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Everything You Didn’t Want To Know About Salt

Local Commentaries

Given the tremendous change and angst we are seeing in the world today, you might wonder why I’ve chosen to write about such an insignificant topic as salt. But that’s precisely why I’m writing about it. Now is not the time to lose our wonder about the world, or to lose our curiosity. In fact, if ever we needed to learn about the mesmerizing topic of salt, today is that day. Let’s face it, it’s the only rock we eat. That common household item has a long and intriguing history. And without sounding too bombastic, I will go as far as to say that salt has shaped civilization ...

I Still Pine For Pinecones

Local Commentaries

Preparing for this weekend’s garage sale, I came across a canvas bag I hadn’t seen in years. It was filled with pinecones. Giant Sequoia pinecones. Some of these babies are almost a foot long, and my memory of first seeing them goes back to 1949. 1949? Yes, I was alive then – and out of diapers. In fact, I was out of third grade. But the huge pinecones that my mother brought home from California fascinated me for their pure size. I studied redwood trees and the giant Sequoias, and I knew I had to see them for myself someday. My mother’s first trip to California in 1944 ...

Am I Waking Up Late Night Or Early Morning?

Local Commentaries

“These days I’m up about the time I used to go to bed Living large was once the deal, now I watch the stars instead They’re timeless and predictable, unlike most things that I do But I’d tell the wind and my old friend, I’m headed home to you.” These are the lyrics of Verse Three of a Jimmy Buffett song titled Coast of Carolina. It is Track 4 from his album, License to Chill, which was released in 2004 and produced by Mac McAnally and Robert Utley. The song was written for his wife Jane, as a follow up to his hit song Come Monday, also written to Jane, as a hugely ...

General Welfare ‘Excuse’ Contributes To U.S. Debt

Local Commentaries

Over the past 10 months we have been treated to entertaining commentary from the Woke Mob. They are apoplectic because the source of all their virtue signaling — the bottomless pit of their government programs — has been threatened by the “fascist terror” in the White House. Unable to present a coherent argument against the Administration’s anti-waste policies, the Woke Mob resorts to the same old saw – that “Trump has no compassion.” This begs the question: Compassion for whom? Apparently the Woke Mob measures compassion by how hard they squeeze taxpayers and ...

Elect County Legislators Who Represent You, Not Their Party

In Our Opinion

There aren’t enough contested races countywide to change control of the Chautauqua County Legislature. But Jamestown voters can vote on Tuesday to change the way the legislature relates to its two biggest cities. It’s a change that, in our opinion, is much needed. We noted a couple of weeks ago that Mayor Kim Ecklund needed to take a page out of former Republican County Executive Vince Horrigan’s playbook by finding a revenue boost to stabilize the city budget while putting together a growth formula. Horrigan looked to New York state to increase the county’s sales tax. ...

Congress Must Take Care Of Federal Employees

Letters To The Editor

To The Reader’s Forum: I learned as a very junior Marine Corps Infantry Officer some 70 years ago the following: Rank has its privileges but rank also has responsibilities. I read and hear like so many Americans that because Congress cannot agree on the budget, all federal employees will not be paid, until the votes can be mustered for an agreement. The Senate has failed to approve the temporary spending bill to keep the government open. We can all imagine the hardship this causes to the individuals who serve us all, and who are currently not receiving paychecks. I ask the ...