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Opinion

Surging prices impacting summer travel

The OBSERVER’s View

One year ago this week, motorists were paying $3.15 per gallon to fuel up their vehicle. This year, that cost is $4.23 across New York state — and closer to $4.36 in Chautauqua County. Those figures come from AAA of Western and Central New York, which notes that volatility along the Strait of Hormuz and instability in the region have pushed crude oil prices into the high $90 per barrel range last week. According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand is on the rise while total domestic gasoline supply is also up along with gasoline ...

Coach Larson left large impact for many

Commentary

The life of Fredonia cross-country and track Coach Frederick "Ferd" Larson deserves celebration after his passing at age 85. As a member of the Fredonia High School Class of 1970 and a member of his sports teams, I plan to join the community in honoring him as an extraordinary educator, mentor and friend at 1 p.m. Saturday at Coughlan's Pub in the village. Our class had its 55th reunion last year at the wonderful White Inn, and once talk faded of children, grandchildren and, gasp, great-grandchildren and of course health challenges, attention turned to a coach some of us called ...

Trump whacks Canada again

Commentary

You have to think that President Trump must have had a bad trip or unpleasant vacation in Canada, as I can’t think of any other legitimate reason for why he keeps attacking the country. This past week, he announced two major policy decisions/complaints relative to Canada: - he announced a new 50% tariff on many of the goods Canada sells to the United States; and - he blamed the Canadian government for the smoke-filled skies coming from forest and brush fires in that country. It is always interesting to me that our President never seems to accept responsibility for much of ...

The OBSERVER’s View: Another football season almost underway

The OBSERVER’s View

Don’t look now, but there’s a hint that summer is coming to an end. The good news, however, is many in the region will embrace the reason. On Monday morning, the Buffalo Bills unveiled a new look — their “Nickel City” alternate uniforms, an all-gray pant and jersey combo featuring "The Charge" helmet — an all-blue base bolstered by the iconic red charge. On the team’s website, the design is considered a tribute to the strength, grit and authenticity of Western New York's hard-working people throughout history. In addition, this week marks the beginning of training camp ...

Dunkirk Battery Energy Storage project is another scam

Commentary

The average cost of residential electricity in New York is 29 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt hour. The average in Chautauqua County is 22 cents to 24 cents per kilowatt hour. In Pennsylvania, residential electricity costs 13 cents per kilowatt hour. Why do New York residents pay so much more? A recent article in The Post-Journal provided clues. It was titled “Blistering temps take toll on state grid.” It cited the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) dashboard indicator regarding how electricity is made in NY. It said total NY electricity produced by industrial ...

State’s data center moratorium is reasonable - for now

The OBSERVER’s View

It’s reasonable to see Gov. Kathy Hochul’s one-year moratorium on data centers as a reasonable delay in order to develop appropriate protections and guidelines in state law to govern data centers. What the governor has done is no different legally than what local towns and villages have been doing over the past year by enacting - and in some cases extending - moratoriums on wind and solar projects and on battery energy storage systems. It’s reasonable to see data centers as an emerging issue that requires a pause to manage the development appropriately. Our concern is that ...