variety of housing types. commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/vote...
Reposted by Elise Rapoza
By 2050, severe floods in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts that were expected to happen once every 100 years will be 3x more likely to occur.
More: buff.ly/rR6yIJI
More: buff.ly/rR6yIJI
When the river rises
By 2050, severe floods that were expected to happen once every 100 years will be three times more likely to occur in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts. But the uneven distribution of…
commonwealthbeacon.org
April 24, 2025 at 6:28 PM
By 2050, severe floods in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts that were expected to happen once every 100 years will be 3x more likely to occur.
More: buff.ly/rR6yIJI
More: buff.ly/rR6yIJI
Great profile by Governing Magazine on the revitalization of Lowell, MA. #economicdevelopment #housing #gatewaycities www.governing.com/management-a...
The Revitalization of Lowell, Mass.
After a long economic slump, the post-industrial New England city is encouraging development, filling vacant properties and zoning for more housing.
www.governing.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Great profile by Governing Magazine on the revitalization of Lowell, MA. #economicdevelopment #housing #gatewaycities www.governing.com/management-a...
Important podcast/radio show series on how our education system is failing boys: www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...
Falling Behind: The Miseducation of America's Boys
American boys are falling behind in academics as early as eight years old. It’s a gap that only grows as those boys become men. This special On Point series explores why America’s boys are falling beh...
www.wbur.org
April 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Important podcast/radio show series on how our education system is failing boys: www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025...
Standing room only at event in New Bedford to discuss ADUs. More than half of the audience were actually from the suburbs!! #southcoastplacesforpeople #AffordableHousingAct
April 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Standing room only at event in New Bedford to discuss ADUs. More than half of the audience were actually from the suburbs!! #southcoastplacesforpeople #AffordableHousingAct
It's #climatechange month at Commonwealth Beacon! @cwbeacon.bsky.social Today: "‘Water doesn’t know property lines’: Where Massachusetts’ climate and housing crises meet." #housing @mapoli.bsky.social commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...
‘Water doesn't know property lines’: Where Massachusetts’ climate and housing crises meet
“The state rules have to catch up with the reality of climate change," said Matthew Fee, a Nantucket select board member. "A town road can’t be abandoned if someone’s on it, but what happens when the ...
commonwealthbeacon.org
April 1, 2025 at 3:18 PM
It's #climatechange month at Commonwealth Beacon! @cwbeacon.bsky.social Today: "‘Water doesn’t know property lines’: Where Massachusetts’ climate and housing crises meet." #housing @mapoli.bsky.social commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/...
The potential of places like #NewBedford. "A quarter of the nation lives in smaller cities, which are often overlooked but more affordable, have great assets, and have room to grow." www.cnu.org/publicsquare...
The potential of places like New Bedford
A quarter of the nation lives in smaller cities, which are often overlooked but more affordable, have great assets, and have room to grow.
www.cnu.org
March 26, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The potential of places like #NewBedford. "A quarter of the nation lives in smaller cities, which are often overlooked but more affordable, have great assets, and have room to grow." www.cnu.org/publicsquare...
Great editorial from the @bostonglobe.com on the long journey to #southcoastrail completion and why we need to make it easier to build. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/25/o...
South Coast Rail is great. It is also 30 years late. - The Boston Globe
The new commuter rail service to New Bedford and Fall River is worth celebrating. Still, the fact that it took so long, cost so much, and goes so slowly shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone.
www.bostonglobe.com
March 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Great editorial from the @bostonglobe.com on the long journey to #southcoastrail completion and why we need to make it easier to build. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/25/o...
The new #SouthCoastRail schedule is deeply disappointing. Though I live in New Bedford, I'll probably keep driving to the Middleborough station a majority of the time because there are no departures from New Bedford between 7:25 and 9:33 and school drop off is 7:30 at the earliest. @mbta.com
March 4, 2025 at 10:42 PM
The new #SouthCoastRail schedule is deeply disappointing. Though I live in New Bedford, I'll probably keep driving to the Middleborough station a majority of the time because there are no departures from New Bedford between 7:25 and 9:33 and school drop off is 7:30 at the earliest. @mbta.com
#Homelessness is up across the country, but Milwaukee has bucked the trend through strong county government leadership and collaboration with the business community. www.governing.com/urban/year-a...
Year After Year, Milwaukee Manages to Reduce Homelessness
Over the last decade, Wisconsin's largest county has made dramatic progress in reducing its homeless population.
www.governing.com
March 3, 2025 at 11:10 PM
#Homelessness is up across the country, but Milwaukee has bucked the trend through strong county government leadership and collaboration with the business community. www.governing.com/urban/year-a...
Reposted by Elise Rapoza
Heads up: Nate Silver and I will be doing a live conversation via the Substack app tomorrow at 11 AM New York time tomorrow. Topics will not include sports or poker.
February 26, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Heads up: Nate Silver and I will be doing a live conversation via the Substack app tomorrow at 11 AM New York time tomorrow. Topics will not include sports or poker.
I created a new data tool to access data on #GatewayCity #housing conditions. Check it out here! massinc.org/policy-cente...
