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Chautauqua County spending: Latest plan sticks with ‘status quo’

The tentative 2026 County Budget recently unveiled by the County Executive appears to be largely a status quo budget. The Tentative Budget continues the routine of raising County Real Property Taxes every year by $1,700,000 or so, it keeps County government employment at about 1,200 employees, and foresees no significant improvements or efficiencies in the delivery of County services. It is important to look at the context of this 2026 Tentative Budget. In 2009 County Property Taxes were $54,900,000. In 2024 they were $71,500,000, up 32%. In 2025 County Property Taxes went up again ...

Weekend voices: No sense in Hochul’s dangerous endorsement

State Gov. Kathy Hochul recently endorsed Zorhan Mamdani for New York City Mayor — an endorsement she would not make without being fully on-board with Mamdani’s open support for authoritarian Marxist/Socialist ideology. (As demonstrated earlier, all Socialism, “Democratic” or otherwise, is necessarily totalitarian and authoritarian.) With her endorsement, our governor must now demonstrate her sincerity through her actions. Hochul must now implement the primary objective of Marx’s Socialism: Seize the means of production (businesses) away from private ownership and bring all ...

Sink invaders into the high seas

For decades, illegal drugs from all over the world — and particularly from Central and South America — have come into the United States. As decades have passed, illegal drugs have become more and more lethal. The drug trade is no mere set of commercial transactions. It is no mere set of illegal commercial transactions. It is a criminal enterprise. Yet it’s more than a mere criminal enterprise. This is an invasion of the United States of America, an invasion that has taken more lives than this country lost in any of its wars. Correction: In any of its other wars. It is ...

A Brooklyn weekend of gathering together

The many years ago that I lived in New York City, I never made it to Brooklyn. I didn’t ever have a compelling reason to go there until last weekend, and I wished that I didn’t have to attend the gathering. It was different than any funeral I’ve ever been to. Last month, my nephew, Michael, died suddenly. It took a few weeks to corral family schedules and create plans for what turned out to be a loving memorial. I seldom get to see my nieces and nephews. It seems we only get together now for weddings and funerals – one of the challenges of a scattered family. My late ...

U.S. working through shutdown

Well, it’s shutdown time in Washington. Despite U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s remarks based on tired Democratic talking points this one can be blamed on Senate Democrats who claim they are seeking to protect “pandemic era” Obama Care tax credits when in fact they are lining up behind Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer in his effort to block a possible primary challenge by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in 2028. This time average Americans seem unconcerned about the shutdown knowing their lives will be unaffected. The Trump administration sees this as an opportunity to shrink ...

Beautiful Bill has some ugly outcomes

During a recent Cabinet meeting, our president suggested rebranding his 900-page One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). A familiar movie from the 1960s, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” might be a suitable title: good for some, bad for others. For example, the bill makes permanent a provision known as the 100% bonus depreciation. This provision allows corporations to purchase corporate jets, yachts, and machinery and write off the full cost in the year of purchase. Initially part of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and set to expire soon, it would now become permanent. A ...