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Our view: Not Fred Fest gets less rowdy

The OBSERVER’s View

Village of Fredonia officials deserve some praise for their efforts regarding the notorious Not Fred Fest. Earlier this month, the party hearty weekend was nothing like previous editions. In a news release issued last week, Fredonia police noted they handled 163 incidents and made 37 arrests. Here’s the total charges handed out: Open container violation, 15; underage possession of alcohol, 9; fake ID, 2; harassment, 2; vehicle and traffic tickets, 7; disorderly conduct, 2; littering, 2; and one each of criminal mischief, petit larceny, sewer ordinance violation, and driving under the ...

Oil is not found everywhere

Commentary

The United States, by our action in starting a war with Iran, sparked a blockade at the Strait of Hormuz. We followed by starting our own naval blockade and since then oil prices have jumped to $100 per barrel. Many are asking: “Why?” Why did we start this war, but, also, why is the price of oil now so high? Why does the Middle East control the price of oil? The simple answer is that over 50% of the proven reserves for oil in the world are there, and Mid-East oil today accounts for over 25% of total annual world oil production. It would be nice if mother nature had deposited oil ...

People's column: Decisiveness of Trump angers many

Peoples column

Editor, OBSERVER: There are many people who won't like this. Perhaps Donald Trump is hated because he solves problems that others need to keep existing. Think about it for a moment, Trump is not a traditional politician. He is a businessman who came to the White House thinking like a businessman and that completely changes the rules of the game. A politician lives off rhetoric, long processes, summits and promises. A businessman lives off closing deals, resolving conflicts and moving forward. For one the problem is a political tool. For the other the problem is something that has ...

Officials did not lead on lake issue

Commentary

We are disappointed, actually appalled, that our County Legislature and Executive did not have the courage to represent its constituents against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) ill-conceived and rushed new wetlands regulations. They took no action as those terribly flawed regulations were imposed on all of us. Fortunately, through no effort of the County, those regulations have now been annulled by a State Supreme Court decision. It was left to two local non-profits, the Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association (CLPOA) and the Chautauqua ...

Our view: Shock waves continue in energy policy

The OBSERVER’s View

Republicans and Democrats are like two ships passing in the night when it comes to New York’s energy policy. Both ships are in shallow water with a rocky bottom. In this analogy, that makes the state Independent System Operator a lighthouse trying to illuminate the darkness to allow the ships to pass safely to port. Unfortunately, both ships’ captains have blinders on – and we’re headed for a crash. The ISO said last week that electric grid reliability for the summer months is among the lowest on record, with 34,615 megawatts of power resources available to meet forecasted ...

Village keeps attacking free speech

Commentary

On Monday, April 27, Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson had me unjustly removed from the Village Board meeting by a Fredonia police officer for insisting to speak about an agenda item during the first public comment session of that meeting. The mayor had neither cause nor the authority to have me removed from this meeting. I left that meeting willingly out of respect for one of Fredonia’s Finest, who was visibly uncomfortable with the position that he had been put in by the mayor. According to the board’s own resolution, village residents are allowed to speak about agenda items during ...