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Lessons Learned On A Trip To Ohio

Local Commentaries

Recently, we took a road trip to Ohio with another couple. It was a good break from the winter doldrums. We stopped to see old friends, renew old memories and revisit old, familiar places. Ohio seems like it will never end. There are places of beautiful rolling hills, but then there are the seemingly endless, flat plains of the great craton...the corn belt that spans across several states in the Midwest. We drove for three days and never left the State of Ohio. One of the rewards of seeing old friends is that it is easy. Though you may not have seen them for several years, you ...

Lake Alliance Needs More Than A ‘Cone Of Silence’

Local Commentaries

Remember the television show Get Smart with Don Adams and Barbara Feldon and their “cone of silence” which they used for top secret conversations? Recall that it never really worked. Our own Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance has unsuccessfully attempted to operate in such a “cone” for several years now. Readers may recall the Post-Journal editorial of November 22, 2025, which concluded: “It’s time for the Alliance’s failed closed meeting experiment to end.” That editorial addressed only one of the organizational and procedural defects preventing ...

Anchors Aweigh - And All That Jazz

Local Commentaries

When the Fredonia Opera House announced this concert, I closed my laptop and picked up the phone. The U.S. Navy Band’s Sea Chanters were at the Opera House for an evening concert last Friday and I wasn’t going to miss it. It seemed a shame for just Richard and me to enjoy it, so we invited two musician friends to join us. No, we weren’t generous big spenders. All tickets to all military band events are complimentary. Our four tickets arrived in the mail two days later. My friend Ann grew up playing the piano. These days she makes music mostly at church in both the choir and ...

Narrowing Tax Base Won’t Fund Programs

In Our Opinion

One of the most consequential trends in American politics is that Democrats are increasingly discovering what Republicans have known for decades: Voters don’t like taxes. Now the gubernatorial primary in California has become an experiment in how far tax cuts might take a Democratic politician in one of the country’s bluest states. Katie Porter, one of the most progressive legislators during her six years in Congress, is running for governor and polling in the middle of a crowded field. To boost her languishing campaign, she has proposed eliminating state income taxes — for ...

Airport Commission Has Right Approach

Local Commentaries

Members of the Chautauqua County Airport Commission have the right approach on the pending Essential Air Services, or EAS, application to the federal government to resume commercial-air service at the Chautauqua County Jamestown airport. Patience. Patience. Patience. Their patience was evident at their March 11 meeting. The commission, as part of Chautauqua County government, supported a well-thought-out EAS application that includes everything it could reasonably be expected to include. The application was submitted in 2025. We all but knew this: It would take not many weeks ...

Ending Waivers Won’t Change Smoking Rates

In Our Opinion

Chautauqua County officials want to push the remaining organizations that have indoor smoking waivers to go smokefree. Smoking indoors in public places became largely illegal in New York state with the passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act on July 24, 2003, banning smoking in most workplaces, restaurants, and bars. There are five remaining private organizations with waivers to allow indoor smoking - and those five clubs will begin paying more for the privilege: $300 annually to $650 in 2026, and to $1,000 in 2027. We can’t argue with the health benefits of going smokefree. There are ...