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In Our Opinion

Lawmakers Are Generous With Your Money

Deb Makowski, county human resources director, said several times during last week’s Audit and Control Committee meeting that increasing salary ranges for management employees doesn’t automatically give the affected employees salary increases. She’s technically right, of course. Salaries for 2026 were set in the 2026 Chautauqua County budget. But there would be no need to change the salary ranges in the first place if there weren’t raises coming soon for those employees. Makowski told county legislators there are 128 employees who are getting close to the maximum salary in ...

With Temporary State Aid, City Can Breathe Again Financially

An unexpected $1.6 million in temporary state aid will make Jamestown’s 2027 budget a lot easier on both the City Council and on city taxpayers. Gov. Kathy Hochul 2027 Executive Budget extends for one year the $50 million temporary program for cities, towns and villages. This program, which was initially authorized in 2025 for two years, provides general purpose aid for local governments. The funding comes at a good time for Jamestown, which has exhausted its remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to whittle down tax increases the past two years. Additional state aid ...

Cannabis Law Clarification Won’t Be Final One

We can’t disagree with the state Legislature’s decision to clarify how the distance from a proposed cannabis shop to a school or church is measured. Lifted, the city’s first cannabis dispensary, had trouble with exactly this issue before it could receive its permit from the state to open. The delay was unfortunate, but not allowing the store to open in the first place would have bordered on injustice. In the roughly 18 months since the shop opened on North Main Street there have been no issues reported and Tim Scoma, Lifted’s owner, has made the shop a regular contributor to ...

It’s Time For Some New Chautauqua Lake Cliches

Cliches become a cliche for a reason, as author William Gibson is credited with saying, because there is always a bit of truth in them. If there’s one cliche in the discussion over Chautauqua Lake and its weed problems, it’s the one repeated by Dr. Allison Hyrcik of the Jefferson Project during a recent presentation to the Chautauqua County Legislature. When asked by Legislator Bob Bankoski, D-Dunkirk, what the county should do to help prevent a large weed problem in 2026, Hyrcik said, “It’s a great question, but the thing is we’ve taken a couple hundred years to get to this ...

Survivors Deserve Full Transparency In Epstein Case

“The more Epstein documents get released, the more we see how he had so many powerful friends, and that’s ultimately what helped him,” commented the US lawyer Lisa Bloom in an interview with the Guardian this week. As Ms Bloom, who represents 11 of Jeffrey Epstein’s dogged and brave victims, drily notes: “That’s not the way the justice system is supposed to work.” From the outset, the Epstein affair has offered a textbook example of the ability of the influential and well-connected to avoid scrutiny and intimidate those who would exert it. A ruthless pursuit of ...

Vandalism, Thefts From Veterans Is Ridiculous

A couple of days ago in this space, we again noted the rising use of cameras in the area. There are legitimate privacy concerns that should be addressed as our society turns to technology to help improve public safety. It’s also worth noting the nuisance crimes that are helping drive society to technology. Recently, we reported on an issue discussed by the city Veterans Commission regarding thefts and vandalism at Lakeview Cemetery. The city has received multiple reports of bronze markers and other items being removed or stolen from gravesites and memorials, not just in Lakeview ...