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Jackson Center notes silver anniversary

NUERNBERG—Stroll into the justice palace in this beautiful city in Mittelfranken, ask to see Courtroom 600, and the nice, polite man at the reception desk will probably decline. “Unfortunately not,” he said, “because it’s a functioning courtroom.” The answer was no surprise, yet it was worth a try. Courtroom 600 is the site of the post-World War II trials of national-socialist leaders in Germany. The chief American prosecutor was Robert Houghwout Jackson, namesake of the Jamestown-based center. ≤ ≤ ≤ Eighty years after the opening of the trials in Nuernberg ...

Big Apple’s new ideals rotten to the core

Just because Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump in their Oval Office meeting appeared to bury the hatchet, my opinion of communism/socialism has not changed. I believe that if Mamdani introduces hardline Marxist ideas to the running of New York City that they will fail as they have always failed. Mayor-elect Mamdani’s manner reminds me of how Joseph Stalin, Russian Dictator and the murderer of millions of his own people, was portrayed as a loveable Russian grandpa in the 1943 propaganda movie “Mission to Moscow.” Unfortunately many Gen Z and others see Mayor-elect of New ...

All the comforts of home sweet home

Winter won’t officially be here until the 21st of the month. By then most of the Christmas parties will be over and we’ll be deep into present wrapping, food prep, and last-minute stocking stuffers. But with the snow on the ground and that raw westerly wind, I don’t care when the calendar declares the season. For me, it’s here. Give me that old bathrobe, the flannel pj’s, and the fur-lined slippers. Then leave me in my nest in the den: the recliner sofa facing the big TV. Oh, and the warm cat who occasionally visits for a cuddle and a snack. Recently, some friends and I ...

Strong neighbors grow communities

In Westfield, we are surrounded by quiet beauty — vineyards rolling toward the lake, a Main Street steeped in history, and neighbors who still wave from their porches. Yet beneath this familiar charm, many of us sense something missing. We live near one another, but not always with one another. We share a town, but not always a shared life. This is not just a Westfield story. It’s something felt across small towns everywhere. But here, the possibility for renewal is at hand. Over the years, social life in many communities has thinned. Churches and civic groups have fewer young ...

Holiday and deer season part of heritage

It is just past Thanksgiving and another deer season is upon us. Many around here will likely spend some time at deer camp that day. In reflecting back, though I have no historical proof of it, I have always thought that the pilgrims likely ate venison along with turkey on that first Thanksgiving Day. Looking forward to deer season, I guess, is part of my DNA. I was once Chairman of the Subcommittee on Fish and Wildlife in the State Assembly. Every year we would have discussions with the DEC Division of Fish and Wildlife about setting the fish and wildlife seasons in New York, ...

Rural hospital funding far from restored

You have to hand it to U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy. Not everyone would be willing to go out in the rain and stand in front of a microphone to tell us temporary funding for rural hospitals that offsets only one-third of permanent funding cuts is a win. Langworthy called the $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) “one of the largest federal investments in our history to support rural healthcare.” Why was this bill necessary? Because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a bill Langworthy voted for, made drastic cuts to Medicaid, an important funding source for hospitals and ...