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Finding loose change won’t bolster city finances

The OBSERVER’s View

It is becoming obvious that those who are addressing the Common Council in Dunkirk are penny wise and pound foolish. As the city navigates through a major financial mess, those stepping forward to complain about $15,000 pay bumps — for a combined position — and out-of-town union officials seeking pay increases, definitely ignore a bigger picture. Even with about $500,000 awarded by the state to Dunkirk’s coffers, there is a big problem with the bottom line for 2026. As we have stated in this column before, the $30 million spending plan approved by the last Common Council is not ...

Benjamin Franklin makes visit to Chautauqua

Commentary

CHAUTAUQUA— Chautauqua Institution doesn’t slow down as the season winds down. Although the last week of the season often has somewhat fewer visitors than earlier weeks, the place bustles with as much energy as ever. Morning-amphitheater programs bring out the crowds, as do afternoon ...

Unhealthy banter drives measles resurgence

Editor's corner

How is it, in an age of vast technology and information, Americans keep tempting fate when it comes to medicine? One decade ago — a mere four years before the COVID-19 pandemic, who would have ever thought it intelligent to not get a vaccination for measles? In 2004, there were less than ...

Nicknames I Have Known

Commentary

Marcy is not my real name. I’ve been Marcy for 67 years and I have no plans for going back to the original. My parents gave me the name Marcia, (pronounced like Marsha) which was a perfectly nice name – until I was in my mid-teens. In 1951 Stan Freberg made a record entitled ...

Blame game ill effect of health care crisis

Commentary

Because of the impending midterm elections, Gov. Kathy Hochul has not missed an opportunity to condemn the Trump administration’s federal healthcare policies, claiming they will strip health insurance from over one million New Yorkers, cost the state billions in funding, and spike ...

Welcome solution for area grape farmers

The OBSERVER’s View

This week’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be spending $20 million to purchase grape juice from area farmers is welcome news for the region. Just last week, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer was trying to make juice out of sour grapes with his proposal to use the Section 32 funds provided by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 to purchase grapes from local growers hurt by the cancellation of their purchase contracts with Refresco. The same mechanism was used in 2025 to stabilize prices through a similar request through utilization of Section 32 funds, with ...