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250th anniversary of the United States a big deal

Local Commentaries

As it should be, a lot has been made this year of the 250th anniversary (birthday) of our country. It is a time to reflect back on what it has taken to bring us to where we are today. One of my siblings reminded me that, in fact, we have been alive for about 1/3rd of that time — just think about it. If you divide 250 by three … you get my age! Either I am very old or the country is very young — and both are true. It made me reflect back upon conversations with my father. He told us that in discussions he had with his grandfather, that his grandfather described working all ...

Charging back on state of electricity

Local Commentaries

The Editor’s corner by John D’Agostino of August 14 on renewables jolting electric costs was full of misinformation and contradictions. You mentioned that we shuttered “clean burning coal plants.” There is no such thing as clean burning coal, never was. That misrepresentation alone shot your credibility early on. You then jump to the environmental transformation of Lake Erie brought on by the shuttering of “clean burning coal plants” and other industrial facilities that turned the lake (and the land surrounding it) into a toxic waste dump. So is cleaning up polluting ...

Unhealthy banter drives measles resurgence

Editor's Corner

How is it, in an age of vast technology and information, Americans keep tempting fate when it comes to medicine? One decade ago — a mere four years before the COVID-19 pandemic, who would have ever thought it intelligent to not get a vaccination for measles? In 2004, there were less than ...

Benjamin Franklin makes visit to Chautauqua

Local Commentaries

CHAUTAUQUA— Chautauqua Institution doesn’t slow down as the season winds down. Although the last week of the season often has somewhat fewer visitors than earlier weeks, the place bustles with as much energy as ever. Morning-amphitheater programs bring out the crowds, as do afternoon ...

In Our Opinion

In Our Opinion

This week’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be spending $20 million to purchase grape juice from area farmers is welcome news for the region. Just last week, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer was trying to make juice out of sour grapes with his proposal to use the Section 32 funds provided by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 to purchase grapes from local growers hurt by the cancellation of their purchase contracts with Refresco. The same mechanism was used in 2025 to stabilize prices through a similar request through utilization of Section 32 funds, with ...

There are too many endangering the welfare cases in Jamestown

In Our Opinion

It seems like we’ve read a lot about endangering the welfare of a child charges in the Jamestown area over the past few years. Data compiled by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services explains why that’s the case - more and more Jamestown adults are being charged with not taking care of their kids. Over the past two years, more than 65% of all of the charges of endangering the welfare of a child have come from the city of Jamestown. Through a quarter of 2026, that percentage is up to 73.9%. There are a lot of reasons for that, including high levels of poverty, ...