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Opinion

Time To Put The Brakes On AI

Local Commentaries

When 50 fifty state attorneys general warn that Artificial Intelligence is a danger -- we should take notice. The areas of concern expressed by attorneys general include AI generated data related to law enforcement, healthcare, employment, educational content, election results, sexual predation of children, and digital surveillance. The federal government (in The Big Bill) planned to suspend AI regulation prompting state attorneys general to object in a letter to the federal government asking for states’ right to regulate AI. Subsequently federal deregulation was not included ...

Partisan Politics Blocks Honest Debate

Local Commentaries

CHAUTAUQUA—Did you read the page-one story about local elections in last weekend’s edition of this newspaper? If you didn’t, pull it out of your pile of recyclables, because it’s well done. The bottom line today is that this episode in state government was a missed opportunity to engage in honest, thoughtful debate about an issue that was worthy of honest, thoughtful debate. What stood in the way of honest, thoughtful debate? Yes, you guessed it: Partisan politics. ♦♦♦ If you follow local politics, you know that many county- and local-government elections are ...

In A Strong Field, Gonzalez, Bonfiglio And Daversa Are Best At-Large Choices

In Our Opinion

There are five candidates for three at-large positions on the City Council when voters go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 4. Incumbents Russell Bonfiglio and Randy Daversa, both Republicans, are joined by three newcomers: Republican Michael Zanghi and Democrats Daniel Gonzalez and Jeremy Engquist. Bonfiglio has quickly proven himself to be a no-nonsense voice on the council while Daversa has handled well his position as chairman of the council’s Public Works Committee. In our view Bonfiglio and Daversa should return to the council. Each of the three newcomers bring an interesting ...

More Elect To Be Part Of Early Voting

Editor's Corner

Four locations in Chautauqua County offer a convenience that has been part of the annual election season in New York state since 2019. Early voting began at 9 a.m. last Saturday. It will conclude at 5 p.m. Sunday — a stretch of nine days. This year’s elections — with the exception of ...

Jaroszynski Would Bring A Different View To City Council

In Our Opinion

Voters for the City Council’s Ward 5 seat have candidates with very different skills to choose from when replacing incumbent Bill Reynolds. Dan Hickman, the endorsed Republican, has spent the past nearly 10 years working with the Small Business Development Center at Jamestown Community College, and Hannah Jaroszynski, a licensed mental health counselor whose father is the mayor of Falconer and whose mother is a judge in the town of Ellicott. Both have skills that could be useful on the council. Hickman has a background in small business development, something that could be ...

Ward 4 Residents Face A Difficult Choice Between Paterniti, Scotchmer

In Our Opinion

It’s almost too bad there can be only one City Council representative from Ward 4. Joe Paterniti, the incumbent Republican, has been a fresh voice the past two years on the council, bringing with him private sector experience, a willingness to speak up on behalf of those who have come to him with issues and, most importantly, common sense that is all too often lacking from our elected representatives. Doug Scotchmer, the endorsed Democrat, is a newcomer to elected politics but no stranger to residents of Ward 4 as is the husband of former Ward 4 councilwoman Marie Carrubba. While ...