Does Jamestown have enough police officers?It is an interesting question given recent criminal activity in the city, most notably the robbery, assault, sex crimes and shots fired at a Jamestown police officer near 188 Falconer St. on July 1. In the three weeks since the incident, four Buffalo ...

Thumbs up to the biggest family reunion to visit Chautauqua County this year. More than 2,000 relatives of Buffalo Bill Cody have been invited to attend the four-day Cody Family Reunion, which features a festival, art, music and antique guns on display at the Jamestown Gateway Train Station, ...

The north side of Jamestown is a little better place to live now that Lillian Dickson Park has been renovated.It took two years and nearly $75,000 for the park's new handicapped-accessible preschool play area, toddler climbing wall, flywheel spinner, fall zone materials, benches, bike rack, ...

Two recent discussions of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's tax freeze program are just the latest examples of why things never change in New York state.For those who don't know by now how Gov. Andrew Cuomo's property tax freeze works, here is a quick primer. Beginning in fiscal year 2015 for municipalities ...

A showcase of some of the best that Chautauqua County has to offer continues throughout the week at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds.Now that the cannon has gone off, the Chautauqua County Fair is officially opened. Besides the traditional fare, including the popular demolition derby, the ...

New York taxpayers stand to gain at least $2.2 billion from the bad behavior of French bank BNP Paribas.BNP Paribas admitted in state court that it had hidden billions of dollars in transfers to New York banks from entities in Sudan, Cuba and Iran - in effect allowing the bank and its customers ...

Internal Revenue Service officials testifying before Congress in the probe of the agency's harassment of conservative organizations have acted shocked - shocked - at suggestions a coverup is occurring.But the foul odor of attempts to cover up criminal behavior at the IRS has done nothing but ...

State lawmakers should give serious consideration this fall to legislation proposed earlier this year by Eric Schneiderman, state attorney general, to help municipalities deal with abandoned properties.Zombie properties, as they are called, are a byproduct of lengthy foreclosure timelines. When ...

Failure by the state to pass zombie property legislation doesn't mean area lawmakers can't implement some of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's recommendations.Take, for example, Schneiderman's proposal to create a registry of vacant properties. Jamestown - as is the case in most cities ...

Thumbs up to a mid-July rite of summer. Ashville Days takes place throughout the day today at the Ashville Fire Department's baseball field in Cedar Avenue, across the street from the Chautauqua Lake Auction Center. A parade will begin at 10 a.m. Residents can enter a float in the parade; float ...

It isn't easy to navigate the maze of red tape after a natural disaster occurs.The tornado that ripped through the Randolph area in 2010 gave town officials firsthand experience of that. They found out navigating the byzantine maze of forms, meetings, regulations and programs is too big a job ...

A little transparency can go a long way toward fixing a problem.Perhaps shedding a little public knowledge on code compliance in Jamestown will help bring some of the city's dilapidated homes back up to snuff. Mayor Sam Teresi and Vince DeJoy, city development director, asked the City Council ...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino wants eight public debates, held throughout the state, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.It's a good idea that, for a variety of reasons, stands little chance of happening.Incumbents hate to take the risk of debates. Cuomo's political handlers know an ...

Estimates by federal agencies that they, in effect, threw away nearly $100 billion last year should infuriate taxpayers. It is our hard-earned money, after all.But of even more concern should be that the figure represents reports from the very agencies that wasted the money. Analysts at the ...

President Barack Obama has said he will act on his own to change U.S. immigration policy. But what does he have in mind?During a speech last week, the president dropped a hint. "I'm going to keep doing everything I can to keep making our immigration system smarter and more efficient," he ...

Once again, mandate relief was largely forgotten as part of the recently concluded state legislative session.Things like freezing step increases when contracts expire; helping local governments control construction costs; providing portable pension benefits or beginning the long-needed switch ...

Thumbs up to summer reading programs at libraries throughout the county. The New York State Library website states it is estimated school summer breaks will cause the average student to lose up to one month of instruction, with disadvantaged students being disproportionately affected. Those ...

Many have been skeptical of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's property tax cut plan.Approved in the 2014-15 state budget, the program takes effect over the course of two years, beginning in 2015 for municipalities and fiscal year 2014 for schools. In the first year, if a municipality stays below the tax cap, ...

State legislators need to rethink how they handle the minimum wage.There is a pretty good chance another minimum wage increase will be discussed by legislators given discussions in the state Assembly during the most recent session and the possibility of Democrats taking control of the state ...

It's hard to imagine a future without the Buffalo Bills in Western New York.Bills' games are a regional happening even when the team is bad. A good team playing in Orchard Park can be a morale boost for the entire region, as those who remember the Bills' Super Bowl years can attest. There are ...