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Going Out of Business: The United States Inc.

To The Reader’s Forum: For decades, Republican leadership has touted the wisdom of running government more “like a business.” There may be some merit in looking to business to improve government efficiency and “customer service.” But how many businesses do you know that periodically shut down in protest when they don’t get exactly what they want? The grim reality is that the business of the “United States Inc.” can afford to shut down because it’s already a failing enterprise and its executives are embezzling hand over fist. Many things fundamentally distinguish ...

Biggest Issue Facing Cannabis May Be Market Saturation

The issues many Celoron residents raise concerning allowing cannabis to be sold in the village’s limits are the same ones we heard during the great opt-out debate of 2021. There were concerns over a negative influence on village youth if cannabis businesses were to open in Celoron - particularly if a shop were to open too close to the Celoron Village Park. There were concerns over increased marijuana use in the village if the village lifts its prohibition on dispensaries and on-site consumption businesses and a potential increase in crime. We haven’t seen many of those concerns ...

The Rest Of The Story

As a kid, I remember riding in the truck with my dad, listening to Paul Harvey’s iconic radio segment, “The Rest of the Story.” Harvey’s show was masterful. He’d spin the first half of a tale, often about history or ordinary folks, and just when you thought you had the facts straight, he’d reveal the twist, the context, the “rest of the story” that changed your entire perspective. His premise was simple: behind every headline, every controversy, there’s always a deeper story, a truth that only emerges when you look beyond the surface. Reading the back and forth about ...

Sink Them All Into The High Seas

For decades, illegal drugs from all over the world—and particularly from Central and South America—have come into the United States. As decades have passed, illegal drugs have become more and more lethal. The drug trade is no mere set of commercial transactions. It is no mere set of illegal commercial transactions. It is a criminal enterprise. Yet it’s more than a mere criminal enterprise. This is an invasion of the United States of America, an invasion that has taken more lives than this country lost in any of its wars. Correction: In any of its other wars. It is ...

Historic State Miscues Drive Seneca Ire

Signs of discontent have been evident for years along Interstate 90 east of the Silver Creek and Irving exit. Once motorists enter Seneca Nation of Indian territory, a billboard expresses its disdain for New York state. “A fee is assessed for all vehicles traveling through Seneca ...

Mural Projects Are Putting Cart Before The Horse

Jamestown officials are applying for a portion of the county’s 3% occupancy tax for a project to install a mural on the east side of the Washington Street Bridge on Harrison Street. A week ago we noted there was opposition to a county-backed program to install four murals in Falconer, Dunkirk, Sherman and Westfield through the Paint CHQ program. Legislator Fred Larson of Jamestown disagreed with the mural program moving forward with outside funding after county legislators tabled the program, a sign legislators didn’t want to spend any county money on the project. We agree with ...