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Big pay hikes don’t reduce expenses

The OBSERVER’s View

Here is one more example of how the government frivolously spends your money. It happened — unsurprisingly — in the village of Fredonia that two years ago increased taxes 54% after years of overspending. In the spring, to the surprise of many, by a 3-1 vote the trustees terminated Department of Public Works Supervisor Dave Bird. No reason was given for the decision, which is a standard practice, but then costs for the village went up. How? Bird was earning in the position around $57,000 per year — considerably less than the $92,138 paid to Scott Marsh who held the post until ...

Reconnecting the dots on Fredonia’s water

Commentary

I am responding to the commentary “Dots have been connected, don't look away” from May 16 by Andrew Ludwig in the OBSERVER. I wish to offer two new sets of dots. First, dismantle the commentary dots which are largely based on misinformation, half truths and even deception. Second, reassemble the dots in the correct way. Upon my careful review of that article, I realized it is imperative that our village residents and businesses understand the Fredonia water situation the right way. As I have said in the past, opinions and ultimately decisions should be based on factual ...

Loss of seeds is food for thought

Commentary

The world of commercial seeds has reached the point in a Monopoly game when one person owns everything and everyone else is paying rent. To understand how we got here we have to understand the relationship between humans and plants through the millennia. At first, 100,000 years ago, people were just eating what they could find. Then around 10,000 years ago the Earth entered a steady state with regular seasons and people started deliberately planting things and eating what they had planted. At first, some settled down and formed little communities while others traveled with the ...

Unpredictable Iran keeps U.S. on defensive

Editor's corner

Nothing is ever a certainty when dealing with Iran. Despite more than a week of waiting for an agreement with the Middle East power and nemesis, President Donald Trump’s team led by Vice President JD Vance, were in gridlock earlier this week. Iran is a master of deception. Even when it ...

Subversion exploits openness, generosity

Commentary

CHAUTAUQUA—Chautauqua Institution’s 2026 season kicks off this weekend. Among the first speakers is Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute, who addresses Advocates for Balance at Chautauqua, or ABC, at 3 p.m. Monday in the Athenaeum Hotel. * * * Before getting to that, let’s salute ABC’s hundreds of supporters, without whose encouragement—both moral and financial—ABC couldn’t have enjoyed the success that it has enjoyed and which needs to continue. You, faithful reader of this column, already understand that their effective persistence ...

Two decades of madness raging on

Commentary

Most weeks, I like to write about personal experiences that other people can relate to, and imbue them with humor, snide comments, or everyday frustrations. This week is different. I’m mad. It is an anger still festering after 20 years Tom O’Brien, my late husband, died of esophageal ...