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Dairy Market Pushes Forward Despite Challenges

In the wake of Refresco canceling its local contracts with grape growers, other agricultural markets such as dairy are continuing on, even while facing some challenges, including some similar to grape growers. Kate McDonald Polakiewicz, farm business management specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension, said dairy farming continues to be the backbone of New York state’s agriculture and accounts for around two-thirds of total farm revenue in the state. Investment in the sector remains high with roughly $3 billion in current or planned investment in dairy processing. Even with ...

IDA CEO Shares State’s New Goals For ImmunityBio

Back in 2016, hundreds of jobs were expected for a drug manufacturing plant in the town of Dunkirk. The plant was built but it never opened and those jobs never came. A decade later, there’s talk about getting that plant up and running in the next two and a half years with additional hirings for the following four years after that. During the recent Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency meeting, Chief Executive Officer Mark Geise discussed plans for ImmunityBio in Dunkirk. ImmunityBio is now leasing the plant at 3805 Lake Shore Drive East, which was originally for ...

Setting Sail: Preservation Efforts Continue To Former Chautauqua Lake Ship

CHAUTAUQUA – Now that the Chautauqua Belle is gearing up to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the ship’s first voyage around the lake, many are reminded of the Sea Lion that once sailed around the lake along with the Belle. Though the Sea Lion has long been gone from the area, and ...

Area Leaders Call For Action On Homeless Issue

State and area leaders are calling on New York state to act and assist in the growing homeless crisis in Chautauqua County. On Thursday, state Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor, joined by a bipartisan coalition of local and state officials across the county, have sent a ...

Deputies Involved In Mina Shooting Back On Duty

The two Chautauqua County Sheriff deputies who have been essentially cleared in an officer-involved shooting in Mina are back on duty and have been for a while. On June 18, 2025, shortly before 4 p.m. a deputy went to 2900 Mina French Creek Road in response to a 911 call reporting a domestic dispute. The deputy encountered 66-year-old Mark Bemis, who was in the garage, holding a shotgun. The deputy took out his service weapon and instructed Bemis to drop his weapon. Bemis fired a shot into the air, and the deputy took cover behind a tree. For the next several minutes, the deputy – ...