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People's Column

Peoples column

All views contribute in democracy Editor, OBSERVER: A recent writer (Oct. 1) shared thoughts and opinions, one opinion being that it “would be wise for the President to allow Politico, CNN, and MS NOW to maintain access to the White House.” The unabashed logic behind his opinion: a future Democratic President might bar Fox News from the White House. There’s certainly no “woke” sniveling here about the Constitution or the First Amendment; no wasted words about the free press as a “leg in the stool” of democracy. No, the thinking seems to be that if we hit them ...

The OBSERVER’s View: Split decision on taxing responsibility

The OBSERVER’s View

There is no denying that New York makes it tough on business and development through numerous unfriendly policies and a high taxation. But who is more responsible for the hostile environment? New York taxes income, not all states in our nation do this. Property taxes are levied by local entities, such as school districts and municipalities. When it comes to our poll question, “Who do you blame more for the high tax burden in Chautauqua County?” it is not an overwhelming answer. About 53% blamed Albany while the other 47% blamed the local entities. This week’s poll question: ...

The importance of public water systems

Commentary

This past week marked a big event at our house—we were finally connected to the public sewer system that has just been completed along the west side of Chautauqua Lake. When it happened, it was really a “non-event.” The toilet flushed the same way, the drains in the sink were no different than before—yet, we knew that our wastewater was now going to a better place—the public sewage treatment plant in Celoron. Actually, I think that I slept better that night, knowing that this 10-year odyssey of getting sewers up the lake had finally come to a successful conclusion at our ...

Our choices for county legislators

The OBSERVER’s View

For at least the last six years, this corner has been consistent regarding our spending concerns with the Chautauqua County budget. Recent contracts that have shot up payroll costs — from $66.6 million to $75 million in one year from 2024 to 2025 — and an increasing number of employees have all happened under the reign of a Republican majority and county executive. Certainly, unfunded state mandates are a major dilemma. But payroll costs, that are locally controlled and allowed to balloon, cannot be dismissed. In making our Legislature endorsements, we stick to our belief that ...

Spending hikes prove county’s growing footprint

Commentary

Chautauqua County's government spending has steadily increased every single year since 2020, and the 6.5% spike for 2027 is a stark departure from the smaller, incremental increases of prior years. The year-over-year spending reality includes: — 2020, $263 million — baseline when Executive PJ Wendel took office. — 2025, continued multi-million dollar incremental growth. — 2026, $309.7 million. — 2027, $330 million — an abrupt, massive $20.3 million single year spike. Despite blaming external economic pressures like unfunded state mandates, the Legislature has not ...

The OBSERVER’s View: DiNapoli keeping entities in check

The OBSERVER’s View

Incumbent state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has a strong challenger this year in Republican challenger Joseph Hernandez. Hernandez has raised questions about DiNapoli's role in the growth of the state's debt load, wants to create a Medicaid Fraud Strike Team as Medicaid spending increases and fraud convictions decrease and proposes additional checks on $21 billion in state aid to New York City. Hernandez, like past challengers to DiNapoli, also wants to pull back from investing state pension funds in accordance with the state’s environmental, social and governance goals and invest ...