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In Our Opinion

It’s Easier To Remove Domestic Abusers Than All Weapons From A Home

Gov. Kathy Hochul will have a choice to make later this summer when she reviews A.544B/S.1985. It’s hard to argue, given our shared history with domestic abuse cases, that seizing weapons in these instances isn’t a smart thing to do in certain situations. The legislation requires a firearm, rifle, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun, disguised gun, imitation weapon, shotgun, antique firearm, black powder rifle, black powder shotgun, or muzzle-loading firearm that is found in plain sight or pursuant to a lawful search be seized. Weapons could be seized if the victim responds ...

City Residents Should Pay Attention To Dunkirk’s Mess

Jamestown residents - and some of their elected officials, too - should be paying close attention to the ongoing Dunkirk fiscal crisis. Our sister paper, the Dunkirk OBSERVER, has documented the growing mess over the past several years. Dunkirk took a hit when the NRG power plant closed and took a large chunk of the city’s revenue, in the form of PILOT payments, with it. New York state helped plug the hole with transitional aid, but Dunkirk officials never transitioned after the closure of NRG and, when the state money ran out, so did Dunkirk’s financial luck. Now, the city is ...

Additional Funding For Domestic Violence Cases Warranted In City

The Jamestown Police Department’s inclusion in a state program that aims to decrease domestic violence can be nothing but positive for the city. The Chautauqua County STRIVE Partnership received $847, 225 from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services’s Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence grant, with Jamestown receiving $309,815. It’s the first time the city has received a portion of the grant funding, with the additional money to be dedicated to overtime domestic violence details, a crime analyst position, outreach materials, canine supplies, a ...

Dunkirk City Council Members Are No Heroes In Last-Minute Control Board Push

In March, state Sen. George Borrello proposed legislation for a control board in the city of Dunkirk in an attempt to change the path of its beleaguered finances for the future. Last December, Common Council members — including Republican members Abigail Zatorski, James Stoyle and Nancy Nichols — voted to approve an 84% property tax increase. After that decision in late 2024, there was silence from the trio at public Common Council meetings when it came to money for five months. Never any discussion from them on how to cut spending, what to do about the fiscal crisis or the loan ...

Education Dept.’s Mascot Fight Distracts From Real Issue – Failing Schools

When the state Education Department made school districts around the state abandon high school mascots with Native American imagery, it could do so because it held all the trump cards when it comes to state funding. School districts had little alternative but to capitulate. The fight gets more interesting when the state doesn’t necessarily hold all the cards. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said recently she was giving New York 10 days to sign an agreement rescinding its mascot ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting ...

Make Sure Public Comment Isn’t Forgotten In Housing Site Pre-Permitting

The early returns on a plan to pre-permit sites for new housing development in Jamestown are good. Crystal Surdyk, city development director, and Kacie Foulk, city deputy director of housing policy and development, have done a good job of coming up with an idea that could make neighborhoods that have been the brunt of condemned houses and blight over the past two decades an attractive place to build new housing and begin rebuilding neighborhoods. Areas identified so far include sites on Fluvanna Avenue, Spring Street, Fulton Street, Vega and Eagle Streets, Johnson Street, and Cross ...