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Comments regarding grid seem short-circuited

Commentary

The Editor’s corner by John D’Agostino of August 14 on renewables jolting electric costs was full of misinformation and contradictions. You mentioned that we shuttered “clean burning coal plants.” There is no such thing as clean burning coal, never was. That misrepresentation alone shot your credibility early on. You then jump to the environmental transformation of Lake Erie brought on by the shuttering of “clean burning coal plants” and other industrial facilities that turned the lake (and the land surrounding it) into a toxic waste dump. So is cleaning up polluting ...

People's column

Peoples column

Editor, OBSERVER: It is difficult to comprehend what is happening and why it is happening. Uri Bezmenov, a KGB defector, was amazingly prophetic in describing the current playbook during a 1984 interview. Intellectuals, journalists and educators are led to believe that they will be the leaders in a new order but they never achieve that goal. History has shown that these people end up as prisoners instead of powerful. Students taught by leftist disciples are indoctrinated into beliefs contrary to American values. These people, as Lenin put it, are “useful idiots.” Those that ...

The OBSERVER’s View

The OBSERVER’s View

In March, intense rains doomed the Fredonia water system for the 10th time in 37 months forcing a boil-water order. Last week was a very different result. After heavy downpours on the morning of Aug. 23 and throughout the day, Canadaway Creek was rising quickly after more than 4 inches of lake-effect rain in 24 hours. Fortunately for users, there were no troubles with the village water system. That is a good thing. It shows the efforts by trustees, specifically Paul Wandel, have led to improvements at the archaic and troubled plant. In June, Wandel mentioned the much needed ...

250th anniversary of the United States a big deal

Commentary

As it should be, a lot has been made this year of the 250th anniversary (birthday) of our country. It is a time to reflect back on what it has taken to bring us to where we are today. One of my siblings reminded me that, in fact, we have been alive for about 1/3rd of that time -- just think about it. If you divide 250 by three ... you get my age! Either I am very old or the country is very young -- and both are true. It made me reflect back upon conversations with my father. He told us that in discussions he had with his grandfather, that his grandfather described working all winter ...

In new era, always someone watching

The OBSERVER’s View

Flock Safety is at least acknowledging the privacy concerns that have been raised by members of the public and by civil liberties groups over the past several months by announcing changes to its platform. We aren't sure those changes go far enough, though they do appear to be a step in the right direction. Flock operates a vast nationwide network of automated cameras that record the license plate numbers and other characteristics of all passing vehicles every day. Thousands of law enforcement agencies in 49 states can search and share Flock's data across jurisdictions to aid their ...

It’s time to bring public comment back to Village Board meetings

Commentary

It was encouraging to watch the Monday, Aug. 24 Village Board workshop on YouTube. Kudos to Trustees Tim Mulholland, Christine Cruz-Keefe and LeeAnn Lazarony for voicing their support to reinstate the public comment sessions at Fredonia village board meetings. Mayor Michael Ferguson and Trustees Paul Wandel and Ben Brauchler continue to push their tired old chestnut that public comment should remain suspended for “safety reasons” while masking their real reason for suspending public comment from meetings in the first place. Whether it be downtown parking, parking on Forest Place, ...