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Late-night crash damages Chicopee business
One person was injured after a late-night crash in Chicopee.
Congress Set to Leave Washington for the Midterms With No A.I. Progress
Senate Democrats were expected on Wednesday to block a measure that would encourage, but not require, states to protect consumers from power rate hikes as a result of data center growth.
Congress Set to Leave Washington for the Midterms With No A.I. Progress
Senate Democrats blocked a measure that would encourage, but not require, states to protect consumers from power rate hikes tied to data center growth, and had no limits on A.I. use or deployment.
Senate Democrats block bill to restrict lawmaker stock trading
Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a bill to restrict lawmaker stock trading over objections to new voter ID requirements that Republicans added to the legislation.
How Could Black, Newton Stand Out in Kings Training Camp?
Leaky Black and Tristen Newton battle to bolster Sacramento’s struggling perimeter rotation to accelerate the Kings' rebuild.
City seeks housing developers for vacant North Corktown lots
Detroit is offering the opportunity on 16 lots for 20 homes in the neighborhood near Michigan Central plus $2.5 million through its Small Buildings Program.
Readsboro Glassworks will open its studio to the public
READSBORO — The public is invited to visit Readsboro Glassworks during the Vermont Crafts Council’s Fall Open Studio Weekend, Oct. 3 and 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Carle Health to host Camp Healing Heart
The event features therapeutic sessions interspersed with camp activities, hayrack rides, a climbing wall and arts and crafts.
Connor Wood thinks ‘it’s an act of God’ that he and Rylee Arnold were paired together on “DWTS”
The comedian tells “Entertainment Weekly” that they’ve managed to avoid any crash outs thus far.
Election 2026: Rookie political candidate releases 1st ad, jabs ‘politicians’
(The Center Square) – Jamie Ager’s quest to return North Carolina’s U.S. House of Representatives seat in the southwestern mountains to Democrats goes through Republican state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom.
Democrat Troy Jackson apologizes for Holocaust reference
The Senate nominee’s bid to unseat incumbent Susan Collins (R) is critical to Democrats’ hopes for reclaiming control of the chamber.
Iowa Association of Business and Industry members have postive outlook on the economy
Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) president Nicole Crain says 63% of members still plan to make capital expenditures in the fourth quarter. “We’ve seen that number this year be between 60 and 70%, which is really remarkable,” she says. “That shows that Iowa companies and Iowa manufacturing, they’re investing in their businesses, they’re […]
Hairdressing Is an Art; Let’s Remember It’s Also a Business
Across the country, hair salons are seeing demand for their services grow. And while beauty professionals may have amazing skills as far as their craft, what almost none of them have been taug | L.A. hairstylist, salon owner, and educator Paula Peralta argues that while technical skills may launch a career, business education is what helps stylists build their futures.
J.W. Simpson Library Slates Fall Programming
CRAFTSBURY — J.W. Simpson Memorial Library has new creative programs every other Thursday afternoon for all ages, a Charity and Sylvia book discussion at the Care Center, and an author
Can politicians escape their party’s brand?
Discover how voters perceive the ideological distance between political parties and their own senators. The results might surprise you.
Political forecaster moves open Kentucky House seat rating toward Democrats
Sabato’s Crystal Ball, an election predictor out of the University of Virginia, moved Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District from a “likely Republican” win to “leans Republican.”
Newcastle Democrat says Mills retaliated against her
In response to Crafts’ allegations, Mills’ spokeswoman Anna Parker said many positions are now being left open in deference to the new governor.
LePage calls for federal crackdown on Medicaid fraud
The comments came during a roundtable discussion with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota), who talked about Medicaid fraud in his state.
We are capitalists: US Democrats push back against communist label ahead of midterms
Sixty national, state and local candidates, including 10 sitting members of Congress, have signed a pledge with a new group, Promise to America
Did the craving for mammoth kabobs drive early American migration?
A research team that includes an archaeologist in the Pacific Northwest has a new answer to the question of what kind of food early Americans ate.
