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The strongest men I ever knew

It’s hard to believe that in almost two weeks the year 2026 will be halfway over, but time seems to pass much quicker these days, quite possibly attributed to all the activities we’re involved with day in and day out. A while back, we waited and waited, anxiously anticipating the arrival date of a vacation we had planned, and in, what seemed to be, the blink of an eye, it came and went seemingly faster than the snap of our fingers. Special days every year seem to creep up on us and arrive, sometimes before we can even be ready for them, especially some, where the person being ...

Thoughts on Lakewood’s sidewalks

I am again writing to you with some of my thoughts about the project in Lakewood that includes sidewalks and resurfacing on Route 394 (Fairmount Avenue). The state stated that the resurfacing was starting at Winch Road and continuing east and eventually to Jamestown city line. I believe the reason they are starting at Winch is that not too many years ago the state did a resurfacing that was west of Winch and did not continue any further east. Currently anything west of Winch does not need resurfacing. I see that the state sent a letter to the Village of Lakewood and the Town of ...

The politics of data centers

Recently, the New York State Legislature passed a one-year moratorium on building new data centers. That tends to be the way in New York. If it is controversial, let’s punt the issue down the road and deal with it later. Of course, no one voting for the proposal agreed to give up their cell phones or other devices. Everybody wants those. That’s where we get our news, weather, messages and virtually everything these days—navigating your car, streaming football games, asking “Siri” who was President 50 years ago. We can get it all—welcome to the world of ...

Bulldoze the Statue of Liberty?

President Trump’s lawyer is trying to convince a judge that not only did President Trump, as a tenant, have the power to tear down a large part of the White House, but that President Trump has the power to “bulldoze the Statue of Liberty.” As we approach July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the 13 British colonies declaring their independence from the King of England, has Trump declared our independence from what the Statue of Liberty stands for? Here is the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to ...

Budget is flawed, but persistent advocacy paid off

The state budget has finally passed, long after it should have. Let us be clear from the start: This is not a budget worthy of celebration. It spends too much. It came too late. It carries with it the marks of a state government that too often confuses activity with achievement and spending with leadership. For families, farmers, seniors, small businesses and school districts across Western New York, this budget does not fully answer the most important question before us: How do we make New York a more affordable place to live, raise a family, and do business? And yet, even in an ...

Living on the Great Lakes

Growing up around here you get so used to living around the Great Lakes that you don’t appreciate them. Recently, in reading a book about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, it hit me again about how significant this watershed is. The Great Lakes make up 80% of the freshwater in North America and over 20% of all the freshwater in the world. When Alexis De Tocqueville visited the United States in 1831, he described the Great Lakes as one of the wonders of the world—and he only saw the smallest of the lakes, Lake Erie. I remember, as a kid, our parents taking us to go ...