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In Our Opinion

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

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

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?

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 ...

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

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 ...

Other Voices: While the economy is growing, purchasing power is not

The economy is strong by conventional measures, but most voters don’t feel it. Gross domestic product grew 3.4 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace in a year. Consumer spending increased 3.8 percent, and nonresidential business investment surged 12.7 percent, propelled by artificial intelligence and the data center build-out. At the same time, the final Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll before the midterms found that 75 percent of Americans describe the economy as poor or not so good. Forty-eight percent say they’re financially not as well off since President Donald Trump took ...

Urban Deer Management program should expand

In 2024, the state Legislature approved a temporary Urban Deer Management Pilot program for Syracuse and Southfield to study new ways of dealing with expanding urban deer populations. The program has included placing bait within 300 feet of a road, taking deer from a public highway, use of a spotlight from a vehicle while in possession of an unloaded firearm, and additional exceptions for the discharge of firearms, long bows or crossbows within 250 to 500 feet of an occupied structures with notification of landowners or at distances less than 250 feet with written consent of all ...