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Opinion

Affordability Always Makes Sense

Local Commentaries

Last weekend’s papers had the County Legislature’s Republican majority leader, Jamie Gustafson, critical of the three provisions of the “Affordability Act of 2026” introduced at the January County Legislature meeting by me as the assistant minority leader and Bob Banksoski, the minority leader. Our legislation would first make more senior citizen homeowners eligible for a partial property tax exemption, second, reduce the County’s property tax by $2,000,000 for 2027 and, third, support a County sales tax reduction from 8% to 7 3/4%, with more of the sales tax revenue going to ...

The History Of Valentine’s Day

Local Commentaries

Today marks another day to celebrate Love, and the feelings we have toward special people in our lives, be it True Love, Puppy Love, Love and Marriage, Crush Love, and/or any other type of feeling that makes us all “googlie ooglie” inside for that someone special. In what has become a holiday which started out as a romantic dinner celebration, has been embellished through time to include, flowers, candy, flowers and candy, a bracelet, a necklace, and bracelet and necklace, a ring, a bracelet and a ring, a necklace and a ring, a necklace, a bracelet, and a ring, a puppy, and if ...

NY’s New Stance On Life

Local Commentaries

By Margot Russell This is not an argument against mercy. It is an argument against pretending that power always uses mercy carefully. There is a particular kind of dishonesty that shows up whenever assisted death is proposed by people in power. We are told this choice will remain humane, and rare. We are told to stop worrying about abuse because, by God, the government respects life. But the moment the state authorizes death as a remedy, the argument is no longer about mercy. It becomes about eligibility. And eligibility, once introduced, never stays the same. I call it the big ...

Gorge Is Spectacular In Winter

Local Commentaries

CHAUTAUQUA GORGE STATE FOREST—It’s one thing to see the Chautauqua Gorge in the summertime. It’s another thing entirely to see it in the wintertime. If you haven’t seen it in the wintertime, you might consider putting it on your list. It’s spectacular. Just spectacular. High walls along the deeper parts of the gorge surround snow-covered pines and hardwoods. In the middle of a sunny afternoon, the blue sky is overhead. Later, as the sun sets, the sky turns dark blue and the brightest stars begin to fill the sky. More stars join them as the sky turns dark blue, then ...

‘The Swamp’ Real Winner Of Trump Tariff War

In Our Opinion

For decades, politicians have sold tariffs as a tonic for the working class. In reality, one particular group seems to benefit more than any other from trade wars: Washington influence peddlers. The United States collected some $288.5 billion in tariff revenue last year, up from $98.3 billion in 2024, thanks to a barrage of new levies imposed by the Trump administration. These tariffs, designed by elite lawyers in D.C. and implemented with highly technical and specialized language, presented a unique opportunity for lobbyists to charge large corporations exorbitant rates to seek relief ...