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Voting Should Never Depend On Paperwork

Local Commentaries

In the art world, the provenance of an object establishes a documented history of ownership—a “biography” of sorts, integral to verifying authenticity and establishing legal ownership. Tracing provenance is instrumental in identifying forgeries or fraud. To prevent fraud in elections, the SAVE Act would require proof of citizenship through a legally verifiable document trail before registering to vote—a sort of provenance of identity. Representative Nick Langworthy voted yes when the House passed the SAVE Act on February 11, 2026. At first glance, proof of citizenship for ...

Lawmakers Are Generous With Your Money

In Our Opinion

Deb Makowski, county human resources director, said several times during last week’s Audit and Control Committee meeting that increasing salary ranges for management employees doesn’t automatically give the affected employees salary increases. She’s technically right, of course. Salaries for 2026 were set in the 2026 Chautauqua County budget. But there would be no need to change the salary ranges in the first place if there weren’t raises coming soon for those employees. Makowski told county legislators there are 128 employees who are getting close to the maximum salary in ...

With Temporary State Aid, City Can Breathe Again Financially

In Our Opinion

An unexpected $1.6 million in temporary state aid will make Jamestown’s 2027 budget a lot easier on both the City Council and on city taxpayers. Gov. Kathy Hochul 2027 Executive Budget extends for one year the $50 million temporary program for cities, towns and villages. This program, which was initially authorized in 2025 for two years, provides general purpose aid for local governments. The funding comes at a good time for Jamestown, which has exhausted its remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to whittle down tax increases the past two years. Additional state aid ...

Cannabis Law Clarification Won’t Be Final One

In Our Opinion

We can’t disagree with the state Legislature’s decision to clarify how the distance from a proposed cannabis shop to a school or church is measured. Lifted, the city’s first cannabis dispensary, had trouble with exactly this issue before it could receive its permit from the state to open. The delay was unfortunate, but not allowing the store to open in the first place would have bordered on injustice. In the roughly 18 months since the shop opened on North Main Street there have been no issues reported and Tim Scoma, Lifted’s owner, has made the shop a regular contributor to ...

Readers’ Forum

Letters To The Editor

Parent Of Special Needs Child Raises Issues To the Readers’ Forum: I am writing as a special needs parent who has reached a breaking point with the lack of access, communication, and basic respect within our local mental health system. My first attempt to seek help for my special needs son was through the Jones Hill office. I was belittled for not bringing him to an initial appointment, despite explaining ahead of time that he would not be able to answer questions and that the visit was for intake purposes. Rather than being met with understanding, I was given an unnecessary ...

Humanity, Untelevised

Local Commentaries

By Margot Russell Remember this? In the weeks after the flooding outside Asheville, something unexpected happened. The headlines were grim at first—washed-out roads, shuttered shops, homes caked in mud. Social media did what it does: circulated dramatic footage, assigned blame, predicted long recoveries. But on the ground, a quieter story began to unfold. Restaurants that had lost power cooked everything in their freezers and handed out meals for free. Breweries turned into supply depots. Church parking lots became distribution hubs. Contractors showed up with their own equipment ...