Massachusetts
Is Massachusetts the best state to live in? New national ranking says so. Here’s why
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Which state is the best to live in? Massachusetts takes the cake, a new national ranking found.
Personal finance company WalletHub just released its annual list of the best states to live in, and the Bay State was named No. 1.
WalletHub said the list was compiled based on livability factors, with finances generally being a major component.
“You should also consider a wide variety of other factors, such as how where you live will impact your health and safety, and whether you will have adequate access to activities that you enjoy,” a WalletHub analyst said.
Here’s why Massachusetts came out on the top of the list.
Why is Massachusetts the best state to live in?
WalletHub found Massachusetts is the best state to live in mostly because of the state’s strong health care and education systems.
The state has the lowest premature death rate and the lowest share of adults in fair or poor health. It also has the highest number of residents with health insurance, at 97.3%.
Additionally, Massachusetts has the best school systems in the country, WalletHub found. It also has the fourth-best high school graduation rate in the country, at over 90%.
Other factors that put Massachusetts at the top of the list were that it has the third-lowest property crime rate and the third-best access to public transportation.
Which other New England states are good places to live?
On WalletHub’s 2024 list of the best states to live, New Hampshire was the only New England state other than Massachusetts that made the top ten. It was named the fifth best state to live.
Maine and Vermont came in under the top 20, at No. 14 and No. 19, respectively.
Connecticut was No. 22 on the list and Rhode Island was No. 28.
What makes a state a good place to live?
To determine the best and worst places to live, WalletHub said it compared states based on five different factors: affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life and safety.
These factors were broken down into further categories to calculate scores for each state. For example, in terms of affordability, categories included housing affordability, median annual property taxes, cost of living, median annual household income and home ownership rates.
Scores totaled up to 100 and were weighted to find the average. Higher scores indicated better rankings. Massachusetts’ score was 60.52.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
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Massachusetts
How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?
With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.
So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?
An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.
Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.
While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.
Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.
“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.
GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.
Massachusetts
Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News
EASTON, Mass. (WBZ) — Police body camera video shows an Easton, Massachusetts, officer rescuing a 78-year-old Raynham man from a burning car on Friday morning.
A Mack dump truck was experiencing problems on the side of Turnpike Street just after 2 a.m. when a Ford pickup truck struck the back of it, according to police.
The pickup truck then became stuck under the dump truck, trapping the driver, Francis Leverone, inside. A Toyota Camry then hit the back of the pickup truck and caught fire, police said.
Easton police officer Dean Soucie arrived at the crash and saw that the two vehicles were on fire. Video shows Soucie rushing over before breaking the driver’s side window and then, with the help of the two witnesses, freeing Leverone from the pickup truck. Soucie said he was confused but conscious.
“As I reached inside the vehicle, one of the passersby — he actually jumped into the cab of the truck, and he helped me free the individual,” Soucie said.
They then carried the driver to safety.
Leverone was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to a Boston hospital. He received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
No one else was injured in the crash.
Dee Leverone told WBZ her husband is doing OK. “I’m just thankful for the people that got him out,” she said. “Very thankful.”
After watching the police body-cam video on the news she said, “I was shocked, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I just couldn’t believe it. His truck is like melted.”
She says she realized that something was wrong last night when her husband never made it home from work.
“I kept trying to call him and call him, and I finally got a hold of him at like 4:30 a.m., and he was at (Good Samaritan Hospital) and he told me he’s gotten in an accident,” Dee said.
She says he’s recovering at the Boston Medical Center and being treated for a dislocated hip.
“He’s a trooper,” Dee said. “He’s a strong man — and you know he’s 78, but you know he’s a toughie. He definitely is a toughie.”
Soucie commended the help of the two witnesses and said that before he arrived at the crash, they had attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher and removed a gasoline tank from the pickup truck before it could ignite.
“They jumped into action like it was nothing,” Soucie said. “Those two individuals were absolutely awesome.”
Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said that he is “extremely proud” of Soucie and the witnesses.
“He saved a life last night,” Chief Boone said. “He is an exemplary police officer and this is just one example. I think he’s a hero.”
Turnpike Street was closed for several hours following the crash. Easton Police are investigating.
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