Local Columnists

RealClearPolitics, which keeps track of polling averages, has some worrying news for Democrats and liberals who were counting on a “blue wave” to swee...

I was enjoying a warm morning on my front porch when I heard a faint flapping on the windows that cover one side. A lemon-yellow butterfly with dark m...

I heard a newscaster mention a big Chicago conference coming up soon would be addressing shrinking funds for libraries. With a little online research,...

Child sexual abuse is a horrific crime that violates the most innocent among us. As a parent and as a legislator, it both angers and saddens me that s...

May is winding down, and with it National Mental Health Awareness Month. Each May there’s a burst of awareness and action aimed at mental health and t...

I am of a certain age. The notion of future is problematic. It has, for me, precious little importance or meaning. Past, on the other hand, has depth,...

When 17 people were killed in Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day, it was a tipping point for me. As a hunter and gun ow...

Each year during graduation season, stories surface about special graduates. I heard one the other day on a radio broadcast. A 92-year old woman was t...

Last month, Jim Costanza of Olean referred to my commentary in the Times Herald regarding illegal immigrants. He wrote, “Comparing mostly honest, hard...

What do you call a hypocritical legislative body that passes a freedom of information law and then exempts itself from that very law. Why, obviously, ...

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, called on U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to authori...

(TNS) So, so many are quick to say President Donald Trump made a horrible error in withdrawing from the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord, and some doubts a...

I’m always a little anxious about leaving home. Not so much for local jaunts, but when I am going to travel long-distance, I’m sure my cat, Lucy, can ...

Those reader polls the Times Herald posts on its website are not scientific by any means, but when more than 80 percent of about 850 respondents answe...

The mayor admits that “we” made mistakes on North Union Street. As the head of the city, who is ultimately responsible for any mistakes, what he shoul...

Noble Energy constructed wind turbines in Wyoming and Allegany counties a number of years ago. Prior to settling on locations for the units, Noble sou...

The West Valley nuclear waste facility in Cattaraugus County has housed radioactive and toxic waste for more than 50 years on a site that should never...

(TNS) The resignation of Eric Schneiderman Monday night was a foregone conclusion given the devastating specificity of the brutality described by wome...