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In Our Opinion

Repealing Arcane Gas Hookup Rule Could Have Big Impacts

What, you may ask, is the 100-foot rule and why are Republicans making such a big stink about Democrats’ move to repeal it? In a nutshell, New York’s “100-foot rule,” passed in 1986, prohibited utility companies from charging individual customers for the cost of a new gas service as long as the new customer was within 100 feet of an existing gas line. It’s a rule reflective of its era in time. New York lawmakers and utility regulators were trying to encourage homeowners to move from coal furnaces to natural gas because it was a cleaner source of heat, and regulators didn’t ...

Do We Support Job Corps, Or Its Mission?

There is a crucial question that needs to be answered as debate continues over the fate of the federal Job Corps program - do we support the Job Corps or its mission? It’s an important distinction to make. There is only one outcome for those who support the Job Corps as it is currently constituted. But for those who support the Job Corps’ mission, there are options worth considering that could allow the mission to continue even if the buildings are no longer used. Take, for example, the village of Cassadaga. It supports the Job Corps in part because the federal entity is a ...

County’s Shared Services Push Needs More Than Money

Twice in recent weeks we’ve seen shared services agreements come to an end. The first was a note that North Harmony was ending its agreement to share an assessor and code enforcement officer with the town of Busti. Then, it was learned Chautauqua and Mayville are ending a shared code enforcement officer over conduct by Mavyille’s mayor that Chautauqua town officials said is inappropriate. These aren’t the first times locally driven shared services agreements have come to an end and we’re sure they won’t be the last. But the ebb and flow of these types of agreements makes ...

Faith Community Makes Its Mark In Big And Small Ways

Many area residents, we’re sure, don’t understand everything the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints espouses. We’re sure, however, that the church does good work in the community - and that’s something everyone should be able to get behind. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has again come through in a big way for the St. Susan Center, delivering 30,000 pounds of food and goods to the soup kitchen, which also functions as a resupply hub for more than 10 food pantries in the area. Members of the local congregation applied to the home church in Utah, ...

It’s Easier To Remove Domestic Abusers Than All Weapons From A Home

Gov. Kathy Hochul will have a choice to make later this summer when she reviews A.544B/S.1985. It’s hard to argue, given our shared history with domestic abuse cases, that seizing weapons in these instances isn’t a smart thing to do in certain situations. The legislation requires a firearm, rifle, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun, disguised gun, imitation weapon, shotgun, antique firearm, black powder rifle, black powder shotgun, or muzzle-loading firearm that is found in plain sight or pursuant to a lawful search be seized. Weapons could be seized if the victim responds ...

City Residents Should Pay Attention To Dunkirk’s Mess

Jamestown residents - and some of their elected officials, too - should be paying close attention to the ongoing Dunkirk fiscal crisis. Our sister paper, the Dunkirk OBSERVER, has documented the growing mess over the past several years. Dunkirk took a hit when the NRG power plant closed and took a large chunk of the city’s revenue, in the form of PILOT payments, with it. New York state helped plug the hole with transitional aid, but Dunkirk officials never transitioned after the closure of NRG and, when the state money ran out, so did Dunkirk’s financial luck. Now, the city is ...