Car crashes into Fort Myers printing business on Fowler Street, driver injured
Fort Myers police responded to Royal Crest Printing on Wednesday morning after a car crashed into the business.
Senate blocks measure requiring report on Israeli violence in West Bank
Nearly all Senate Democrats voted to require the State Department to report on Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.
High gas prices have voters switching parties and voting for the first time
Gas prices are reshaping voter attitudes in a longtime Republican Georgia county, with some backing Democrats while others remain firmly loyal to Trump.
Car crashes into wall of Hopkinsville business
Hopkinsville Fire Department crews were on the scene after a car crashed into a building.Fire crews and EMS personnel responded around 9:31 p.m. Tuesday night t
Arkansas governor hopefuls focus on health, education, prisons
Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Democratic state Sen. Fred Love and Libertarian Colt Shelby said they would address affordability, healthcare, education and the state’s prison system if elected governor, but differ in their strategies.
Maine Democrat who rejects special interests previously ran PAC that courted them
Troy Jackson is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a pivotal contest that has been dominated by campaign finance issues.
Newsom and Harris continue circling, may finally collide
The two San Francisco Democrats have spent decades in tacit competition. Newsom said he would defer to Harris in the presidential race. Did he just give her the upper hand?
Democratic lawmakers call for protections over third country deportations after ‘indefensible’ court ruling
Lawmakers say ‘Congress must step in’ after supreme court ruled to allow Trump officials to resume deporting people where their lives could be in danger
Proposal 2 targets political giving by businesses. A court fight is a sure bet.
With Proposal 2 polling strongly, attention is already shifting to an expected constitutional challenge from business interests if voters pass the measure on Nov. 3.
Proposal 2 targets political giving by businesses. A court fight is a sure bet.
With Proposal 2 polling strongly, attention is already shifting to an expected constitutional challenge from business interests if voters pass the measure on Nov. 3.
Virginia Democrats warn more healthcare strains loom after November election
Christina Rivera kept her health insurance this year because she needed major back surgery. But maintaining coverage meant absorbing a monthly premium that rose from $235 in 2025 to $1,336 in 2026 — with a higher deductible. “That’s just not reasonable for anybody who is relying on the ACA for healthcare,” said Riviera, a Charlottesville-area resident and founder of the nonprofit Called to Justice. “I don’t have that sitting around. It’s not in the cushions of the couch.” Small nonprofits often depend on the Affordable Care Act marketplace because reasonably priced group coverage is out of reach, Rivera said. After enhanced federal premium tax credits expired last December, her insurance bill became another financial burden alongside groceries, gasoline and utilities.
Democrats eye Nebraska as an opportunity to take a Senate seat away from Republicans
Democrats hope they might be able to swipe both a Senate and a House seat from Republicans in this solidly red state.
At Cranbrook, high school football is a universal language
Cranbrook football is off to its best start in over a decade. The team is powered by a new coach and a number of international students.
Exclusive: Barack Obama’s hidden hand shaping Democrats’ AI debate
The former president is pushing 2028 Democratic hopefuls to develop specific plans for how to tackle AI — but some of them are wary of antagonizing the industry.
Mideast Emergency Landing
A plane takes off as a flydubai aircraft sits on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo)
Italy business and consumer confidence falls in September
ROME, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Italian business and consumer confidence fell in September, data showed on Wednesday, in a negative sign for the prospects of the euro zone's third largest economy. • National statistics institute ISTAT's consumer confid...
State health officials back mental health first aid training at colleges, universities
By Skye Crawford Key Takeaways: When she was growing up in rural southeastern North Carolina, Alicia Freeman saw people whose mental health and substance use concerns went untreated because her area had very few resources to help them. Freeman, who’s been at UNC Chapel Hill since 2019, said watching her community members struggle is part […]
Borussia Dortmund administrative trio receives contract extensions
Borussia Dortmund have extended the contracts of Carsten Cramer, Lars Ricken and Thomas Treß. At the same time, Cramer has been promoted to Chairman of the Management Board with immediate effect.Cram...
