JLDC Loans Are Ethically Wrong

April 10, 2023

To The Reader’s Forum: What is going on at the JLDC is ethically wrong and taxpayers should be paying attention. The JLDC is an opaque entity in Jamestown that gives out millions and millions of dollars in taxpayer money. It is made up of nine members. Some are elected officials, some are dubious community members. The JLDC is not transparent as Tony Dolce would tell you. The press has had to FOIL information from the JLDC about this matter because the JLDC has not made it available to the public. Basic information, like how much they are giving out and who is getting it. It should ...

Guns Are The Tool Of American Carnage

April 8, 2023

To The Reader’s Forum: So, as of today, March 28, 2023, there have been, per at least one report, over 130 “mass shootings” in America this calendar year! Three children and three adults were gunned down yesterday at a private school in Nashville, TN. One MAGA/GOP Congressperson, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, said, “My prayers are with the beautiful children whose lives have been lost, their families & the first responders who are dealing with this tragedy in Nashville!” At least four questions come quickly to mind - 1) Does “God” hate children since gun violence is ...

Recommendations For The Future Lake Efforts

April 4, 2023

To The Reader’s Forum: The recent decision to disband the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency has stimulated renewed discussion in the community about how to proceed regarding lake management direction and funding. One suggestion has already been offered to the legislature. We have consulted with other state and local organizations and elected officials. We would like to add our voice to the public discourse on this critical subject. We believe that any future program will be most successful if it features collaborative consensus-building with no single ...

Don’t Jump On ‘Antiwoke’ Bandwagon.

March 18, 2023

To The Reader’s Forum: People on the right-wing of society, usually Republicans, use the word “woke” as, more or less, a derogatory word. An example is from Florida Gov. DeSantis who says Florida “is where ‘woke’ goes to die.” So, what does “woke” mean? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “woke” as “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” The questions you ought to ask yourself are, “Do you really believe that becoming aware of, and attentive to important facts and issues is bad ...

City Council Should Avoid Climate Smart Communities Pledge

March 4, 2023

To The Reader’s Forum: Jamestown City Council put readers on notice that it is taking the first step to considering implementation of the New York State Climate Smart Communities pledge. Council must say NO to participating in this pledge. Here’s why. In addressing the issue of climate change, longitudinal data must be examined over a period of at least several decades. We have data from multiple decades to more than a hundred years. Importantly, within the data, a statistical trend line must be observed indicating increase in the climate aspect being studied. Where no trend line ...

Capitalizing On Slavery

March 2, 2023

To The Reader’s Forum: Rich Lowry’s dismissal of Hulu’s “The 1619 Project” (”No, Slavery Didn’t Create Capitalism,” 2/24/2023) as “cartoonish”—likening it to Disney—is as problematic as it is misguided. First, the episode in question doesn’t assert that American capitalism and slavery were synonymous; the first line is literally “capitalism is complicated,” followed by the challenge, “we need a better definition.” The episode’s assertion that American slavery cannot be compartmentalized from the history of capitalism may be debatable, but Lowry ...