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Opinion

Complaints About Homeless Street Outreach Are Concerning

In Our Opinion

Over the past few years, one of the constant issues expressed by both the homeless and by advocates is the lack of street outreach to the homeless. That complaint came up again in November during the county Homeless Coalition meeting. Amanda Straight, Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. housing and community development director, said it had been brought to the coalition’s attention that street outreach is a problem, again, throughout the county. While the county does have some street outreach funding through the Safe Point Lighthouse Outpatient Clinic in Dunkirk, there is no Continuum of ...

Lake Groups Must Show Cohesiveness Of Their Efforts

In Our Opinion

The Lakewood Village Board has declined - again - to support the Chautauqua Lake Management Plan written by Dr. Rob Richardson of North Carolina State University. At this point, no one should hold out any hope of the North Carolina State University plan, no matter Richardson’s qualifications. The plan has been publicly available, publicly debated and, at this point, largely publicly ignored for more than a year. That’s unfortunate. In our view Richardson’s plan is the sort of action plan that could have been a point of coalescence for Chautauqua Lake maintenance activities. ...

It’s All About Faith

Local Commentaries

As we come to the end of the third week (or six months, if you started in July) of this Christmas Season, and the near end of the Celebration of the eight nights of Hanukkah, and the upcoming arrival of Kwanzaa, many can reflect on the meanings of these special days, weeks, and seasons. During people’s preparation of these times, people often focus on their impact on their religions (if we practice religion), and/or culture (if we honor the heritage and beliefs of Africa), as they relearn and enjoy the meanings of the stories, customs, and traditions of St. Nicholas, Immaculate ...

Ripley Solar Questions Persist

Local Commentaries

“There are several factors impacting the [Ripley Solar] project, including import tariffs, high interest rates and federal trade policies that bring uncertainty to cost of materials [that] have made this project not economically viable in its current state.” This was a sentence in a recent letter to Ripley landowners who have signed leases with ConnectGen, the developer of the 3000 acre solar project that has been looming over the southwest corner of Chautauqua County since 2018. There has been much opposition to the project from Ripley residents during that time but the ...

Patience Is Needed For Chautauqua Lake

Local Commentaries

Chautauqua Lake is one of the most important assets our region has. We all want the quality of the lake to improve. The condition and use of the land around our lake are what have most dramatically impacted the quality of our lake water. Chautauqua Lake water quality began to decline over 200 years ago due to deforestation and industrial activities. Formal water sampling began here 88 years ago due to water quality concerns. More than 25 years ago, Chautauqua Lake was placed on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s “impaired waters list” due to excessive ...

Democrats Are Raising Energy Prices

Local Commentaries

New Yorkers pay some of the highest energy prices in the nation. Mandates, surcharges, restrictions and regulatory decisions enshrined into law are the reason why energy prices in New York are less affordable than elsewhere. These high energy prices make it harder to live and work in New York. New York utilities are forced, by law, to charge you with a “delivery fee” which is actually a subsidy for renewable energy companies; the money is collected through your energy bill and passed along to renewable energy companies to artificially lower the cost of producing renewable energy ...