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Opinion

Is One Person/One Vote Rule In Jeopardy?

Local Commentaries

As the Warren Supreme Court wisely declared in the famous voting rights case Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), which established the One Person/One Vote rule, "the weight and worth of the citizens' votes as nearly as is practicable must be the same.” In other words, the weight and worth of all votes cast in our elections must be, in practice, equal in value. Unwisely, the Roberts Supreme Court has decided all voters and their votes are equal but some voters and their votes ‘may’ be more equal than others. In effect, the Roberts Court turned the One Person/One Vote Rule on its head ...

Action Requires Movement

Local Commentaries

Pablo Picasso once stated that “action is the foundational key to success.” While he likely wasn’t referencing the Second Amendment, his words find a striking parallel in the world of firearms. For the gun enthusiast, “action” refers to the central functional mechanism of a breech-loading gun—the “breech” being the rear end of the barrel where the cartridge is loaded. This mechanism is responsible for the critical movement of loading, locking, firing, extracting, and ejecting cartridges. Because this movement is the heart of the machine, a gun owner must prioritize ...

Wetlands Law Challenge Takes Surprising Turn

Local Commentaries

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE—The court challenge to New York’s wetlands law has taken a surprising, fascinating turn. To understand this, let’s pick up where we left off six weeks ago. That’s when acting state Supreme Court Justice Richard Platkin struck down the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation’s, or DEC’s, wetlands regulations. * * * Such law can be devastating for Chautauqua County, particularly because of the impact on Chautauqua Lake. By increasing controls over what the DEC labels as wetlands, the law can turn Chautauqua Lake into a weed farm, ...

Arkwright, County Keep Living In Past

Editor's Corner

Is it any wonder we continue to fail in looking to the future by maintaining our overabundance of government and schools in Western New York? Last week, one of the smallest municipalities in Chautauqua County actually had a gripe with a proposal to change the status of a highway ...

City, Partners Go Back To The Past With Conventions Push

In Our Opinion

Jamestown and its nonprofit partners are going to pursue conventions in an attempt to bring people downtown. The Jamestown Meetings and Conferences Initiative is one of the first tasks given to the newly reconstituted Jamestown Renaissance Corporation. The effort includes the city of Jamestown, Chautauqua County Government, CHQ Chamber, Chautauqua County Visitor’s Bureau, Gebbie Foundation and Jamestown area attractions and hotels. It’s just the latest example of that which is old becoming new again. Jamestown has been down this road before - and actually had a modicum of ...

Automatic Raises For Legislators Should End

In Our Opinion

The idea of automatic cost-of-living-adjustments for Chautauqua County legislators is, and frankly always was, a bad idea. We weren’t in favor of legislators receiving a 64% increase in pay in 2024. While that was the first raise in county lawmakers’ pay in about 20 years. A $5,700 raise doesn’t look like much until you realize it equaled a nearly $110,000 increase to the county budget. Now, next year, legislators are set to receive another pay increase tied to inflation. Can all the county residents who work two jobs raise their hands if their part-time employer have ...