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In Our Opinion

Unpaid EMS Fees Are A Sign of Trouble

Two Chautauqua County fire districts not paying EMS fees billed by Chautauqua County isn’t a big deal - yet. County officials said in a news release recently that the county is taking steps to resolve unpaid fees owed by the Forestville and Frewsburg Fire Districts for Advanced Life Support ambulance intercepts. If payment agreements aren’t reached, the county may suspend some services provided in the areas. We hope it doesn’t get to that, though county officials said Forestville and Frewsburg fire district officials have hired attorneys after raising “novel constitutional ...

Tax Cap Overrides Here To Stay Until Changes Made

It should come as no surprise to city residents that the Jamestown City Council is likely to override the state’s 2% tax cap when it meets for its voting session in May. The end of American Rescue Plan Act funding removes an outside revenue sources that could have helped to eliminate a tax increase without dipping into the city’s surplus. In February, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $1.6 million in additional state aid for Jamestown as part of the state budget, but additional aid allocations aren’t always unrestricted aid - and that funding won’t be secured until Hochul and the ...

Regional Approach Needed For Deer Problem In City

To borrow from Ron Burgundy, we have a breaking and urgent news bulletin - Jamestown has a deer problem. Of course, anyone who lives in Jamestown knows this. And, as the four incumbents on the City Council know, trying to deal with the deer problem is a no-win situation. The council can’t get agreement amongst city residents that there even is a deer problem. Roughly half of the population is tired of the deer eating everything in sight or of dealing with the occasional diseased deer in their yard. Half of the city loves the deer, feeds the deer and generally encourages the deer ...

County Funding Is An Investment In The Comedy Center

There are going to be some who will be upset if the Chautauqua County Legislature approves a $200,000 allocation to the National Comedy Center when the legislature meets Wednesday. We understand the concerns. Millions of government dollars have been given to help build the center, and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given - largely from the state and federal governments - to help market the center and sustain it during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are some who will say the National Comedy Center shouldn’t get more local government money given the needs facing the ...

Chautauqua’s New President Has To Fill Big Shoes

Chautauqua Institution officials announced a new president with quite an impressive resume. Mark Coolidge Johnson is a senior Foreign Services Officer and attorney - as well as a third-generation Chautauquan. Johnson currently serves as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, the largest American diplomatic mission in the world, where he oversees more than 3,000 employees, nine consulates and nine consular agencies with a $282 million operating budget. He recently directed the completion of the new $943 million, one-million-square-foot embassy facility, which ...

Freshwater Wetlands Act Regulations Are Delayed, Not Dead

The more time one gets to look at the judge’s decision in local lawsuits challenging the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act regulations, the more it is clear that the regulations are likely merely delayed, not dead. Judge Richard Platkin’s ruling last week in state Supreme Court in Albany didn’t strike at the heart of issues the local challenges to the regulations raised. Platkin found that the Freshwater Wetlands Act changes and the Part 664 regulations don’t violate landowners’ due process rights, that the challenges didn’t prove that the 2022 amendments and Part 664 ...