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Being creatures of convenience

Local Commentaries

We are inclined to complain about the situation in which we find ourselves. “If only everything weren’t so commercialized.” “If only we could go back to the good old days when things were smaller and not dominated by big box stores and big business.” “If only we could go back to the times when we only used a phone that was hanging on a wall or sitting on a desk, not one constantly going off in our hands, pocket or purse.” We say these things, but, in fact, we are where we are today because we are creatures of convenience. It always irks me a bit when the Amazon, FedEx ...

Misconceptions about democracy, socialism

Local Commentaries

There has been a lot of discussion and assumptions about democracy and socialism that seem to be misunderstood. This led me to review the root causes of our misconceptions. First, Democracy is a Greek word (demokratia) meaning people (demos) and rule or power (kratos). It encompasses the following concept: citizens vote directly on laws and policies for their society. Representative Democracy means citizens vote for representatives who make laws and govern on our behalf. Here in lies the rub: do our representatives make laws for us or corporations? “Corpus” is Latin for ...

Procrastination is not sound budgeting

Local Commentaries

As promised, and as accurately reported on your front page some weeks ago, I voted this week against Chautauqua County’s proposed budget for 2027. Why? First: it is not because I believe that county employees or management are less than dedicated or diligent. They are, by and large, both of these things. It is because this budget fails to get ahead of the two fundamental economic trends that are to blame for our widening gaps between revenue and expenditures. In the 2026 budget the expected overspend vs. revenues was budgeted at $2 million. In fact, it looks like it will come in ...

Saving pennies is nice. City Council needs to find dollars.

In Our Opinion

Once again, the City Council is tying itself in knots over a city vehicle for the mayor’s office. These leases have raised questions, particularly over the past six years. Starting in 2020, when former Mayor Eddie Sundquist, through the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency, entered into a lease for a bigger, more expensive vehicle than the one that had been provided for former Mayor Sam Teresi, and continuing through a new lease in 2023 these vehicle leases have raised questions and created consternation. In our view, the city should take the least expensive option. On a per-year ...

In age of sharing, privacy picture blurs

Editor's Corner

Rare is the moment when our senior U.S. senator is critical of any type of picture taking. A longstanding political joke notes “the most dangerous place in Washington is between Chuck Schumer and a television camera.” That phrase offers a nod to Schumer’s longtime tradition of annually ...

Bruce Blakeman needs more than a victory

Local Commentaries

LAKEWOOD—Let’s pick up where we left off three weeks ago. No one needs to explain to New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman that he and his team need to run hard through the tape on Election Day. They’re doing that. Hence the Oct. 28 whistle-stop tour across the Southern ...