Noise Ordinance Tweak Is Good Policy If It’s Enforced

July 31, 2025

Jamestown City Council members are considering a change to the city’s noise ordinance focused on loud noises from vehicles. Simply stated, if police ticket a vehicle or a driver three times, city police will have the ability to have the vehicle towed and impounded at full cost to the vehicle’s owner. Noise complaints, particularly from vehicles, have been a pretty constant complaint to the council over the past several years. That’s especially true during the summer months. The city isn’t trying to hide its intent, saying in the staff memo included in the council’s agenda ...

Video Of Officer Involved Shooting Captures Peril Of Police Work

July 30, 2025

Video released last week by state Attorney General Letitia James of an officer-involved shooting in Mina earlier this year is graphic, disturbing and not for the faint of heart. It’s also an unfortunately real depiction of police work here in Chautauqua County, particularly when officers are responding to domestic incidents that are all too prevalent here. James on Friday released footage from two body-worn cameras that her office obtained as part of its ongoing investigation into the death of 66-year-old Mark Bemis, who died on June 18 following an encounter with members of the ...

Federal Budget Cuts Shouldn’t Have Been A State Budget Emergency

July 29, 2025

On the surface, one would think state officials would be justified in their consternation over state budget cuts blowing a $750 million hole in New York’s 2025-26 state budget. They’re not. Everyone knew the 2025-26 state budget wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. Between DOGE-driven cuts and what most reasonable people knew was coming in the federal budget bill crafted by President Trump and approved by Congressional Republicans, there was no way prior levels of federal funding for state programs was going to remain in place. New York’s leadership knew this. There ...

Nothing Thrifty About St. Luke’s Thrift Shop Donations

July 28, 2025

Every week, The Post-Journal runs an item in its “Briefly” column with hours for St. Luke’s Thrift Shop. We’ve been running the item for years - and evidently readers and the rest of the community have taken notice. Not only does the shop offer low-cost items to those who need them, it’s sprinkling the proceeds from the shop’s cash box into the community. Last week, the thrift shop board announced $20,000 in allocations to organizations that include the Hope Haven Women’s Homeless Shelter, YWCA’s Legacy House, UCAN City Mission, the New Neighbors Coalition, the Boys ...

Why You Should Care About Chautauqua Institution’s Future

July 26, 2025

What does it mean to those who live here year-round that Chautauqua Institution is making changes to its programs and offerings? Ideally, it means Chautauqua Institution is competing for your entertainment dollar by providing programs that more local residents want to attend. We know a lot of people from Chautauqua County are out attending concerts - but they tend to be out-of-town. While that has always been the case, we have a feeling Chautauqua Institution isn’t grabbing as many of those Chautauqua County entertainment dollars as it used to. That means when Canadian visitors stop ...

County’s Airport Plan Shouldn’t Include Essential Air Service

July 24, 2025

County legislator Bob Scudder asks a good question - what is the county’s plan for the Chautauqua County Airports. “What frustrates me personally is we do these studies and then we put the studies away and we move on,” Scudder said during a recent legislature committee meeting. “It seems like we’re good at just doing the business, what we do day-to-day. … What I’d like to see more is ‘what’s the plan? I’ve never really gotten the plan.’” The plan, every five years or so, is to reapply for an Essential Air Service designation from the federal government. The ...