Russia loses irreplaceable Tu-95 bomber in deadly training crash
Six of the seven crew members on board died in the crash in Far Eastern Amur, the defense ministry said.
Live on the Lawn and 2026 Oktoberfest brings lakeside entertainment to Kuttawa
KUTTAWA — Organizers said the 2026 Oktoberfest and Live on the Lawn concert in Kuttawa had a record-breaking weekend, chock full of delicious food, craft beer and live entertainment on
Find holiday decor and more at Autumn Leaves Craft Show
From holiday decorations to handcrafted dulcimers to one-of-a-kind finds, the two-day Autumn Leaves Craft Show has everything you need for a fun fall season. The annual show will be held
Benefit concert at AMB raises nearly $16K for local groups
The DB’s Mountain Summer Jam at Appalachian Mountain Brewery in Boone raised nearly $16,000 for Watauga County Habitat for Humanity and Blue Ridge Conservancy through a three-hour concert featuring local musicians in celebration of two business owners’ 50th birthdays.
Democrats in Congress embrace a more punitive posture toward Israel
Nearly every Democratic senator voted to advance a measure calling for a human rights report on Israel’s conduct in the West Bank, as some in the party propose punishing settlement activity with sanctions.
Midwestern Democrats Eye Rare Gubernatorial Feat in 2026
A group of six states in the region could elect Democratic governors in the same cycle for the first time in history.
Democrats in Congress Embrace a More Punitive Posture Toward Israel
Nearly every Democratic senator voted to advance a measure calling for a human rights report on Israel’s conduct in the West Bank, as some in the party propose punishing settlement activity with sanctions.
Iowa attorney general candidates lay out goals for safety, taking on big corporations
Nate Willems is the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent Brenna Bird.
Science begins for Smile
On 23 September, the European-Chinese Smile mission was declared ready to start revealing how Earth responds to the wind of charged particles from the Sun. This follows a busy in-space commissioning period since the spacecraft launched on 19 May and reached its target orbit for science operations on 20 June.
CAS launches program for breakthroughs at science frontiers
A local worker makes wooden handicrafts at a company in Wangnao village, Funan county on April 14. (Photo/Xinhua) Wangnao village, located in Funan county, east China's Anhui province, encouraged its residents to start a company and make and sell wooden handcrafts in 2019. The company has now p...
Moment of Science: Cassowary headgear glows under UV light, study finds
Shedding some light on a very large bird! Dan Smith shows how ultraviolet light may play a role in helping cassowaries communicate.
Exclusive: N.Y. House Democrats push for delay of state SNAP cost share
The law establishes an up to 15% state contribution rate, depending on the state’s error rate.
Candidates for open NC Court of Appeals seat speak on judicial ethics, recusals
Craig Collins, a Republican attorney, and Christine Walczyk, a Democratic judge in Wake County, are running for an open seat on the court.
The White House Claims Trump’s New Ads Are “Clearly Not Political,” Says Aide
The pre-midterm commercials are “reminding Americans to love their country,” a White House official insists to Vanity Fair, even as both Republican and Democrat lawmakers balk.
Three Biggest Takeaways From Kings Media Day
Kings Media Day took place yesterday, giving Sacramento players an early chance to talk to the media before the new season begins. Virtually all the players spoke about their offseasons, expectations, goals, and mindsets for next year. Three Biggest Takeaways From Kings Media Day Although Media Day lasts only one day and players will always …
Another majority that could be in Democrats’ reach: From the Politics Desk
Plus, AI takes center stage in Washington.
iPhone 18 Pro Owners Complain of Speaker Crackling or Popping
Some iPhone 18 Pro owners have noticed an unusual crackling sound coming from the speaker of the device, leading to complaints on the MacRumors forums and Reddit. Users have called it a crackle, a faint tick or pop, or random clicking. Many say the problem is with the earpiece speaker, and both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max appear to be affected.
