Most voters heading to the polls Tuesday for school district elections and budget votes won’t be voting on large tax increases. Spending increases are relatively small. Total proposed spending for the county’s 18 school districts increases only $19 to a total of $447,675,882 in 2019-20 ...
Thumbs up to Mitchell Anderson, a Jamestown native whose Netflix show, “After Forever,” recently took home five Daytime Emmy Awards. Anderson himself was nominated for his performance as well, though he didn’t win a solo award. Anderson, 57, is best known for his TV roles in “Doogie ...
New York state has occasionally kicked in additional money to localities for road work in extraordinary circumstances in recent years. That isn’t enough. It’s been 32 years since the state increased its reimbursement rate for maintenance on state highways. Jamestown has 239,440 square ...
MaryJo Bauer made the right decision last week. The former mayor of Cassadaga tendered her resignation due to the fact she does not live in the village. If she had not left the position, she would have been breaking a state law that has a residency requirement for public officials. But her ...
Perhaps New York state should re-think its stance that motorized bicycles are not allowed on public highways or sidewalks. We don’t necessarily want them on Jamestown roads, though they can be no worse than motorized wheelchairs being ridden in the street. One has to think that motorized ...
Once again we have been reminded of the commonplace heroism that so many people hold quietly at the ready out of their compassion for others. Two armed teenagers bent on carrying out a massacre invaded STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado last Tuesday. Life-saving courage enough was ...
It is inevitable that some of the 8 million or so species of plant and animals on our Earth will go extinct within the next few decades. Some will die out this year. In many ways, nature is no guardian of biodiversity. Human activity is accelerating the rate of die-offs, scientists warn. They ...
Who would have thought that the greener pastures many Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany county residents seek is a stone’s throw away in Pennsylvania? According to federal Internal Revenue Service tax filer migration data, the top destination for those who left Chautauqua County from ...
Thumbs up to state Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers for their efforts rescuing four hikers who became disoriented while hiking last weekend in the Zoar Valley Multiple Day Use Area. Two women, one from Silver Creek and one from Forestville, and two children got lost, ...
Pine Valley Central School District residents have a chance to make a serious change to the way their school operates and possibly save some money. Last week, district superintendent Scott Payne announced he will take a new job as Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES superintendent and CEO in July, ...
State government didn’t do county Boards of Elections any favor with its rushed implementation of an early voting system in New York state. In addition to the early costs and the need to quickly create a process to actually perform early voting, Norman P. Green and Brian Abram, county ...
There is a Catch-22 when it comes to affordable housing in the Jamestown area — there aren’t enough properties for those using the Housing Choice Voucher Program, as the Section 8 federal housing program is more commonly known. It was an eye-opener to hear Josiah Lamp, Chautauqua ...
There has been a lot of fear-mongering and rumors about herbicide treatments on Chautauqua Lake over the past several years. A few of those rumors are being dispelled as towns and villages move through the second year of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s permitting ...
Over the last five years, Chautauqua County has seen the number of farms decrease from 1,515 to 1,228. That’s right, 19 percent of the farms in an area proud of its agriculture have disappeared. It could be worse. According to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County, the total ...
Thumbs up to the preliminary steps taken to return baseball to Russell E. Diethrick Park next summer. Earlier this week, it was announced that all of the necessary steps have been taken to transition the Jamestown Jammers from the ROC Ventures ownership group from Milwaukee to a local ownership ...
State legislators are a bit disingenuous when they propose legislation that they say will have “no cost to the state.” The phrasing pops up regularly on legislation being considered by the Senate and Assembly. Take, for instance, legislation passed earlier this week to ban toys containing ...
There is no good reason why the Jamestown City Council should seriously consider increasing the salary for the mayor and the City Council right now. Three mayoral candidates have stepped forward despite the supposedly subpar wage the city pays its mayor. There are many contested races for ...
It is about time that Burtis Bay is cleaned up. Nearly 3,000 feet of shoreline in the Ellicott bay will finally have rotting weeds removed after several stops and starts to the process over the last six months. A cleanup was to have begun in November, but the onset of winter weather made the ...
Much of what governments keep secret from their people should be revealed. It is in the nature of public officials to keep knowledge that may threaten them quiet. But there is a difference between that and information that jeopardizes the security of an entire people. There are good reasons, ...
If only Jamestown’s 2018 year-end surplus of $416,222 was a real surplus. The surplus doesn’t show real fiscal strength. It doesn’t show that the city has restored any semblance of sanity to its budget or that it can consistently provide the services people need for a price people can ...