Will Dems Support GOP Domestic Violence Registry?

February 2, 2026

Everyone agrees that domestic violence is a scourge on our society. The question before New York state lawmakers this legislative session is whether or not they want to try something new to deal with domestic violence. Two bills (A.9538, S.8932) have been introduced in recent weeks to create a domestic violence registry for repeat offenders. The bills aren’t companion bills, which means there are two completely different proposals floating around the legislature waiting for action. If the bills had been crafted by Democrats one would believe the issue could be ripe for action ...

Safe Streets For All Is A Worthy Goal For City Officials

January 31, 2026

We’ve seen far too many fatal accidents involving pedestrians in Jamestown over the past several years for there to be no attention paid to the issue by city officials. Some may remember Complete Streets, which has been adopted as a lens through which to view public works projects for years now dating back to former Mayor Sam Teresi. Mayor Eddie Sundquist led the city’s adoption of Vision Zero, which built on the Complete Streets framework and landed a Safe Streets for All planning grant. Now, Mayor Kim Ecklund’s newly hired city planner is ready to begin a new push for Safe ...

Republicans Should Stop Trump From Taking Greenland

January 30, 2026

President Donald Trump’s renewed, bizarre obsession with taking control of Greenland — and more to the point, his refusal to rule out using military force to do it — is straining America’s ties with its NATO allies to the breaking point, no doubt to the great cheer of the despots who rule Russia and China. Add to that Trump’s announcement of huge new tariffs against our allies as punishment for their resistance and it’s clear that Americans’ lives could soon become both more expensive and less safe. The Americans potentially facing economic and even military chaos because ...

Gov. Hochul’s Budget Could Get Worse

January 29, 2026

It should say something to Democrats in the state Legislature that Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli already has reservations about state spending in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2026-27 budget proposal. The budget increases all funds spending to $260 billion in 2027 while the state’s operating budget increases to $157.6 billion. Stronger performance on Wall Street is driving higher tax revenue that pays for increased spending on programs Hochul is proposing. Hochul said the budget also replaces $10.3 in federal funding – including $3 billion in recurring federal funding – that has been cut ...

County Dems Plan Is Good Talking Point

January 28, 2026

We don’t expect to see a plan being discussed proposed tonight by legislative Democrats to be taken seriously by Republicans in the Chautauqua County Legislature. It’s pretty early to make such commitments, especially in an environment when federal and state funding for programs used by county residents is in flux. But now is just the time for the legislature to be thinking about the proposal from legislators Bob Bankoski and Tom Nelson. Bankoski and Nelson propose cutting county property taxes by $2 million, increasing the senior citizen partial property tax exemption income ...

Painting The Portrait Of A Very Large Waste Of Time

January 27, 2026

Clymer Central School officials are in the midst of fulfilling the state’s requirement of a Portrait of a Graduate. Released in July 2025, the Portrait of a Graduate is part of the state’s new graduation requirements. The portrait provides a vision of what it means to be a graduate in New York state and describes the skills and dispositions that all students should develop to be successful in college, careers, and civic life, according to the state Board of Regents. Clymer officials recently updated the Clymer school board on the district’s work on the mandate. A survey has ...