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The importance of public water systems

This past week marked a big event at our house—we were finally connected to the public sewer system that has just been completed along the west side of Chautauqua Lake. When it happened, it was really a “non-event.” The toilet flushed the same way, the drains in the sink were no different than before—yet, we knew that our wastewater was now going to a better place—the public sewage treatment plant in Celoron. Actually, I think that I slept better that night, knowing that this 10-year odyssey of getting sewers up the lake had finally come to a successful conclusion at our ...

The times are a changin’

I enjoyed reading Mr. Kidder’s perspective about the history of public education in our county and his understanding and respect for the value of public education. I also appreciated the piece about the Board of Regents’ decision to decouple Regents exams from graduation requirements. I’d like to provide my perspective on this change. First, I understand the notion that Regents exams can provide a level of rigor and accountability to a school district. After all, when there is a standard students must demonstrate to receive a diploma, it can hold an institution accountable to ...

AI & MI : dynamic duo of destruction?

"The end is near." That familiar refrain has echoed for millennia without coming to fruition. The argument has been made that the rapid pace of artificial intelligence has brought the world closer to that apocalyptic end. Bill Gates has issued a stark warning that artificial intelligence could cause "a billion deaths" if it falls into the wrong hands. He called for mandatory government regulation and internal monitoring safeguards, stating a bipartisan "kill switch" alone is insufficient. Sam Altman, the chief executive of Open AI, joined others in the artificial intelligence ...

Visit Adams, Jefferson homes

CHAUTAUQUA—In part because of all of the history that fills Boston, it’s a fun American city to visit. If you’re there from April through September, a baseball game at Fenway Park is also good to attend, unless perhaps you’re a fan of a rival of the Boston Red Sox. A short distance ...

Change is in our vote

There are few rights more fundamental to the American experiment than the right to vote. It is the quiet power placed in the hands of ordinary citizens, the power to choose their representatives, hold their government accountable and determine the course their communities and their country ...

It’s all downhill from here

When I sit down at the end of the day and look out upon Chautauqua Lake, it reminds me of the colloquialism that “it is all downhill from here.” That is, the water that I am looking at is flowing south toward the Allegheny River, then the Ohio and finally down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico (now called by some the Gulf of America.) In further reflection, this phrase about going downhill could also describe me at my age... but I resist that description. Getting old is not so much about going “downhill” as it is about being on “cruise control.” It doesn’t take much ...