E&C package suggests fraud will continue as GOP health care message - Live Updates
Democrats have come after Republicans for Medicaid cuts. Republicans say the cuts were necessary to combat rampant health care fraud.
Cranbrook Institute of Science Names Terry Barclay as New Board Chair
The Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills has named Terry Barclay, founder of Janus Group, as chair of the Institute’s Board of Governors. Barclay succeeds Lee Smith, co-president, co-COO, and […]
Appellate court rejects new rules sought by Brooklyn Democrats
The outgoing chair, Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, unexpectedly bowed out of the race on Monday night.
OSIRIS-REx Full Mission Gallery
OSIRIS-REx is the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid. It returned to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, to drop off a capsule with material from asteroid Bennu. After dropping off the sample capsule through Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX and sent on a new mission to explore asteroid Apophis in 2029. This is a sampling of images and videos from the entire mission.
Homeland Security spending $20M in taxpayer funds for pro-Trump ads
The Department of Homeland Security has tapped $20 million to pay for the campaign-style ads glorifying President Donald Trump that have drawn widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats as a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars that likely runs afoul of anti-propaganda law.
Tahoma High School Biomedical Science and Intro to Acting : VOICE of the Valley
Two very different THS classes — Biomedical Science and Intro to Acting — collaborated last week on a unique, hands-on assignment! Students in this senior-level biomedical class are learning how to triage patients in emergency situations. So, students in the drama class acted as car crash victims — some with injuries, some dead. It was […]
Democrats accuse DiLorenzo of misreporting wealth and campai...
New Hampshire Democrats plan an ethics complaint alleging GOP House nominee Anthony DiLorenzo omitted assets and may have used corporate loans for his campaign....
State Senate Democratic Committee: Robyn Vining earns Recombobulation Area endorsement, highlighting her effective legislative record
MADISON, WI – State Representative Robyn Vining’s campaign for State Senate has earned the endorsement of The Recombobulaiton Area and Dan Shafer. During their conversation on The Recombobulaiton Area podcast, Robyn and Dan highlighted her path to political life, her...
RFK Jr hosts MAHA Summit as business leaders rally to make America healthy again
Jackie DeAngelis reports on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hosting the MAHA Summit. A Steak 'n Shake executive praises the initiative, while Democrat Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El Sayed outlines his proposals.
Proposed aircraft carrier redesign could delay NNS construction
The Trump administration is considering a potential redesign of the nation's aircraft carriers that could cost billions more dollars.
Democratic appropriators accuse White House of using CBP funds for Trump political ads
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee accused the White House of using Customs and Border Protection (CBP) funding to air political ads just weeks out from the November midterm elections.…
AAR bulks up maintenance biz in $1.3B deal
Aircraft parts and maintenance provider AAR is buying a majority stake in competitor MRO Holdings for $1.3 billion.
LA mayor candidates set for forum as city struggles with homelessness, Hollywood job losses
Two Democratic rivals seeking to become the next mayor of Los Angeles are meeting on the same stage just days before mail ballots go to voters.
What to know about America.gov, the Trump administration’s new AI-driven services website
The Trump administration thinks the federal bureaucracy is way too complex for Americans to navigate — and it believes that artificial intelligence can help.
Dungeons II Co-op
Minecraft Dungeons II is out! Learn all there is to know about the game's different multiplayer, co-op modes, and how the team worked to deliver a new type of shared experience!
Poll: Ohio voters' view of Trump declines, Browns leads Husted
A new poll shows many Ohio registered voters don't agree with President Donald Trump's handling of the U.S., and Democrats are leading the state's marquee contests.
NSU STEM Day puts science, technology and more in the hands of area high schoolers
NATCHITOCHES, La. – From flying drones to handling snakes, guiding airplanes, and cracking codes, students from 18 high schools were led through demonstrations, workshops, and guided exploration of all branches
Jasmine Crockett’s PAC released new endorsements. Talarico is still not on the list.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett has stepped back from Texas’s high-profile Senate race since losing the Democratic primary in March.
