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In Our Opinion

Additional Funding For Domestic Violence Cases Warranted In City

The Jamestown Police Department’s inclusion in a state program that aims to decrease domestic violence can be nothing but positive for the city. The Chautauqua County STRIVE Partnership received $847, 225 from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services’s Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence grant, with Jamestown receiving $309,815. It’s the first time the city has received a portion of the grant funding, with the additional money to be dedicated to overtime domestic violence details, a crime analyst position, outreach materials, canine supplies, a ...

Dunkirk City Council Members Are No Heroes In Last-Minute Control Board Push

In March, state Sen. George Borrello proposed legislation for a control board in the city of Dunkirk in an attempt to change the path of its beleaguered finances for the future. Last December, Common Council members — including Republican members Abigail Zatorski, James Stoyle and Nancy Nichols — voted to approve an 84% property tax increase. After that decision in late 2024, there was silence from the trio at public Common Council meetings when it came to money for five months. Never any discussion from them on how to cut spending, what to do about the fiscal crisis or the loan ...

Education Dept.’s Mascot Fight Distracts From Real Issue – Failing Schools

When the state Education Department made school districts around the state abandon high school mascots with Native American imagery, it could do so because it held all the trump cards when it comes to state funding. School districts had little alternative but to capitulate. The fight gets more interesting when the state doesn’t necessarily hold all the cards. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said recently she was giving New York 10 days to sign an agreement rescinding its mascot ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting ...

Make Sure Public Comment Isn’t Forgotten In Housing Site Pre-Permitting

The early returns on a plan to pre-permit sites for new housing development in Jamestown are good. Crystal Surdyk, city development director, and Kacie Foulk, city deputy director of housing policy and development, have done a good job of coming up with an idea that could make neighborhoods that have been the brunt of condemned houses and blight over the past two decades an attractive place to build new housing and begin rebuilding neighborhoods. Areas identified so far include sites on Fluvanna Avenue, Spring Street, Fulton Street, Vega and Eagle Streets, Johnson Street, and Cross ...

Supreme Court Defends Freedom Of Speech

We are grateful for the Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict in National Rifle Association v. Vullo — a case that cut to the heart of freedom of speech. New York state officials targeted the NRA specifically because they found the NRA’s message objectionable, and pressured private enterprises to “blacklist” or refuse to conduct business with the organization. “Today’s decision confirms that government officials have no business using their regulatory authority to blacklist disfavored political groups,” David Cole of the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued on ...

Fate Of County Offices In City Still Up In The Air

It’s good to see that Chautauqua County has arrived at short-term extensions of leases for its offices in Jamestown. The county’s frustrations with its office locations are understandable, but there were enough questions about a proposal to move the offices to the Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood that keeping the offices located in downtown Jamestown made a lot of sense for now. But those who fought to keep the offices downtown shouldn’t think they’ve won anything but a temporary reprieve. It’s telling that Josh Rothwell, assistant director of Public Facilities for ...