Gateway City Housing Profiles - MassINC
The Gateway Cities Housing Monitor is a new resource providing the data needed to make effective housing policy decisions. It tracks housing market conditions in the 26 Gateway Cities and their suburb...
massinc.org
February 25, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I created a new data tool to access data on #GatewayCity #housing conditions. Check it out here! massinc.org/policy-cente...
Rehabbing empty homes can help address the housing shortage while making neighborhoods healthier and safer. www.wgbh.org/news/housing...
Empty apartments across Massachusetts could be key to solving housing crisis
It’s usually a lot cheaper to put vacant housing units back on the market than to build new ones.
www.wgbh.org
February 12, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Rehabbing empty homes can help address the housing shortage while making neighborhoods healthier and safer. www.wgbh.org/news/housing...
Just learned about Rumor Guard. Worth bookmarking: www.rumorguard.org
Become a champion and join the fight for facts.
We need champions like you spreading the word through social media to help push back against misinformation.
www.rumorguard.org
February 7, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Just learned about Rumor Guard. Worth bookmarking: www.rumorguard.org
Reposted by Elise Rapoza
This is pretty wild.
"More people visited the Business Improvement Districts within Manhattan’s congestion relief zone in January than during the same month last year, dispelling some business owners’ fears that the toll would deter visitors to Manhattan’s core..." [Subscription required]
Business foot traffic is up within the congestion pricing zone
A million more people visited the city’s Business Improvement Districts in Manhattan below 60th Street in January.
www.crainsnewyork.com
February 6, 2025 at 2:35 PM
This is pretty wild.
Incredibly well-written article from The New Bedford Light on the plight of the unhoused population in Bristol County and the annual effort to count their numbers. #homelessness newbedfordlight.org/on-a-cold-ni...
On a cold night, looking for New Bedford’s unhoused - The New Bedford Light
The annual overnight census provides a snapshot of New Bedford’s homeless population.
newbedfordlight.org
February 5, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Incredibly well-written article from The New Bedford Light on the plight of the unhoused population in Bristol County and the annual effort to count their numbers. #homelessness newbedfordlight.org/on-a-cold-ni...
Climate change is already impacting New Bedford's fishing industry. If I were them, I'd be more concerned about that than offshore wind. www.wbur.org/the-common/2...
New England’s fishing industry is struggling to keep up with fast-moving climate change
The seafood industry in New England generates more than $20 billion in sales each year and employs more than a quarter million people...but it isn't moving fast enough to meet the challenges of climat...
www.wbur.org
January 24, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Climate change is already impacting New Bedford's fishing industry. If I were them, I'd be more concerned about that than offshore wind. www.wbur.org/the-common/2...
Reposted by Elise Rapoza
Final tally. Pretty clear winner here for top issue.
January 24, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Final tally. Pretty clear winner here for top issue.
Reposted by Elise Rapoza
Are you at MMA / Connect 351? Visit @massincpolling.bsky.social and our MassINC colleagues at booth 424! And vote in our poll on top local issues.
January 23, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Are you at MMA / Connect 351? Visit @massincpolling.bsky.social and our MassINC colleagues at booth 424! And vote in our poll on top local issues.
Something tells me that gathering face-to-face is going to become more important than ever.
A café. A dog park. A gym. A library. A playground. A bar.
We often take these spaces for granted. But third spaces like these are vital to making connections.
Where do you go — outside of home or work — to meet new people?
We often take these spaces for granted. But third spaces like these are vital to making connections.
Where do you go — outside of home or work — to meet new people?
'Third spaces' are a key to fighting the loneliness crisis
A third place is a spot that is not your home or your workplace where you can still have vital social connections and interactions.
www.wbur.org
January 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Something tells me that gathering face-to-face is going to become more important than ever.
A local, well-informed take on the prospects for offshore wind in Massachusetts. Honestly, it kinda seems like New Bedford has a target on its back. newbedfordlight.org/trump-order-...
Trump targets offshore wind, but stopping projects won’t be easy - The New Bedford Light
New leases are halted. Current wind projects face review. But Vineyard Wind and SouthCoast Wind’s 11th-hour Biden administration approvals will be hard to undo.
newbedfordlight.org
January 23, 2025 at 11:37 PM
A local, well-informed take on the prospects for offshore wind in Massachusetts. Honestly, it kinda seems like New Bedford has a target on its back. newbedfordlight.org/trump-order-...
Reposted by Elise Rapoza
From @kevingandrade.bsky.social: New Bedford has more experience than most communities with deportations at scale, but the lack of details about President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plans leaves residents anxious about the tactics and impacts of such an operation. buff.ly/3DqEOiZ
‘It’s not going to be pretty’
On a chilly November evening, the first after a string of 70-degree days, people made their way to a former storefront on Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford’s
buff.ly
December 22, 2024 at 10:03 PM
From @kevingandrade.bsky.social: New Bedford has more experience than most communities with deportations at scale, but the lack of details about President-elect Trump’s mass deportation plans leaves residents anxious about the tactics and impacts of such an operation. buff.ly/3DqEOiZ
OOOooo...they're going to be local.
Save the date: The 2025 Strong Towns National Gathering will take place in Providence, RI, June 9-11! More announcements about speakers and the full agenda coming soon. Tickets will be released in late February 2025.
Visit gathering.strongtowns.org to learn more.
Visit gathering.strongtowns.org to learn more.
December 19, 2024 at 5:32 PM
OOOooo...they're going to be local.