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Plenty happening on Chautauqua Lake

If you live on the west side of Chautauqua Lake, you know that the season at Chautauqua Institution has arrived because the traffic on Route 394 has doubled. It is not just people traveling to Chautauqua for its programs, it is people from Chautauqua heading for Lakewood to shop and buy groceries. You just have to get used to the traffic. It is best to slow down when you get on the road, and to expect that it may take you a minute or two longer to get to your destination. This is especially the case as there are now stoplight restrictions related to construction work on the ...

Local Economic Development group: County trails perfect for all seasons

Chautauqua County is home to a wealth of year-round outdoor recreation opportunities. Whether you like to swim, fish, hike, bike, ski, or find one of the many other ways to enjoy the natural world surrounding us, there are plenty of places to find exactly what you want in a thoroughly enjoyable setting. Some of the very best places to go include the more than 250 miles of recreational trails available throughout the county. Most of us take these trails for granted and don’t fully appreciate what an important economic development driver these trails are. In addition to providing ...

Keeping our cool when talking climate

Ignorance, like history, repeats itself when people refuse to learn from it. One lesson we should have learned is that science and ideology do not mix. We saw this during Biden’s disastrous COVID response, which gave the U.S. the worst COVID death rate in the world. Yet some people still cling to COVID Vax/Lockdown Ideology. So it is with Climate Ideology. Last September, Hurricane Helene tracked north into southern Appalachia, bringing massive flooding to western North Carolina. Immediately the Gnostic cry went up: Climate change! Of course, people making this claim couldn’t be ...

Autism increase is ‘a five alarm fire’

CHAUTAUQUA — If you’re a ways along in life — whatever that might mean — think back to when you were in school. Do you recall any significant number of your schoolmates having autism? Do you recall any significant number of your schoolmates having other childhood illnesses prevalent now? Do you recall any significant number of your schoolmates being on prescriptions? To whatever extent any of these is attributable to improvements in diagnoses of illnesses—or whatever term you prefer—there also appears to be an increase in incidence of illnesses. ≤≤≤ Dr. ...

Speed demon no more

Last week, I wrote about travel, the gift of a lifetime. This week, we’re time traveling, and I don’t mean science fiction. This involves the cold, hard facts about time flying at warp speed. And I’m mad about it. Just when we finally need life to slow down – so we can keep up – time revs its engine and almost takes off without us. The nerve of Mother Nature. Most days I think of her as wondrously talented. But now, there are times when she is downright mean. Take birthdays for example. When I was a kid, weeks crawled slowly to my October birthday cake. In my middle ...

Keeping the lights on, water running

There has been a lot of news made in the last few weeks so here is my take on some of the stories. There has been a lot of talk about U.S. Rep. Elsie Stefanik’s future recently. It would be nice if we had a real governor from upstate New York and Stefanik would be my first choice as the next Republican candidate for the office. Currently the Siena College poll has incumbent Kathy Hochul comfortably ahead of possible Republican contenders like Stefanik but that is normal for incumbents who have done even worse jobs than Hochul has. So, keep in mind that election day 2026 is still 16 ...