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Opinion

Democrat’s outside income argument falls flat in rural NY

In Our Opinion

It’s pretty funny that it’s a Democrat who is now taking aim at repealing the state’s outside income limits for state lawmakers. Assemblyman Clyde Vanel makes many of the same arguments that Republicans made in opposition to the $35,000 outside income cap before the state Legislature approved them in 2022. Vanel, D-Queens City, argued in the legislative justification for A.11733 that the outside income cap wouldn’t have prevented any of the laundry list malfeasance involving the New York’s legislators in the 2000s. He also argues that the very costs that the state has ...

New laws alone won’t end e-bike frustration

In Our Opinion

We’re not sure if it’s a majority or a minority, but it’s clear there is a vocal segment of Jamestown residents who don’t like the proliferation of e-bikes and other personal mobility devices in the city. The issue came up again during last week’s City Council committee meetings and work session. Residents’ complaints aren’t without merit. We would have thought the state Legislature would have taken steps to clear up some of this mess over the past couple of years, but despite dozens of pieces of legislation being introduced over the past couple of years little has ...

Shared services committee in Carroll, Kiantone is encouraging

In Our Opinion

We are encouraged by the news that Carroll and Kiantone are creating a committee to examine additional shared services between the towns. It’s early, and we don’t know where these discussions will go in the future, but for now the fact that the towns are brainstorming more ways to collaborate is a positive development. Something Tim Burkett, Carroll town supervisor, said during the August Carroll Town Board meeting is worth examining as we look for more ways to provide better services and save taxpayers money. Burkett said it makes sense for the two towns to share services ...

An alternative approach to spending county’s fund balance

Local Commentaries

Money is a funny thing. When you don’t have enough, we grumble. When we have too much, folks argue what to do with it. So, it seems to be true with our County Legislature. I’ve read the various articles and comments in the PJ and Observer for the last few months and it is becoming clear that there are differences of opinion as to how to use the $20 million overage in the fund balance. This is money that is not used in the annual budget but a separate account for emergencies or future projects. As a School Superintendent, this was a common practice. We never knew when a boiler might ...

How aware are you post-9/11?

Local Commentaries

How prepared were we for the surprise attack on the morning of September 11, 2001? Neither was America prepared for it on December 7, 1941. Today it’s not like it was in 1966, 25 years after Pearl Harbor. Imperial Japan was defeated and its threat ended. Is Islam defeated or even in retreat? Are you aware that since 9/11, nearly 50,000 acts of Islamic terror have struck worldwide? In 1966 roughly 300 mosques were in America. Are you aware that nearly 3000 mosques occupy America in 2026? “Death to America” isn’t just heard from the Middle East; it’s being shouted from ...

We need to do better than ‘a room and a key’

In Our Opinion

By now, everyone in Chautauqua County should know that changes are needed in the way we deal with the homeless - both those we see outdoors and those who are being housed temporarily in hotels. For those who don’t, consider something Karen Lippowiths, a documentary photographer from Detroit who has been on a mission to document housing insecurity and homelessness across the Appalachian region, said after staying in what is now known as the Falconer Hotel recently. The hotel, she added, also had a more institutionalized sense to it as well, in that people have ranges of need when ...