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Our opinion: Our nation is more than its politics

Our Opinion

On this Independence Day, America’s politicians on both sides of the political aisle ought to be thinking more about this country as a whole - what is best for this wonderful free land - than mostly about their party, their party’s agenda or the friction they might harbor and encourage against those with whom they disagree. But can they muster such a spirit of patriotism - what in a different time might seem inevitable? This year, probably not, amid the rampant divisiveness that haunts the halls of their governmental responsibilities. The nation’s founders, if they today were ...

Beneath our Norway maple, vandals and thieves

Local Commentaries

Beneath our Norway maple – felons, vandals and thieves It’s garden season. All the trees, bushes and pretty flowers in my backyard look so innocent. But I have learned – the hard way – that they are out to get me. They are a well-organized crime family, with covert agents working behind the scenes. I’m out there constantly, hoping to survive the daily threat. Let’s start with the killer weeds. They hide under the flowers until they are big enough to break through on their own. I have to bend over, like an open safety pin, to tug, twist, and yank at their stubborn ...

Our opinion: Bill undermines accountability

Our Opinion

We are concerned legislation sponsored by state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Fayetteville, erodes our state’s commitment to transparency and accountability. “Resurrected from stalled legislative efforts in previous sessions, the bill would allow public notices to go on municipal, school district and county websites” as an alternative to newspapers, an email from the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association warns its members. We agree with our industry’s trade association that allowing government bodies to police their own transparency lacks the independent oversight necessary for ...

Our opinion: Need new plan for orphaned wells

Our Opinion

Pennsylvania is losing ground in its efforts to cap abandoned oil and gas wells. According to a recent state legislative hearing, the state has seen 1,154 more oil and gas wells abandoned since 2020 while, over the past two and a half years, plugging only 308 abandoned wells. This comes after the state received $76 million from the federal government to speed up the process of capping abandoned wells. The 1,154 abandoned in that time represent just a fraction of the total unplugged wells across the state. Reports from the Department of Environmental Protection estimate there are up ...

Our opinion: Thumbs up to Ukraine backers

Our Opinion

How many of us are thinking regularly about the roughly three-year-old conflict in the Ukraine. It may not be that high on the list given the state of things inside the United States. DOGE, the Big Beautiful Bill, federal spending cuts, the mess in Iran and Israel, increasing levels of mental illness and homelessness, energy independence, immigration, tariffs and higher costs for just about everything we buy all compete with Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine for our attention. That’s why it’s worth singling out the commitment to a group of local residents who are not only ...

Editor's corner: Neighboring counties in dark on pump prices

Opinion

Right as the summer travel season kicked into full gear, Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel indicated he is heated over prices at the pump. Last week in a letter, he called on state and federal authorities to investigate the gasoline costs being paid by motorists here at home. “Families, ...