U.S. senators considering whether to confirm former Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald as the new head of the Department of Veterans Affairs have two important tasks to accomplish during the next couple of weeks.First, as they question McDonald during hearings, they should determine ...

Is it possible for New York state to be more progressive than it already is?We're about to find out.An uneasy coalition that allowed Republicans to share power in the state Senate is ending. Last week, members of the Independent Democratic Conference announced they were ending their agreement ...

Thumbs up to the Friends of the Prendergast Library for establishing a Book Sale/Family Literacy Fund to provide used books to organizations that serve children and families. The effort has been particularly pushed by Janet Forbes, a library volunteer, and Daniel and Linda Fellows, founding ...

When the Founders of our great nation gathered 237 years ago to sign the Declaration of Independence, they had only an idea of the magnificent country to which they were giving life. But even in those early days, men such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and John Adams knew ...

It would appear Chautauqua County got out of the nursing home business just in the nick of time.Cattaraugus County legislators recently heard reports on county-owned nursing homes in Machias and Olean - and the news is not good. Equity in the facilities is dropping while, at the same time, ...

Chautauqua Striders has come a long way since its inception in 1979.The organization, originally known as the Chadakoin Valley Athletic Club, was founded by Ron Graham and Dan Feather to give youth on Jamestown's north side a constructive outlet. Athletes in the program quickly garnered ...

Leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives hope to reach agreement soon on a bill addressing the Department of Veterans Affairs scandal. Among other things, it calls for veterans to get medical treatment from the private sector if they are placed on long waiting lists by the ...

Using illegal methods to harm one's political opponents, then lying to cover it up, is serious business, as former President Richard Nixon learned. Claiming records sought by investigators were "lost" accidentally can expose one to ridicule, his secretary, Rose Mary Woods, found out.But that ...

It is indeed good news that the overall four-year graduation rate for Chautauqua County high school students broke 80 percent for the Class of 2013.The county's 80.9 percent graduation rate was higher than the state's 77.8 percent mark. The county's rate of students graduating with a Regents ...

Thumbs up to all the high school students who will walk across the stage and receive their high school diploma. Those diplomas signify an end to one chapter of these youths' lives and the start of an even more exciting time in their lives. For some, this means heading off to college in the ...

Try getting an answer to your questions about government retirement benefits by calling your local Social Security office. Let's hope you have plenty of time to wait ... and wait ... and wait.Perhaps you will be tempted to visit the Social Security office personally. Again, be prepared for long ...

Auto racing has a long tradition in Chautauqua County.Jay Young, a Post-Journal sports reporter, detailed some of that tradition in the paper's June 20 edition. Before the advent of NASCAR and televised car racing, there were small tracks in most of the towns and villages across Chautauqua and ...

Approval of medical marijuana garnered the most discussion of bills considered by the state Legislature as its legislative session drew to a close Friday.There were, however, a slew of items of interest to area residents. In no particular, order, then, we give thumbs up, thumbs down review of ...

Evidently, sharing a superintendent has gone smoothly for the Panama and Clymer school districts.The districts recently finished their first year with Bert Lictus serving as superintendent for both districts, a move created from a desire to utilize the districts' close proximity while saving ...

It's possible Robert H. Jackson would have reached great heights without the mentoring he received from Mary Willard.After all, Jackson had proven himself to be a bright, gifted and motivated student by the time he reached Jamestown High School. Jackson, however, placed great importance on ...

The federal Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan - part of President Barack Obama's idea to slow global warming - is bad policy.That bad policy becomes potentially disastrous to every single person in Chautauqua County when combined with New York state's refusal to allow hydraulic ...

Thumbs up to Nicholas McIntyre, a Southwestern Central School student at the Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES Hewes Center in Ashville, who will compete in the 50th SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference starting Monday in St. Louis. McIntyre is a senior Motorsports ...

Bureaucratic overreach may take the cheese off your table.Artisanal cheesemakers are alarmed because they may have to stop aging their cheese on wooden shelves due to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA's interpretation of a safety rule says wooden boards or shelves can't be properly ...

Two springtime shootings on Jamestown's north side are, to date, unsolved.The first happened in the early evening of April 21 at Chadakoin Park and sent one person to WCA Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The second incident on May 31 resulted in 12 rounds fired into a home on the ...

Americans who remember the fall of South Vietnam in 1975 - and the frantic evacuation of U.S. troops and civilians from Saigon - may be watching events in Iraq with a dismayed sense of deja vu.Insurgents including al-Qaida elements are on a steady march through Iraq, with the goal of toppling ...