Opinion

COUNTY: Getting it right with the public

The OBSERVER’s View January 8, 2026

We often criticize a lack of action and results by Chautauqua County legislators in this corner. Most of it is deserved, but we do have to give the 19 members credit for being attentive to the public. In December, The New York State Coalition on Open Government released its Naughty and Nice list in its annual holiday season attempt to highlight failures in government transparency. Paul Wolf, president emeritus of the organization, offered a presentation online about the list. He said Democrats and Republicans in governments across New York State “are equally bad” when it comes to ...

Finding truth with Fredonia water

Commentary January 7, 2026

Recent claims that Fredonia’s December Boil Water Order and the water main breaks are somehow the fault of the Save Our Reservoir group and the pending environmental lawsuit set for this month, would be laughable, if the situation were not so serious. The most recent boil order was reportedly the result of a piece of failed equipment and the failure of plant management to have spare parts on hand to address predictable equipment failure. This occurred after Trustee Paul Wandel promised months ago to investigate the Standard Operating Procedures of the plant in order to prevent future ...

COUNTY: Airport restaurant may bring traffic

The OBSERVER’s View January 7, 2026

County officials have spent the past several years trying to talk up the amount of activity at the Chautauqua County Airport at Jamestown. Those efforts have been part of efforts to both balance the airport operation’s budget and to convince the federal government to reinstate the Essential Air Service subsidy that would allow commercial air service to resume at the airport. We’ve heard about private flights for Cummins, the National Comedy Center, Chautauqua Institution and other area companies. The success of a new restaurant at the airport would say as much about the number ...

DUNKIRK: Cutting $20,500 is not even a dent

The OBSERVER’s View January 6, 2026

One of the most controversial pieces to Mayor Kate Wdowiasz’s 2026 budget proposal released last October was a $20,500 pay increase for her position. That was not approved and her annual salary remains at $54,500. That cut to the 2026 plan, in the larger picture, is very minimal. Dunkirk’s total expenditures are $29 million. According to seethroughny.net, there are 186 employees on the city payroll that totals $10.5 million. None of those costs, however, are being controlled due to contracts and generous benefits. As we have noted in the past, those are the big bucks that no ...

For Old Times’ Sake

Commentary January 6, 2026

An old friend of mine, pretty much of the same vintage, sent me an email suggesting that the words of Auld Lang Syne (roughly translated as meaning “for old times’ sake”) might be an appropriate topic for a column at New Year’s. I will give it a try. Most of the research I have done attributes the song to the Scottish poet, Robert Burns in 1788. There were other similar songs written prior to that, but he made it famous. The other person who made it famous was Guy Lombardo and his band, the Royal Canadians, who started playing it on New Year’s Eve in this country in ...

Cassadaga: Quick goodbye no fitting farewell

The OBSERVER’s View January 5, 2026

No good deed goes unpunished, at least in the village of Cassadaga. When Sam Alaimo, Department of Public Works supervisor, was charged by the county Sheriff’s Department with criminal mischief in June at a local business, elected leaders let him continue in the post. That was a poor choice, if there was enough for charges to be levied, the chief could have been suspended. Last week, Alaimo did the village no favors. He tendered a vocal resignation, leaving the village in a bit of a bind. To be fair, trustees had admitted some items were not being taken care of by the director. ...