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In Our Opinion

City Should Do What It Can To Police Illegal Fireworks

Both Mayor Kim Ecklund and Councilman Jeff Russell are right with suggestions last week to cut down on the number of illegal fireworks going off during Independence Day celebrations in Jamestown. Russell said he heard from police officers that they suspect some temporary fireworks sellers that popped up in the city limits sold fireworks that are illegal to have in New York. He suggested spot checks of these sellers in future years to make sure they aren’t violating the permits they received to sell fireworks. It’s a good suggestion that, frankly, should extend throughout the ...

Why Is It So Hard To Fix Medical Transport Fraud?

It should be obvious after the July 3 announcement of two Medicaid fraud cases totaling $3.4 million that the state must make major changes to its Non-Emergency Medical Transportation system. The system is a necessary one that relieves the stress of non-emergency transportation to medical appointments from ambulance companies while helping those who can’t get rides from friends or family members to get to medical appointments. Companies providing rides are paid through the state’s Medicaid program. For years these rides were arranged by counties throughout the state, but the ...

School Districts Should Keep Teacher Evaluations Simple

Almost lost in the avalanche of legislation passed in the closing days of this year’s state legislative session was a bill untying teacher evaluations from state-mandated tests. Good riddance to bad rubbish. We don’t necessarily disagree with the idea of creating ways to hold poor teachers accountable and remove them from classrooms. There should be a way to remove teachers who can’t teach. It’s up to supervisors to set standards and make sure employees meet them. That’s how things work in the private sector. If you can’t handle a job, you can be fired. There is no better ...

Our View: Special Ed Needs More Attention

Unfunded mandates, products of the federal and state governments, do not sit well with local-level units of government. Neither do those mandates sit well with school districts and institutions of higher learning, especially as they are trying to prepare and balance new budget packages. Depending on the scope of such a mandate, an unfunded or weakly funded edict can wreak havoc on the most well-thought-out of spending plans, not only for a year but possibly extending far beyond. Why is it a good time to be reflecting on budget challenges, especially in regard to ...

State’s Population Loss Has Many Causes – But We Still Have No Solutions

It would be refreshing to read a population report with positive news for New York state. We’d do backflips down the bike lanes on Washington Street if Republicans and Democrats could actually agree on measures to help slow down that population loss. New York lost more than $14.1 billion in state-adjusted gross income over a two-year period as residents moved to New Jersey, Florida and other low-tax states, according to newly released Internal Revenue Service data. The data, based on income tax returns, shows New York lost more than 222,702 residents in the 2021 and 2022 calendar ...

Carroll Project Illustrates State’s Building Problem

It doesn’t appear that anyone wants a five-unit apartment complex in Frewsburg. A recent special Carroll Town Board meeting lasting more than two hours included not one comment in favor of a project proposed by Diamond Builders Construction at 82 Falconer St., Frewsburg. But, the project as proposed meets the town of Carroll’s building and zoning codes - so there needs to be a good reason to deny it or the town could find itself in court. In our opinion, what’s happening in Carroll is really happening across the state. New York finds itself with a shortage of affordable ...