Mayor Kim Ecklund faces another key hiring decision early in her second year as mayor. In a Facebook post late last week the city said it is looking to hire a new city planner. In our opinion, it’s a major opportunity for Ecklund to really begin to set a direction for the city’s ...

County Legislator Fred Larson asked a good question last week - what exactly is the county Planning Department planning if it isn’t worried about dealing with two of the most pressing issues facing Chautauqua County? We’re talking, of course, about job creation and boosting the county ...

We hope this is the last we have to hear about a road salt shortage as temperatures stay largely above freezing into mid-March according to most forecasts. It’s a nice respite from what has been a cold, slick winter. At the same time we hope state policy makers have learned a lesson ...

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities has found itself in the capable hands of David Leathers for 20 years. Amid all the uncertainty of New York’s energy policy Leathers has found a way to minimize the impacts on BPU ratepayers as much as possible, including his leadership this winter ...

County legislators took a good first step last week when they choose to discuss increasing the way a percent of the county’s sales tax is distributed. Chautauqua County’s sales tax rate is currently 8%. Every two years the county legislature must request the state Legislature give ...

It’s long past the time for the prison strike affecting several prisons across the state - including two locally - to come to an end. There are ripple effects of these actions that reverberate across the criminal justice system - and we were reminded of just a few when Sheriff Jim ...