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It’s up to local school officials to keep graduation standards high

In Our Opinion

We understand why there was barely a yawn from the public a few weeks ago when the state Board of Regents officially decoupled the Regents exams from the state’s graduation requirements. It was really a pro forma step that everyone knew the state was going to take as part of its effort to create new pathways to a high school diploma. So, while it is a noteworthy change for the seniors in the Class of 2028 who won’t be required to pass four Regents exams in math, English, science and global studies to graduate, it also would have been news if the Board of Regents hadn’t changed ...

Don’t abolish the commission without a plan

Local Commentaries

I am pleased that members of the Jamestown City Council’s Public Safety Committee recently tabled consideration of Mayor Kim Ecklund’s proposed local law to abolish the City’s Strategic Planning and Partnerships Commission. While the commission has been inactive since early 2020, that lack of activity should prompt a serious discussion about its purpose, effectiveness, and future before any decision is made to eliminate it. Established in 1996, the Commission was created to develop and recommend strategic initiatives, establish community-wide goals, and help address issues ...

We need a new generation of community leaders

Local Commentaries

From an early age, my father taught me the importance of giving back. As a postman in our city for nearly 30 years, he saw the needs of our community that often went unnoticed—from seniors living in isolation to families waiting for housing support. He taught my brother and I that community isn’t something we simply live in; it’s something we help build. One of my earliest memories is accompanying my dad alongside an older gentleman he had befriended while delivering mail to Heritage Village. The man had no family in the area, no real connections outside of the group home he ...

Maintaining republic requires understanding its founding

Local Commentaries

CHAUTAUQUA - Let’s pick up where we left off 23 weeks ago, with a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the University of Texas. Progressivism is a form of statism more commonly known in the United States as liberalism. Thomas explained that “progressivism”—the ...

Tough budgets taking a toll on city surplus

In Our Opinion

News that Jamestown’s unassigned surplus - its savings account, if you will - is on the low end of auditors’ recommended range for a city should catch the eye of city residents. It’s a sign that, while Jamestown won’t have the same trouble paying for day-to-day expenses as Dunkirk, the city’s finances are still worth watching as we head into a budget that Mayor Kim Ecklund has already said won’t be pretty. What should city residents take away from the yearly audit? The fact that the audit was done by mid-September shows Ecklund and Ericka Thomas, city comptroller, ...

Hopefully, no more extensions are needed for Falconer project

In Our Opinion

Falconer Village Board members did the right thing last week when they agreed to another one-year extension to purchase Main Street property that Peak Development has been working with the village to redevelop since a pair of fires destroyed the properties. The lot has been vacant for nearly a decade since the March 22, 2017, fire that destroyed 29-39 W. Main St. Efforts to redevelop the site have hit stumbling blocks for years, though the receipt of a NY Forward grant in June creates the possibility of additional funding for a redevelopment project. The NY Forward grant application ...