It was important to resolve the federal budget knowing that there are hundreds of families who rely on the SNAP program to put food on their table every night. But it should be a challenge to everyone we elect at the local, state and national levels to double our efforts to decrease poverty ...

We’re all in this together, but we still want to go our separate ways. That best describes our northern Chautauqua County community that allows the proliferation of government while population trends keep declining. A most recent example was a potential partnership between the towns of ...

This week kicks off the busy holiday season, although, considering the many Early Black Friday sales that have enticed shoppers in recent weeks, many people no doubt wonder whether the holiday season somehow expanded to a quarter of the year, rather than having remained confined to about a ...

We have no doubt that the state Legislature will pass legislation that is needed to free up more than $600,000 the former Mayville Fire Department has in reserve funds for equipment and a new ambulance. Mayville Mayor Rick Syper said the state does not permit the village to give that money to ...

Roughly a quarter of registered voters took part in the Nov. 4 election. It’s disappointing, of course, to see so few participate in the election of local leaders who will decide the future of Chautauqua County and its cities, towns and villages. We’ve made it easier than ever to vote, but ...

Dunkirk’s double-edged sword in the payments in lieu of taxes provides some added angst for city taxpayers. Refresco, an important business and community partner, has a 15-year agreement in exchange for redeveloping a Talcott Street building formerly used by Kraft and ConAgra. That deal made ...