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Securing Our Elections Hinders Cheating

Local Commentaries

Let’s suppose. Let’s suppose you went into a bank and tried to open an account or take out a loan without proving your identity. Let’s suppose you tried to get a hunting or fishing license without proving your identity. Let’s suppose you tried to buy a gun legally without proving your identity. And the list goes on and on. Let’s suppose that, without proving your identity, you tried to: • Start a new job. • Get a marriage license. • Get a driver’s license. • Rent a vehicle. • Lease a vehicle. • Buy a vehicle. • Register a vehicle. • Get ...

Water’s Fine For Chautauqua Lake Fishing

In Our Opinion

We all should be able to acknowledge that Chautauqua Lake needs work if it is to return to the type of hub for summer activities that many south county residents remember. But it was interesting to read about the opinions of DEC Fisheries officials after a recent presentation to the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance board meeting regarding the lake’s fish populations. We’d have loved to be able to report on the DEC officials’ presentation in person, but alliance meetings have been closed-door affairs for more than a year. But we digress. Jim Markham and Justin ...

Voting Should Never Depend On Paperwork

Local Commentaries

In the art world, the provenance of an object establishes a documented history of ownership—a “biography” of sorts, integral to verifying authenticity and establishing legal ownership. Tracing provenance is instrumental in identifying forgeries or fraud. To prevent fraud in elections, the SAVE Act would require proof of citizenship through a legally verifiable document trail before registering to vote—a sort of provenance of identity. Representative Nick Langworthy voted yes when the House passed the SAVE Act on February 11, 2026. At first glance, proof of citizenship for ...

Lawmakers Are Generous With Your Money

In Our Opinion

Deb Makowski, county human resources director, said several times during last week’s Audit and Control Committee meeting that increasing salary ranges for management employees doesn’t automatically give the affected employees salary increases. She’s technically right, of course. Salaries for 2026 were set in the 2026 Chautauqua County budget. But there would be no need to change the salary ranges in the first place if there weren’t raises coming soon for those employees. Makowski told county legislators there are 128 employees who are getting close to the maximum salary in ...

With Temporary State Aid, City Can Breathe Again Financially

In Our Opinion

An unexpected $1.6 million in temporary state aid will make Jamestown’s 2027 budget a lot easier on both the City Council and on city taxpayers. Gov. Kathy Hochul 2027 Executive Budget extends for one year the $50 million temporary program for cities, towns and villages. This program, which was initially authorized in 2025 for two years, provides general purpose aid for local governments. The funding comes at a good time for Jamestown, which has exhausted its remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to whittle down tax increases the past two years. Additional state aid ...

Cannabis Law Clarification Won’t Be Final One

In Our Opinion

We can’t disagree with the state Legislature’s decision to clarify how the distance from a proposed cannabis shop to a school or church is measured. Lifted, the city’s first cannabis dispensary, had trouble with exactly this issue before it could receive its permit from the state to open. The delay was unfortunate, but not allowing the store to open in the first place would have bordered on injustice. In the roughly 18 months since the shop opened on North Main Street there have been no issues reported and Tim Scoma, Lifted’s owner, has made the shop a regular contributor to ...