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Opinion

Golden days of Dunkirk are long lost

Commentary

I am looking at all of Dunkirk’s problems, including the current mayor and her support staff, the Democratic leadership, and the deep despair of a city that appears to have lost its way. I grew up in a community surrounded by neighborhoods and churches, corner stores, a thriving downtown, and factories that provided blue-collar families with jobs and hope for the future. Today, I see a city struggling with desperation and decline. The delicate fabric of our community is being erased and forgotten. Neighborhoods where scores of children once played outside, participated in playground ...

Have IDA take on city’s development efforts

The OBSERVER’s View

Since Vince DeJoy was hired as Dunkirk’s Director of Planning and Development, the landscape of the city has changed greatly. One of DeJoy’s greatest successes in the role was New York state’s awarding of $10 million in funding for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. That money remains an important piece to the downtown puzzle, but Dunkirk is treading water. Due to years of poor financial planning and thievery, the government is on the brink. DeJoy, the current administration and council had no part in putting the city on this path. But at the moment, things just do not ...

State’s current path is familiar — and crippling

Commentary

We do not need a crystal ball to see the future of New York state if things don’t change soon. Merely observe what has happened in places with similar policies. England is a Leftist economic disaster, and so is France, but let’s look at Germany. Germany was Europe’s industrial heartland. It was a world leader in technology and engineering. It anchored the European economy since World War II. But Germany is now crippled by a bloated and self-defeating Welfare State and irrational Green Energy policies. Their industry is leaving, their economy is retracting, and young Germans ...

Have IDA take on city’s development efforts

The OBSERVER’s View

Since Vince DeJoy was hired as Dunkirk’s Director of Planning and Development, the landscape of the city has changed greatly. One of DeJoy’s greatest successes in the role was New York state’s awarding of $10 million in funding for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. That money remains an important piece to the downtown puzzle, but Dunkirk is treading water. Due to years of poor financial planning and thievery, government is on the brink. DeJoy, the current administration and council had no part in putting the city on this path. But at the moment, things just do not seem to ...

State’s current path is familiar — and crippling

Commentary

We do not need a crystal ball to see the future of New York state if things don’t change soon. Merely observe what has happened in places with similar policies. England is a Leftist economic disaster, and so is France, but let’s look at Germany. Germany was Europe’s industrial heartland. It was a world leader in technology and engineering. It anchored the European economy since World War II. But Germany is now crippled by a bloated and self-defeating Welfare State and irrational Green Energy policies. Their industry is leaving, their economy is retracting, and young Germans ...

Something smells funny at Sugar Hill in Portland

Commentary

Something doesn’t smell right in the Town of Portland, and it isn’t coming from the grape vineyards. Apparently, someone wants to build an artificial intelligence data center on 44 acres of Lake Erie waterfront property at the former Sugar Hill Golf Course. And the Portland Town Board, in what appears to be a remarkable display of enthusiasm for a project nobody seems to know much about, voted unanimously to express its general approval. My first question isn’t even about the company behind the proposal. It’s about the idea itself. Who looks at Portland, with Lake Erie ...