Will Republicans help Democratic underdog unseat longtime congressman?
Congressional hopeful Eric Jones is testing the theory that voters on the far left and far right have more in common with each other than with Democrats or Republicans.
Newsom signs bills pushing back on Trump's immigration agenda
The more than 20 bills approved by the governor Tuesday were crafted to thwart tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, while others are meant to boost state oversight of federal detention centers in the state.
Federal court will hear if Wake schools wrongly suspended GOP candidate from job
Scott Lassiter charges Wake suspended him as an assistant principal in 2024 to help his Democratic opponent running for NC Senate.
Darren Soto showcases bipartisan support in 6-figure ad buy
A conservative supporter makes a case for the Democratic incumbent — and delivers barbs at Dan Green.
Black politics needs more than better voting maps
The modern voting rights movement has become a tool to preserve the Black politician’s job, particularly the establishment Democrat.
In 'Digger,' Tom Cruise takes a wild swing worth seeing
Tom Cruise has hung off airplanes, performed crazy motorcycle jumps and run around the world for our cinematic entertainment.
Ranked among America’s best science museums in 2026: NASA’s visitor center in Houston lets you touch a real Moon rock and step inside a Space Shuttle replica
Space Center Houston: the NASA science museum where Moon rocks, spacecraft and Candlelight concerts bring space history to life.
Democrats eye hopes of a blue wave in Wisconsin
Democrats see his race as one that could break their way if the blue wave they’re working toward turns into a tsunami.
What to watch in CNN’s California governor race debate
Democrat Xavier Becerra debates Republican Steve Hilton on CNN Wednesday night.
Rob Sand says he Isn't trying to turn Iowa blue. It just might happen anyway.
In a midterms wave fueled by resistance and revenge, the Democratic candidate for governor is singing a different tune.
Rivals for LA mayor set to meet in forum
The two Democrats are scheduled to appear at a forum sponsored by the Jewish Federation LA
MLB wild card schedule: Four Games 1 on Tuesday
The 2026 Major League Baseball postseason is officially underway with four games on Tuesday, all Games 1 of the best-of-3 wild card series. And due to a combination of injuries and some of these teams scrambling to even make the postseason, three of the eight teams involved will use a bullpen game in their first […]
Stand Up for Science to Rally Scientists and Academic Leaders Against Trump Admin's Higher Ed Crackdown
Virtual rally follows 2025 Ed Compact anniversary; calls on university leadership to reject administration’s demands and defend academic freedom.
Stand Up for Science to Rally Scientists and Academic Leaders Against Trump Admin's Higher Ed Crackdown
Virtual rally follows 2025 Ed Compact anniversary; calls on university leadership to reject administration’s demands and defend academic freedom.
Waséyabek prepares 100 acres for development at Holland industrial complex
BLDI and Priority Waste have filled the last remaining space in Waséyabek's Holland industrial property as surrounding land is prepared for development.
Will Republicans help this underdog liberal unseat a longtime Democratic congressman?
As young progressive Democrats across the country successfully unseat older incumbents, one California Democratic challenger is courting Republicans instead
Rivals for LA mayor set to meet in forum as city struggles with homelessness, Hollywood job losses
Two Democratic rivals seeking to become the next mayor of Los Angeles are meeting on the same stage just days before mail ballots go to voters.
Quantum teleportation breakthrough: Scientists crack a 25-year entanglement challenge
Scientists have developed and experimentally demonstrated a long-sought method for identifying W states, an important form of multi-photon quantum entanglement. The technique could make complex entangled systems much easier to measure, opening new possibilities for quantum teleportation, communication, and computing.
