Portside

Crushing regulations are driving small banks to sell out to the megabanks, a consolidation process that appears to be intentional. Publicly-owned banks can help avoid that trend and keep credit flowing in local economies.

Unless California’s homecare crisis is addressed and workers’ wages are increased, the elderly and people with disabilities will not get the care they require, homecare workers will continue to live in poverty, and the public cost of long-term care will increase.

On her 150th birthday, that leaves us with the question of how to view Curie and her work. It would be wrong to downplay the significance of her scientific discoveries or her equally groundbreaking career, but it’s important not to focus on the temptingly romantic version of her story at the expense of a more clearheaded look at her legacy and what it means to modern science.

After Britain had a mass shooting in 1987, the country instituted strict gun control laws. So did Australia after a 1996 shooting. But the United States has repeatedly faced the same calculus and determined that relatively unregulated gun ownership is worth the cost to society. That choice, more than any statistic or regulation, is what most sets the United States apart.

The demand for fewer working hours is about liberation — both individual and collective.

Landing on the “of the World” part of its (Industrial Workers of the World) name in 1905 was a conscious act of internationalism by a founding convention delegation that contained no small number of immigrants.

Essentially, the only thing that seems to qualify as “highly visible in the data” regarding corporate rate cuts is that they send a lot of money to the top of the income distribution.

From the UK and the US to Yemen, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, Palestine, and Lebanon, the fallout from the Saudi Crown Prince’s “corruption” sweep could be felt across many nations. Mohammed Bin Salman al Saud, the 32-year-old heir apparent, wants to consolidate his authority in Saudi Arabia, and, at the same time, be the kingmaker in other Middle Eastern lands. It is an extraordinarily high-risk strategy, one emboldened personally by President Trump and his son-in-law.

Trump's approval rating is at historic lows for a first-term president, and the party that controls the White House almost always loses seats in midterm elections. The GOP held on to four House seats in special elections this year that took place in red districts, but Tuesday's shellacking at the polls is more in line with how many political observers believe 2018 will shake out.

First Congregational Church has been joined by 13 faith communities in the Amherst area that provide food and support for Perez.