If there is one area Gov. Andrew Cuomo is flunking right now in his handling of COVID-19, it is the uncertainty of state aid to schools. Schools had been told that an analysis at the end of April would dictate how much state aid to schools would be cut this year. That analysis by Robert ...
Thanks to a surprising bit of good fortune with COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Buffalo area and the identification of just enough contact tracers, Western New York is finally able to reopen today. For now, construction, wholesale trade and manufacturing can begin opening back up with ...
There is not much time for Boards of Education — and the public — to soak in the coming school budget votes. It’s a changing situation, but one thing is certain: districts are desperate. Just like every other aspect of our community, lifestyle and economy, school districts are finding ...
The news that one of the people to test positive recently for COVID-19 works for a Chautauqua County nursing home brings two things to mind that everyone in our circulation area should keep in mind for the next several months. First, everyone needs to act cautiously, but especially anyone ...
Cassadaga Valley Central School is considering a potentially difficult, but likely necessary, decision. More than a dozen positions could be cut in the school’s 2020-21 budget proposal, but none generated more discussion than the possible elimination of Scot Stutzman, high school ...
Downtown business owners are asking for the city’s help to allow for more outdoor seating and entertainment. Similar requests have been a couple of times over the years, with one reason outdoor seating being set aside is the lack of room on many city sidewalks for dining to coexist with ...
If you are among those who have not lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 epidemic, congratulations. Perhaps you share the widespread opinion that the current “lockdown” of the economy should continue, to keep everyone safe. How would you like the government to collect your share? ...
As the coronavirus epidemic hit full stride, Americans learned to our dismay that the nation lacked adequate supplies of COVID-19 test kits, personal protective gear such as face masks, medical ventilators and other necessities for dealing with a massive health care emergency. To their ...
Regent Roger Tilles asked a prescient question during this week’s state Board of Regents meeting that cuts to the heart of the state’s separation of powers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tilles was asking Shannon Tahoe, interim state education commissioner, her thoughts on the ...
Gov. Andrew Cuomo made some waves earlier this week when he announced plans to partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to reimagine education in the new normal. In the short-term, it’s important to note that the move to online education has not been as seamless as the governor ...
We hope Chautauqua County residents are paying close attention to what happens in neighboring Warren County, Pa. Pennsylvania has included Warren County in counties that are moved to the “Yellow Phase” of reopening starting today. Some businesses remain closed — including restaurants ...
Chautauqua Institution made a difficult decision over the weekend. The institution has provided a familiar rhythm to our summer season. Many area residents know summer is here when insitution residents begin arriving. A leisurely pace resumes here when the institution closes for the year. In ...
The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ yard waste disposal site is open for limited hours through May 15. The site will be manned by city public works employees from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday through May 15. Residents will be asked to come to the site on their normal ...
One of the main reasons to shut down our society was to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases. Why, then, are reopening plans for the economy being handled differently than the reopening plans for elective procedures in hospitals? It’s a valid question whose answer ...
We Americans have paid a high price — more than 60,000 deaths — for not stockpiling enough medical equipment and personal protective devices to cope with the COVID-19 onslaught. But here, some states seem to have begun flattening that a statistical curve you read so much about. A few are ...
The Chautauqua Lake hyperbole machine is in high gear. After one year of relative peace regarding lake treatments, threats of lawsuits are being bandied about while age-old divisions among lake agencies and personalities are rising to the surface like pesky eurasian milfoil leaves. Towns ...
We’re not often in agreement with Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, particularly in her seemingly endless series of lawsuits and spats with President Donald Trump and the federal government. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and James is right to oppose several proposed ...
The area is seeing a rash of new cancellations as the COVID-19 shutdown stretches into May. The Celoron Ribfest, Great Blue Heron Festival and area Memorial Day parades have all been cancelled. It’s a reminder that, as much as everyone wants to see the economy reopened, simply reopening ...
Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced with great fanfare that Lt. Kathy Hochul would oversee Western New York’s phased business reopening. That was seen as a good thing at the time. At least Hochul, who is from Buffalo, can find Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties with a map, a ...
A great experiment is underway in the United States. Led by a few states — notably, Georgia — we are trying to determine how and when to begin recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. We know the risk: Allow people and businesses to ease away from restrictions put in place to limit the ...