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Opinion

It’s time for county lawmakers, administrators to learn to say no

In Our Opinion

It's easy for local governments to drive a hard bargain on pay and benefits during contract negotiations when everybody knows a government is struggling to keep its budget affordable for taxpayers. Fiscal discipline for cities like Jamestown or Dunkirk is easy when you're increasing taxes each year to simply keep the status quo. It's not as easy when you're a local government sitting on a sizeable surplus. Fiscal discipline is difficult because everyone knows your financial cup runneth over. In our opinion, county lawmakers didn't show fiscal discipline when they approved ...

They served so we could live free

In Our Opinion

They've never asked for thanks, but they've earned it a thousand times over. Every parade, every flag raised, every quiet moment of freedom enjoyed on a Monday morning exists because, somewhere, someone once stood between danger and home. Veterans Day isn't a gift to them; it's a reminder to the rest of us. Across the region, you'll find them everywhere--men and women who wore the uniform and came home to build lives, families, and towns that still depend on their quiet strength. They don't ask for recognition. They don't boast about their service. But the stories are written in their ...

Are there any realistic options other than repairing city parking ramps?

In Our Opinion

Council members will be asked to approve, in the coming months, at least $2.16 million for necessary work on the Cherry Street parking ramp and another $4.1 million on repairs for the Spring Street parking ramp. That’s a hefty chunk of change for ramps with limited usage in a struggling downtown. It’s telling that at the same time the city is discussing investing in repairs, the DoubleTree Hotel located next to the Cherry Street ramp is being placed for sale because Hamister Development says visitor counts haven’t rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic. So we get why Councilman ...

School tax surprise hits taxpayers this year

Letters To The Editor

To The Reader’s Forum: Despite the fact that taxpayers were told that there would be no increase in our school taxes this year, N.Y. State Democrats have found a way to make that statement untrue. Apparently, by lowering the equalization rate and making the full market value of your home more, it also lowers your STAR amount. Mine went down by $70. This fact along with an increase in the library tax raised my taxes about 25%. So much for the "no increase" promise. It seems that the state just can't get enough of your hard earned money. At least in N.Y. we know who to blame as ...

The human obligation toward animals

Local Commentaries

It was drilled into me at an early age that humans have an obligation to properly treat and take care of animals. Much of this training came from being the son of a dairy farmer. The cows really came first on the farm and taking proper care of them was foremost. Some of this sense of obligation or responsibility was, of course, driven by economics. The cows and the milk they produced were the primary source of revenue for the farm. Just think about it—a cow which may weigh 1,200 lbs., can, in one season of milking (10 months,) produce 20,000-25,000 lbs. of milk. A milk cow is an ...

Progress in help for domestic violence victims doesn’t mean the job is done

In Our Opinion

If one thing is clear after our series of stories detailing the experiences of domestic violence survivors, it is that the system isn't perfect. We agree with Sally Jaroszynski, an attorney who has been practicing law for more than 30 years, though, when she says the courts have made strides in what is a tricky and difficult to navigate system. One of those improvements is the creation of the Integrated Domestic Violence Court, led in Chautauqua County by Judge Stephen Cass. The Integrated Domestic Violence Court allows Cass to hear several different cases or proceedings that may ...