Staff opinions

For months, the Cortland Free Library has been embroiled in controversy surrounding the homeless people who tend to congregate there during the day when temperatures are low. As a result, Director …

County officials started noticing things soon after Danny retired. Danny Ferris, a cook with the Cortland County Area Agency on Aging, had a heck of a recipe for macaroni and cheese: Danny’s …

The village of Groton — its government, the Groton Central School District and local business and property owners — had to invest tens of millions of dollars in their community order …

Get public comment before the decision Cortlandville Town Supervisor Tom Williams raised concerns last week about the public comment portion of town board meetings. Williams said he finds the …

An assessment update for all properties in the city of Cortland is nearing completion after a two-year delay. Assessments have not been updated citywide since 2008 and the value of properties has …

If the people of the greater Cortland area make this place so good that people refuse to leave, those people will create the jobs that let them stay here. That’s real, sustainable economic …

Half the school districts in the greater Cortland area will see less school “foundation” aid if Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal is adopted as is. Four of the five remaining …

The brouhaha surrounding New York state’s Congressional maps may have been partisan in nature, but the end result for Cortland County is to all of our detriment. Splitting the county between …

The number, by itself, looks pretty scary: 397. That’s the number of farms the U.S. Department of Agriculture counted in 2022 in Cortland County, and it’s down from 536 in 2017. Yup, looks …

The city is making a push to rehabilitate properties that are abandoned or severely neglected, and using new tools to do so. Meanwhile, some private developers are taking big risks by investing in …

The next state budget proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul would cut spending on addiction services 16%. The Office of Addiction Services and Supports’ budget would be cut from $1.2 billion from $1.4 …

When Cortland Mayor Scott Steve said the city’s “functional family” law was virtually unenforceable, the claim merited some investigation. The issue is far-reaching in a college town, where …

When New York initiated bail reform in 2020, it was designed to reduce inequities in the legal system. Bail is supposed to ensure that people charged with a crime are motivated to appear at future …

When we elect people to represent us on legislative bodies — U.S. Congress, the state Senate and Assembly, the county Legislature or village or town boards — we expect them to vote in the …

When the Homer Fire Department’s Insurance Services Office rating was elevated from a 4 to a 3, the change reflected hard work and dedication on the part of firefighters to serve and protect …

The scenario keeps playing out in the imagination: An 11-year-old kid. A hot summer day. A cross-town trek with a towel and a couple of friends to splash at Wickwire Pool in Cortland. Only to be …

The town of Cortlandville is considering creating a town manager position to oversee the day-to-day business of the town. While we happily encourage the professional management of taxpayer-funded …

After nearly four years of struggling with COVID-19, we have seen the development of vaccines and improved treatment for those who contract the virus, but the threat has continued. In addition, …

We always step up

People in the greater Cortland area care about their neighbors. When people face difficult challenges — addiction, homelessness, domestic abuse — the community steps up and makes good …

We don’t brag about ourselves very often. We suppose it comes from years of practice in removing our perspective from the news stories we write. Make no mistake — we’re very proud …

Five greater Cortland area school districts will see less state-funded foundation aid in the Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget for the coming year. The other five will see increases, but not …

Making the homeless people sheltering at the Cortland Free Library invisible would be so, so easy. And for far too many Cortland residents, it would be desirable. David Thompson has shown we …

Whether their troubles are minor or significant, children who have mental health issues must be identified and helped Cortland Area Communities That Care received a $600,000 federal grant to …

We’ve always been a little skeptical of the community service requirements some high schools have before a student graduates. The tasks — maybe some volunteer work at a library, or feeding …

The math is pretty straightforward: If each of Cortland County’s 18,514 households spends just $25 on locally sourced food each week, they would inject more than $24 million into the county’s …

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