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Making Summer Plans For 2026

What are you doing this summer? Around these parts, that question starts popping up almost immediately once the weather finally turns. And while some people are planning vacations, many others are looking forward to something far simpler — local concerts, festivals, fairs, lake events and all the traditions that make summer in Western New York feel like summer. The good news is there will be no shortage of things to do. Summer 2026 is already shaping up to be a busy one across Chautauqua County and New York State, with packed event calendars stretching from Memorial Day through ...

Other Voices: President Trump has lost the plot on governance

Republicans don’t want to say this publicly, but privately they do: President Trump’s personal political obsessions are hurting his Presidency, harming the chances for further policy gains the rest of this year, and putting control of the House and Senate in jeopardy. That’s the backdrop to the GOP revolt this week in Congress on war powers and funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Trump’s unrelated priorities are handing Democrats gift after gift and forcing Republicans to take difficult votes that could cost them in November. His desire for political revenge is ...

Other Voices: Trump’s Desire For Revenge Jeopardizes GOP Senate Control

President Trump proved again Saturday that he can crush Republican dissenters by helping to defeat Sen. Bill Cassidy in a Louisiana primary. The question is to what end? Mr. Cassidy earned Mr. Trump’s eternal enmity when he was one of seven GOP Senators who voted to convict him after he was impeached a second time in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. It was a vote of conscience for Mr. Cassidy, but fealty counts for more than principle in the Trump universe. Mr. Cassidy tried to earn back Mr. Trump’s support by overcoming the Senator’s misgivings and voting to confirm ...

Federal Court Decision Has Impact Beyond Distilleries

Judges occasionally declare federal laws unconstitutional. But usually when a law passed by Congress has been on the books for more than 150 years, it’s in the clear. Not so for the federal ban on homemade whiskey, vodka and gin. Last week, an appeals court invalidated a federal law dating to 1868 that criminalizes at-home distilleries. The spirited ruling is a boon to small-time liquor hobbyists and entrepreneurs — but also an important statement on the limits of the federal government’s taxing power. Congress imposed the ban as a companion to legislation taxing alcohol and ...

Hungary Election Reminds All Of The Power Of Casting A Vote

Whether you loved him or hated him, you cannot deny the influence Viktor Orban has had on the world during his time in politics — nor the iron grip he had on his own country’s electoral machine. And yet, on Sunday, the people of Hungary decided that, after 16 years in office, enough was enough. Despite time as — at first — a popular incumbent followed by time as — at second — an authoritarian who bent the system to give himself every edge to stay in power…in the end, none of it mattered. The election in Hungary shows that the will of the people remains ...

Voter List Is An Overreaction To A Small Problem

Can the President order the U.S. Postal Service not to deliver mail he doesn’t like? Add this to the list of, er, innovative questions that President Trump is posing to the courts. On (March 31) he signed an executive action to create a federal list of people pre-approved to vote by mail, while telling the USPS to refuse to deliver ballots from anybody who isn’t on it. Democrats have already filed lawsuits, saying Mr. Trump’s plan tramples on the authority over elections that the Constitution gives to the 50 states. The USPS is an independent agency, and the Postmaster General is ...