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In Our Opinion

Is City’s Sales Tax Issue A Slump, Or Result Of Bad Budgeting?

Jamestown is projected to miss its sales tax budget for this year by about $544,643, or 6.1%, unless the city gets an early Christmas present. This is a problem that should have been avoided by either former Mayor Eddie Sundquist or the City Council. The shortfall discussed by the City Council’s Finance Committee last week is a shortfall of the city’s own making. Sales tax revenues aren’t far off compared to what the city actually received last year - $72,890 in the first sales tax receipt from the county and $170 in the second sales tax receipt from the county. That’s an ...

Full Classrooms Are Good For All Of Us

School starts next week - but for too many students that doesn’t mean vacation days will be a thing of the past. Dr. Kevin Whitaker, Jamestown Public School superintendent, told school board members recently that the district is making strides reducing rates of chronic absenteeism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance is typically between 90% and 91% in most city school district schools, though the district is still working to increase attendance at Jamestown High School. More troubling is chronic absenteeism rates. The state Education Department defines chronic ...

Why Rush Into A Decision On CHQ Transit Hub?

It’s funny how bad decisions keep coming back to haunt you. Six years ago Chautauqua County needed to find a new home for its bus system after National Comedy Center officials asked that CARTS not use the area in front of the center as its downtown hub - even though that was one of the transportation-related uses the former Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Station was originally renovated to house. County officials made their way down Third Street and purchased the former Ray Nelson Service Station at 215 E. Third St. to be the new CARTS hub. We weren’t crazy about the move at the time. ...

The Time Was Right To Begin Moving Homeless

Recent targeted sweeps of homeless, first in Ransom Alley and then this week in Brooklyn Square, needed to happen. Let’s not forget, this isn’t a recent problem. Our reporting on the homeless population really began three years ago. Many of the publicly visible homeless moved from their tents in Brooklyn Square back in 2022, but they were still here in greater number than most wanted to acknowledge. They were here in enough number to make if difficult to run publicly-funded and volunteer-run Code Blue shelters. They were here in enough numbers for well-meaning private citizens ...

Former Judge’s Dental Benefits Mess Should Have Been Avoided

The controversy over dental benefits for Fred Larson, retired City Court judge and current Chautauqua County legislator, is unfortunate on many levels. Larson has been a dedicated public servant over the years, including his tie-breaking (and party line crossing) vote to sell the Chautauqua County Home. We have no doubt that his approach has rankled some in a political arena that is increasingly dominated locally by the Republican Party. And, we can understand Larson being upset that the legal work is being handled by Assemblyman Andy Goodell given the political disagreements between ...

Eventually, “Targeted” Shootings Will Miss Their Mark

Jamestown has seen four targeted shootings in the past three weeks. On Aug. 3, city police responded to Lafayette Street near Isabella Avenue for a reported gunshot complaint, with a man arriving at UPMC Chautauqua a short time later with an injury police said was consistent with a gunshot wound. A short time later officers were dispatched to a report of a gunshot complaint in the area near Columbia Avenue. Officers found rounds had struck a home in the neighborhood, with no injuries to anyone in the neighborhood. Three more shootings Friday and Saturday followed. The first shooting ...