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Opinion

Of What Use is a Fine House?

Local Commentaries

Chautauqua County and much of the rest of Western New York is blessed with beautiful, healthy natural resources. Things aren’t perfect, there are scars, but overall our forests, fields, streams, and lakes are a huge asset. It was Henry Thoreau who said, “Of what use is a fine house if you haven’t a tolerable planet to put it on?” Thoreau is questioning the value of human material possessions, like a luxurious house, if the natural environment around us is ruined. A local example is the fine houses surrounding Chautauqua Lake that are suffering the consequences of past and current ...

The Surreal Republican Convention in Dallas

Local Commentaries

“Surreal” is a subjective term describing something that is beyond normal reality...like something out of a dream. That is the way it seemed with the special Republican Convention called by President Donald Trump last week in Dallas. It wasn’t a serious political convention with any real substance. It was a Trump pep rally—a call to the MAGA troops not to look at the price of gasoline or the ongoing war in Iran...but to think about all of the good things going on like the new ballroom at the White House, a new arch near the Potomac, or the U.S. getting oil from Venezuela as ...

Lavish, placid Republican legislators may be on hot seat

Editor's Corner

Right as the controversial data center issue began to ramp up in the spring, our newspaper received a communication from a fired-up individual. As part of the impassioned discussion, the caller made it clear what she was going to say would be important to the Brocton-Portland community. Why ...

Joseph Hernandez understands rough waters, rip currents

Local Commentaries

SUNSET BAY—It’s a gorgeous late summer day on the shore of Lake Erie. As a Buffalo Bills’ game is on television, the sun is bright, the air is warm, and wispy clouds fill the blue sky. This is the kind of day that postcards are made of. It’s that much fun. It’s a bit windy ...

School merger process should be streamlined

In Our Opinion

It’s becoming clear, as we move through the state-prescribed consolidation process in Clymer, Sherman and Panama, that the state should consider changes to its school merger process. The process begins with a nonbinding referendum vote during a school budget vote and board election to approve a study. The boards then approve a consultant. Then, the communities have to vote a second time to schedule a vote - either through what is known as a straw vote or through a petition drive that signals the communities’ agreement to set a final vote. If all those steps are approved, then the ...

In Our Opinion

In Our Opinion

In a bolt of bipartisanship, the Chautauqua County Legislature recently approved a local law that will require drivers to leave a minimum of three feet when passing non-motorists. The law is aimed at cyclists, but also includes pedestrians, those on horses and Amish buggies, among others. State law requires drivers to use “due care” but does not attach a measurement to that standard. We think there’s a reason for that choice - how does one use the 3-foot law preventatively? Police aren’t carrying tape measures, and even if they did they can’t use one while moving if they ...