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Gorge Is Spectacular In Winter

Local Commentaries

CHAUTAUQUA GORGE STATE FOREST—It’s one thing to see the Chautauqua Gorge in the summertime. It’s another thing entirely to see it in the wintertime. If you haven’t seen it in the wintertime, you might consider putting it on your list. It’s spectacular. Just spectacular. High walls along the deeper parts of the gorge surround snow-covered pines and hardwoods. In the middle of a sunny afternoon, the blue sky is overhead. Later, as the sun sets, the sky turns dark blue and the brightest stars begin to fill the sky. More stars join them as the sky turns dark blue, then ...

‘The Swamp’ Real Winner Of Trump Tariff War

In Our Opinion

For decades, politicians have sold tariffs as a tonic for the working class. In reality, one particular group seems to benefit more than any other from trade wars: Washington influence peddlers. The United States collected some $288.5 billion in tariff revenue last year, up from $98.3 billion in 2024, thanks to a barrage of new levies imposed by the Trump administration. These tariffs, designed by elite lawyers in D.C. and implemented with highly technical and specialized language, presented a unique opportunity for lobbyists to charge large corporations exorbitant rates to seek relief ...

Job Corps Has Been Saved; Now Let’s Fix It

In Our Opinion

Our long mid-county nightmare has come to an end. Federal funding has been secured to keep Job Corps centers across the country open, including the Cassadaga Job Corps Academy. Let it be a reminder to anyone who is concerned about federal spending that the idea of cutting the federal budget is something everyone can get behind until someone tries to cut their particular slice of the federal budget. Nobody likes pork until someone tries to take their Christmas ham. We don’t think saving the Job Corps should be the end of this particular story. We’re merely starting a new chapter ...

City Must Act Now To Avoid Dunkirk-Type Shortfalls

In Our Opinion

Mayor Kim Ecklund’s 2026 State of the City address well describes Jamestown’s financial status - too little money to pay too many bills. As we’ve written before, the story is familiar. Between 2021 and 2023, minimal tax increases largely paid for with ARPA-related lost revenue funding has now left essential services underfunded and created a structural imbalance that persisted. In 2024, a 1.44% tax rate reduction as well as unbudgeted costs, further weakened the city’s financial footing. The city has relied on its fund balance, one-time revenues like ARPA funding or temporary ...

Unfunded Mandate Hits Ellicott First; More Will Follow

In Our Opinion

New York state officials are good at writing blank checks with your state tax dollars. New state regulations that take effect this year are writing more blank checks - this time with your local tax dollars. Ellicott officials recently approved a contract with an emergency vet while also setting a maximum amount of money to be spent on the care of animals picked up by the dog control officer in need of treatment. The purpose of the secondary shelter is to have an overflow location if the Chautauqua County Humane Society is too full to take in dogs from the town, something Town ...

Federal Lawmakers’ Airport Terminal Makes Little Sense

In Our Opinion

We can’t disagree with Chautauqua County choosing to spend $31,625 in order to receive $1.265 million from the federal government. The county would, frankly, be stupid to turn down that deal, just as school districts receiving 95% state aid on a project would be dumb to turn down building projects that are largely paid for by state taxpayers. On the other hand we have no idea what the heck the federal government is thinking. In 2018 the federal government decided that Chautauqua County wasn’t meeting the requirements of the federal government’s’ Essential Air Service ...