It is often said a budget is a policy statement.For the past several years, the policy set by most area budgets is that of treading water. Do what has to be done, and only what has to be done, while keeping taxes as low as possible. That's a sensible overall policy given the struggle many of us ...

We are now, finally, able to put some numbers to the city's drug problems.The number of bags of heroin seized by Jamestown Police has increased from 119 in 2012 to 826 in 2013 and 4,500 in 2014. Alstar Ambulance EMTs have responded to 89 overdose calls, or 25 more than the same point in 2013, ...

Many people seem to view "fracking" as synonymous with drilling for natural gas and oil. But there is a difference - and it may involve a wild goose chase, so to speak, over contamination of water wells and other sources of ground water.For generations, energy companies simply drilled holes ...

There was a time when donations worth thousands of dollars poured in to the offices of the Sea Lion Project.After decades of research, construction of the Sea Lion, a 16th century merchant ship replica, began in earnest in 1974. The ship made its first voyage on Chautauqua Lake in M ay 1985 and ...

Thumbs up to the State University at Fredonia for a new program to help veterans transition from military to civilian life. The university was recently approved as one of three sites in the state for the "Serving Standing Down" program, to offer veterans an opportunity to reflect on their ...

Our nation's founders disagreed on a multitude of issues about how to govern the United States. But on one thing they put their partisanship aside for the good of future Americans.American government had to be representative, they agreed. It could not be controlled by any individual. For that ...

A news release sent last week from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli offers an insight as to why New York state continues spinning its wheels.DiNapoli's news release trumpeted a report with the obvious news that local government capital spending on roads, bridges and water and sewer systems ...

Government doesn't create jobs, but it sure can make it hard for entrepreneurs to create them.Look at Lakewood as an example.Village officials implemented several moratoriums via local laws in 2013 after a controversial proposal from an adult novelty store owner, the Larry Spacc car dealership ...

If President Barack Obama manages to destroy the Islamic State terrorist organization through an international coalition, the odds are he will make the same mistake committed by his predecessor, former President George W. Bush.Declaring "mission accomplished" after a few battlefield victories ...

Parents are advised regularly and strongly to monitor their children's online activities. The Internet is a jungle in which many predators stalk naive youngsters, it is explained.On Aug. 10, a 16-year-old girl who lived near Charleston, W.Va., was reported missing. On Saturday, her body was ...

Twenty-six percent of the taxable assessment in Chautauqua County comes from the land surrounding Chautauqua Lake.That statistic has been used often over the past few years when discussing the importance of doing everything possible to make Chautauqua Lake as healthy as it can be. We trust ...

Thumbs up to a local group that has done more than its part to make sure children have the supplies they need for school. Most school years, Creche delivers about 50 backpacks filled with school supplies to area schools. This was not most school years. Creche recently delivered about 600 ...

Mosquitos have been a bigger pest than usual this summer in the Falconer area and much of the rest of the region as well.The mosquitos haven't been a public health issue this summer, with no cases of West Nile Virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis found in any of the testing pools in Chautauqua ...

A news release issued recently by the state School Boards Association raises a troubling concern about New York's implementation of the Common Core State Standards.One-third of school board members responding to a poll say their board needs more knowledge about what constitutes college and ...

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently released a report that showed for the first six months of the year, New York state employees were paid $316 million in overtime. At that pace, the amount would be more than two-thirds of $1 billion in overtime for the year, up $30 million from ...

It will come as no surprise to those who watch the government closely that the Department of Veterans Affairs has concluded it was not responsible for the deaths of veterans kept waiting for care at the Phoenix VA hospital. But members of Congress should ask whether that answers another ...

Thanks to Jimmy McMillan, people worldwide know that rent is too, um, gosh-darned high.Perhaps child care needs its own McMillan to raise awareness of another issue facing families struggling to make ends meet.According to the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County's most recent Community ...

Thumbs up to a new beginning. The Southern Tier Xpress will play their first game at 5 p.m. today at the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena. The team is an important tenant for the arena while the traffic the team can bring on game nights is important for downtown businesses. Congratulations to the ...

In large measure, President Barack Obama's health care law was sold to Americans based on his contention government can handle certain tasks more economically than the private sector.Last week a government inspector general reported at least one-third of the government contracts used to ...

It's only a matter of time before Chautauqua County hires a compliance officer.County legislators have spent the past several months trying to figure out if the position is required by law, with resolutions creating the position were tabled in February and again at the legislature's voting ...