Ukraine’s Academy of Sciences warns against Russian cooperation after attack
The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has urged the international scientific community not to “restore or legitimise institutional cooperation with Russian state scientific and educational structures,” after a Russian drone hit its Presidium building in central Kyiv, killing at least two people and injuring several others. The drone strike took place in the early afternoon on September 28 while staff were working.The academy called the strike, one of several Russian attacks on Ukraine’s capital using jet-powered drones in recent days, an act of terrorism. “It is a strike [. . .] on the very idea that knowledge, research, and the search for truth should serve life, not its destruction,” it said in a statement.The academy thanked the global scientific community for its solidarity following the attack and warned against any temptation to normalise scientific relations with Russia.“Science cannot exist outside of moral responsibility. There can be no ‘ordinary scientific cooperation’ with a state that kills people and destroys scientific institutions of another country,” it said.“We urge not to create opportunities for Russian state institutions to return to the international scientific community as if nothing happened. There can be no ‘science beyond politics’ when science is attacked with weapons.”After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe almost entirely cut institutional ties and joint programmes with Russian science, although personal academic contacts are still ongoing.Related articlesRussia widens targeting of European research centresHow geopolitical rifts cut scientific collaborationThe European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA), for instance, continues to exclude the Russian Academy of Sciences from its network.ALLEA condemned the latest attack as a “barbaric act” and part of a broader “systematic targeting of Ukraine’s scientific and cultural infrastructure.” This is a “deliberate attempt to erase the conditions under which free inquiry, knowledge, and democratic life are possible,” it said in a statement.Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 4,650 educational institutions across Ukraine have been damaged, and a further 423 have been destroyed, according to ALLEA.National academies across Europe joined ALLEA in condemning the attack. “Science is about the pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of humanity, so this is an attack on civilisation itself,” said Paul Nurse, president of the UK’s Royal Society.Attacks on scientific, university and cultural institutions “are attacks on the foundations of society and constitute a clear violation of international law,” wrote the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.The presidents of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also released a joint statement condemning the attack and pledging to continue to support the Ukrainian research community.The targeting of the Ukrainian academy prompted outcry from European leaders. “Today, science became a target for Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media.“These strikes are the latest illustration of the Russian regime’s hostile contempt for science and truth,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Awards Over $1.3 Million to North Dakota Universities
The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $1,330,665 to three North Dakota universities.
Brisket is missing from Texas menus. A Democrat blames Republicans.
Vicente Gonzalez releases a new ad connecting high beef costs to the loss of an important South Texas tradition.
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
Lesbian Bar Project Co-Founder: Purity Politics Could Destroy Our Remaining Spaces
Subscribe As a professional lesbian and Massachusetts native, I’ve recently been asked by a lot of folks what I think about the saga unfolding at Last Ditch. The now-viral story, first reported by The Boston Globe, centers on a Western Massachusetts lesbian bar that lifted its mask requirement for one night a week to help drum up business. The decision ignited an intra-queer controversy that has been feasted on by media outlets across the political spectrum—from the New York Post to LGBTQ Nation—and is even reportedly being eyed for a Hollywood adaptation. Apparently nothing is more entertaining than a bunch of lesbians and queers fighting with each other over KN-95s. What has been lost in all of the chatter and media coverage is the very real possibility that Last Ditch, which just opened in April 2025, will have to close its doors. The venue’s one remaining founder, Jackie Matellian, revealed in a community Zoom meeting that she’s working four jobs, is now solely responsible for the bar’s $50,000 business loan and is struggling to keep up with the bills. So as we laugh about the controversy’s similarity to a “Portlandia” skit and how one of the bar’s founders left to enroll in clown school, we forget that yet another lesbian bar is facing an existential crisis—and this time the call is coming from inside the house. In 2020, my friend Elina Street and I created The Lesbian Bar Project, an Emmy-, Webby- and GLAAD Media Award-winning docuseries