New York Democrats shouldn’t gloat too loudly in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s repugnant tweet last week telling four liberal freshman Congresswomen to go back where they came from. It wasn’t long ago that state Democrats were cringing when Gov. Andrew Cuomo made an equally ...

There was apparently some confusion in May when the Chautauqua County Legislature over which pot of occupancy tax funding the county was giving the Chautauqua Lake Pops By The Shore concert series a $10,000 check. On Wednesday, the legislature will have another resolution on its agenda to ...

The dismissal of SAFE Act-related charges against Ben Wassell is the end of a long and arduous legal journey for the Silver Creek man. While the Fourth Department Appellate Division’s ruling in Wassell’s case doesn’t satisfy those who believe the SAFE Act violates the Second Amendment ...

For some Americans, the 1960s was a time when it was easy to worry about both our individual futures and that of our nation. A bloody war in Vietnam dominated headlines. The young president who inspired us to ask what we could do for our country had been assassinated. We watched in horror as ...

It seems like no big deal for the state Legislature to pass laws that would break contracts between a private individual and their condominium association or a bank. So what would be the big deal in breaking union contracts to help the city of Jamestown get its costs under control and ...

Regardless of how one feels about New York state’s efforts at bail reform, the changes are coming. It’s good to see, then, that Community Justice Coordinating Council members are thinking about more than just bail reform’s impact on the Chautauqua County Jail. With as much as 80 percent ...

It has been pointed out that President Donald Trump’s attack on four Democratic congresswomen may have been calculated for political reasons. That is, Trump may have hoped outrage over his tweet would show his base that moderate Democrats have more in common with their party’s radicals ...

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein may yet spend an appropriate amount of time in a federal prison. He should have been sent away years ago. Why that did not happen needs to be explained. Epstein, 66, has been arrested by federal authorities in New York on charges of sex trafficking involving ...

Equal pay for equal work has been one justification cited by those who believe the U.S. Soccer Federation’s World Cup-winning women’s team should be paid as much as those on the men’s team. But that is misleading: In an important way, the women are doing more valuable work. U.S. Sen. ...

Thumbs up to the Bemus Point Central School District for its use of online coursework to expand the courses available to students. Carrie Yohe, director of student programs, Mike Mansfield, district superintendent, and Julie Verdonik, Maple Grove Junior-High School principal, recently presented ...

New York state needs to make up its mind if it wants foreclosures to proceed quickly or slowly. Twice at the end of the legislative session in June, lawmakers voted on bills that dealt with foreclosures. One of the bills would allow a homeowner to file a defense challenging a bank’s ...

Anyone who has a few hours to kill should really take the time to see how much the state Assembly got done on the final two days of its 2019 legislative session. The video is available on the Assembly’s website. Plan for more than 30 hours of viewing time, though, for just those two days ...

It is becoming a trend for many towns. Once volunteer organizations do not continue upkeep of cemeteries, the responsibility falls to the municipality. Ripley recently, despite many efforts, is now tasked with overseeing the East Ripley Cemetery. Supervisor Doug Bowen said there are still ...

One area resident was charged on July 4 with discharging an explosive firework while a Dunkirk woman was taken to the Erie County Medical Center after she was hit by a firework lit by a neighbor. The Dunkirk incident is more proof that people should leave fireworks to the professionals each ...

Clymer Central School taxpayers don’t anticipate asking voters for a tax increase more than the state’s 2 percent tax cap next year. That’s good news, but we hope it doesn’t mean voters retreat into the woodwork while the district is still trying to figure out its future. The past ...

Thumbs up to renewed interest in the Furniture Mart building in downtown Jamestown. The City Council recently lent its support to a $1.5 million grant application by the Gebbie Foundation to breathe new life into the iconic building. Vince DeJoy, city development director, said the development ...

City Councilman Andrew Liuzzo is entitled to his opinion regarding challenges to the Taylor Law and Triborough Amendment. Liuzzo isn’t entitled to his own facts, though, particularly when it comes to Mayor Sam Teresi and his role in challenging the Taylor Law and Triborough Amendment. ...

What comes after the phrase, “and the pursuit of happiness ...”? Today, we Americans celebrate the Declaration of Independence. Our focus is what the document meant — creation of a new nation. But what the document itself says about the Founders and about what they intended for us ...

Lost in the hubbub and clatter of the state Legislature’s frenzied final hours in the 2019 legislative session was discussion of legislation MaryEllen Elia, state education commissioner, to study and report on the use of “biometric identifying technology” on school grounds in order to ...

Much was made of comedian Jon Stewart’s shaming of Republicans in the House of Representatives for failure to replenish a compensation fund for first responders who were injured or sickened by their work related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Stewart deserves much attention, by ...