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Opinion

Celebrating village icon’s 100 years

The OBSERVER’s View

Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater in the heart of downtown is giving the community a reason to celebrate. Three days of festivities, beginning Friday, have been planned to celebrate 100 years since the Hollywood Theater was first opened in 1926. “There will be lots to look at to see where we were and where we are now, so we made it into a three-day event,” said Deb Harris, Project Coordinator at Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater. Friday’s happening includes a Centennial Gala while Saturday is the Centennial Hollywood Happening – a throwback to pay homage to the ...

Naming trend is going bit overboard

Commentary

I was brought up in a tradition where normally things were named after national leaders posthumously, after history had time to judge and evaluate their contribution to society and to the country. For example, the Washington Monument wasn’t completed until sometime in the 1880’s, long after Washington had died. Similarly, the Lincoln Memorial wasn’t opened until 1922 — decades after Lincoln’s untimely assassination. Our current President apparently can’t wait for history to evaluate his impact on our history. Among other things, the Kennedy Center in Washington now bears ...

FREDONIA: Rejecting partnership still haunts village

The OBSERVER’s View

For the moment, a ruling has allowed the village to move ahead with its Fredonia Water System Improvement Project. Last week, state Supreme Court Justice Grace Hanlon rejected claims by three village residents who sought to overturn a September resolution. Another appeal may be in the works, but there is no denying the embarrassment that comes with constant boil-water orders — 10 in the last 37 months. The most recent, at the end of March, came at a very inopportune time for the State University of New York at Fredonia. During an open house for those who were admitted to the ...

No meeting, results from council

The OBSERVER’s View

Never before has a canceled Dunkirk Common Council meeting caused such a commotion. About five hours before the scheduled event Tuesday, the city sent out a notice announcing no gathering will take place. Frustrations on social media from the story posted by the OBSERVER seemed over the top. Whether the issue has to do with the quitting of the dog-control officer or a lack of morale inside City Hall, there really is nothing the council can do. Their hands are tied. Dunkirk — a $30 million entity — is barely getting by due to its very public fiscal crisis. In some instances, the ...

Governor runs into the walls of reality

Commentary

Like the Coyote in a Roadrunner cartoon, our Governor has run smack into the walls of reality with Energy Policy and Tax Policy. Regarding energy policy: Gov. Kathy Hochul was forced to admit that the Net-Zero mandates in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA) are impossible. Energy experts warned about this for seven years, but for political reasons she chose to ignore the warnings. But now an election is coming and people are noticing their electric bills. Using nonsensical climate catastrophe memes as an excuse, our governor and her predecessor ...

Keep weatherization program in funding

Peoples column

Editor, OBSERVER: Chautauqua County’s most vulnerable residents could soon feel the impact of a quiet but devastating budget decision. Across New York, including here in Chautauqua County, Weatherization Assistance Program providers are speaking out against proposed cuts. Weatherization helps low-income households reduce energy costs by improving home efficiency through insulation, air sealing, and other improvements. The governor’s budget omits 10% of the HEAP funding usually dedicated to the Weatherization Assistance Program — a reduction with far-reaching consequences for ...