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In Our Opinion

State Lawmakers Don’t Deserve A $42K Pay Raise

Surely, New York’s Democrats can’t be serious with yet another proposal to increase legislative salaries. Unfortunately, at least one is. Sen. James Sanders, D-South Ozone Park, is proposing a new increase in lawmakers’ salaries from $142,000 to $180,000. We’d say the bill is an ...

No, The City Isn’t Coming For Christmas Decorations, Displays

Well, that quick City Council Housing Committee discussion escalated quickly. We don’t think the City Council is coming for the Christmas displays that everyone enjoys in December. Nor do we think the city is going to all of the sudden start issuing code violation citations for Halloween ...

Progress May Be Coming On Dunkirk Code Blue Sites

We’ve been critical of the lack of progress on transitional housing programs for the homeless in Chautauqua County in recent weeks. Transitional housing is still moving too slowly for our liking, but it’s good to see the county beginning to push for increased services in the north ...

Crime Numbers Are Positive, But Underlying Issues Persist

There’s been a lot of discussion over the past few years among those who are concerned that Jamestown isn’t as safe as it once was. We have a feeling no city is as safe as it was back in the 1950s. But another year of data indicates 2022-23 may have been a crime spike rather than a new ...

Narrowing Tax Base Won’t Fund Programs

One of the most consequential trends in American politics is that Democrats are increasingly discovering what Republicans have known for decades: Voters don’t like taxes. Now the gubernatorial primary in California has become an experiment in how far tax cuts might take a Democratic ...

Ending Waivers Won’t Change Smoking Rates

Chautauqua County officials want to push the remaining organizations that have indoor smoking waivers to go smokefree. Smoking indoors in public places became largely illegal in New York state with the passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act on July 24, 2003, banning smoking in most workplaces, ...