Economy

Somerville, Mass. - Somerville is going through changes. With the Green Line coming soon, the redevelopment of Union Square and new businesses moving into Assembly Square, property values are skyrocketing across the city.

This means that even though the residential tax rate this year is $12.61, slightly lower than last year, most residents will likely end up paying more in their base tax bill.

SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Across Somerville and other Massachusetts communities, labor and community activists, mothers and fathers are knocking on doors and ringing bells, trying to convince their neighbors to vote “Yes” on Question 4 on Election Day.

A new report put out by the University of California at Berkeley’s Labor Center outlines the amount of welfare benefits going to low-wage fast-food workers. The study, "Fast Food, Poverty Wages: The Public Cost of Low-Wage Jobs in the Fast-Food Industry," was released Tuesday. It found that more than half of the families of front-line fast-food workers, earning a median wage of just $8.69 per hour, are using major public programs, such as food stamps or Medicaid, compared to 25 percent of the workforce as a whole.