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Reverse Federal Cuts To Food Programs

On March 10, many news outlets announced that the USDA, under guidance from the Trump Administration with advisement from D.O.G.E, has cancelled over $1 billion dollars distributed across the nation for local food programs, specifically the Local Food for Schools Program, and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. Both programs have been directly investing in Chautauqua County; not only feeding children, many of whom live in our county in poverty, but also compensating our local, small, and family-owned farms. In 2024, via the Local Food Purchase Assistance ...

In Defense of Chuck Schumer

Our U.S. Senator, Chuck Schumer, has come under some fairly heavy criticism in the past couple of weeks over his decision to not let the government default. The criticisms were framed primarily by those in his own party who believed that the decision would further enable the President in his efforts at dismantling the federal government. This impression was magnified when the President, himself, thanked Schumer for lending support to the Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government running through September. I am not entirely a disinterested observer in all of this, since many ...

The Attack On DEI And Marginalized Communities

“I’m really looking forward to the next four years.” That was the response I received from a local business owner after expressing my concerns about the current administration and its attack on DEI and how it will affect marginalized communities. She then casually said, “Let’s do lunch soon!” I walked away from the conversation, realizing that she didn’t know she is a part of a marginalized group and seemed unaware or indifferent to the harm being done. A marginalized group comprises individuals who have been disadvantaged or excluded from certain social, economic, ...

The Problem Of Chasing Green Unicorns

Informed policy debate takes a back seat to special interest politics until reality finally threatens the plausible deniability of the politicians. The only question is how much damage politicians will do before reality forces their hand. Such is the battle in New York state between those who must keep the lights on, and the politicians pushing the net-zero and anti-nuclear ideology of current New York state Law. Gov. Kathy Hochul has painted New York state into a corner by ignoring the costs of Green Ideology. Under New York state law, utilities are forced to pay sky-high Strike ...

‘War On Women’s Sports Is Over’

During the confirmation hearing for one of the Trump administration’s cabinet secretaries, the nominee testified that “there are two genders.” Sexes, not genders, would have been the right word. As you may have learned in, say, a seventh-grade life-sciences class, organisms that reproduce sexually—as opposed to asexually—have two sexes: Male and female. Males are he; females are she. Gender is different from sex. Early in a foreign-language class, one learns that gender is a construct of language. In Romance languages, nouns have two genders. Each noun is either ...

County Can Help Bring Tax Relief

Reducing the County’s sales tax rate from 8% to 7 ¾% under my Resolution is a win-win proposal. Our residents get a tax break and our cities, towns and villages will be held harmless. Starting in 1968, for over 30 years, Chautauqua County made do with a 7% sales tax. For the last 10 years the County government has repeatedly asked the State Legislature to raise our sales tax to 8%. Some in Mayville now want to continue the 8% rate for the next 2 years. It is time to give our residents a tax break and reduce the sales tax to 7 ¾ for at least 3 reasons. First, there was a ...