and initiative that tells the stories of lesbian queer bars around the world. We were moved to act because at the time there were only an estimated 16 lesbian bars in the United States, and the pandemic threatened to bring that number down even further. There are now more sapphic bars than there were just before the pandemic—about 36 of them in total—but this is down from approximately 200 in 1980. Maybe that doesn’t mean much to you, but for the millions of sapphics living in the U.S., this number is calamitous. As the world laughs at lesbians and sapphics, I want to take a second and tell you what I feel when I walk into one of these bars, which are all unique and irreplaceable in their own way: I feel seen. Sometimes I think Cubbyhole in New York City’s West Village neighborhood knew I was gay before I did. When I walked in there for the first time, before I was even out, I was transfixed by the colorful array of tchotchkes hanging from the ceiling and how the women standing next to me were completely unafraid to express their desire for one another. I knew the minute I was ready to come out, I had a home. I also felt the joy of a new couple falling in love at Seattle’s Wildrose, the quiet confidence of a short king lining up her shot at the pool table at Ginger’s in Brooklyn and the kick of cayenne pepper in Julie Mabry’s crawfish at Houston’s Pearl Bar. Subscribe Lesbian bars don’t just serve lesbians; they serve queer folks across the spectrum, including bisexual, pansexual and trans people. As Elina and I traveled across the U.S. and Europe and to parts of Latin America to document the bar owners, staff and patrons that make up the ecosystems of these spaces, we also became uniquely acquainted with the factors that threaten their existence: gentrification, wage gaps, sexism, environmental disasters, gun violence, rising insurance premiums and political administrations working to annihilate queer people and their families. Lesbian bar owners, like all leaders and entrepreneurs, are imperfect. There have been significant issues over the years at lesbian bars: employee harassment, racism, lack of accessibility, sexual assault and transphobia. All bar owners should be held accountable and should listen to their communities to evolve into safer and more equitable spaces. I also acknowledge my privilege: I am able-bodied, white, cis and from a family system that loves me for who I am. Not everyone has that. Queer people, especially trans and bisexual people, are suffering from disproportionately high levels of depression, and our mental health system isn’t equipped to support them. Immunocompromised people and long COVID are real, and many of my friends are suffering to this day. The people with the least safety net are often the ones for whom a bar closing costs the most. And yet, as we’re seeing with Last Ditch, the queer community often lashes out at each other. It’s also the mainstream media taking the internal conflict and making a mockery out of it, distracting from the real possibility that this bar could close due to financial pressures. A bar that many people loved and needed is facing extinction. Perhaps it’s safer to dissent with one another than with the larger forces trying to eradicate us, but in doing so, we risk destroying the few spaces we have left. Due to the constraints of purity politics—some in good faith, some not so much—lesbian bar owners, almost all of whom are queer women themselves, are forced to be everything for everyone, similarly to how women are forced to be everything for everyone. By asking these bars to uphold impossible standards—standards very few other third spaces are asked to consider—we all end up losing. I want to move as a community toward dialogue, compassionate dissent and collaboration to make our spaces better with the goal of keeping them OPEN and thriving, rather than destroying them from the inside with expectations that are arguably unattainable. Subscribe While I have your attention—for this fleeting second of the news cycle—may I urge us to spearhead a way to keep these small businesses afloat without attacking our own community along the way? Bar owners are left with an impasse: They want to be community-centered, but they also have to make money to keep their doors open. Sometimes they might make business decisions that don’t work for everyone—and that’s partly because different patrons have different priorities and want different things—but these owners deserve the opportunity for productive dialogue**.** We have to work with them and with each other to keep our spaces open, to keep them growing. Lesbian bars raised me into the queer woman I am today. One thing I think about as I reflect on the six years of work we’ve done to document these spaces is that shared, unspoken language I have with a stranger the moment we both walk into one of these bars: the nod, the ease, the not having to explain ourselves. I don’t want to lose that, and neither should you. If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button: Donate
New campaign disclosures reveal how much American political campaigns spend on AI tools
Though politicians are quiet about how they use AI, the book Rewiring Democracy examines how AI is starting to influence American politics