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The OBSERVER’s View

The OBSERVER’s View: Moving on with Jamestown airport

It should come as no surprise to anyone except the most ardent supporters of the Jamestown Airport that the federal government has once again declined to restore the airport's Essential Air Service subsidy. We noted last year that the number of passengers had decreased in the latest Essential Air Service proposal while the amount of the federal government's subsidy was projected to increase. That was hardly the best way to show the federal government that there was so much pent-up demand locally that the Jamestown airport would be able to average 10 passengers per flight and a federal ...

The OBSERVER’s View: More requests require legislature guidance

State lawmakers, largely Democrats, want to increase Open Meetings Law and FOIL request training requirements for local government officials. Given the recent altercation in the Chautauqua County records room involving a self-proclaimed First Amendment auditor, the training likely isn’t a bad idea. Local public records officials need to be the experts in the room when it comes to releasing records, and too often that isn’t the case. But in our opinion the legislature should also help local governments driven to the point of frustration by bot-driven FOIL requests and local ...

The OBSERVER’s View: No stopping rising power prices

Every month, the electric bill brings a bit more pain to New York state residents. According to the Empire Center’s Energy Data Bulletin, households are paying the fourth-highest electricity prices in the country. In April 2026, residential electricity prices in New York averaged 29.45 cents per kilowatt-hour – 56 percent above the national average of 18.83 cents. New York’s electricity costs rose 3.1% from March and were 14.6 percent higher than a year earlier – nearly four times the rate of inflation, the Center reported. Since 2019, the state’s average residential ...

The OBSERVER’s View

An artist’s rendering of the former Third Street post office features a big Chautauqua County logo on the building’s wall facing Jamestown City Hall instead of the Lucille Ball mural that was also used as a U.S. postage stamp. We’re sure it’s artistic license as part of a sales pitch rather than a serious proposal to actually remove the mural, but the artist’s rendering raises a question that we hope Chautauqua County legislators keep in mind before they vote on a proposal to consolidate the county’s Jamestown offices into the post office building - what else looks funny ...

The OBSERVER’s View

It’s hard to imagine a time when the Chautauqua Belle wasn’t a fixture on the waters of Chautauqua Lake. But that’s exactly what our reality would be if not for James Webster, the Rochester man who had the vision to bring a paddlewheel steamship to Chautauqua Lake in the early 1970s. Webster collaborated with Capt. Alan Bates, who designed the ship around the same time Bates designed the Natchez, another steamship still in use in New Orleans. For a time, Mayville was marketed as Steamship Village when the Chautauqua Belle was still in its relative infancy, and many still make ...

No bang for buck in parking revenue

In the big scheme of things, revenue from parking is a pittance to the village of Fredonia coffers. According to the 2026-27 budget, only $25,000 is expected to be collected. That is extremely minimal. In fact, with each trustee making $6,000 per year, that cash coming in does not even cover their salaries. But in a struggling downtown, the village is moving forward with a hearing on a new web app that allows motorists who stop for shopping or to do business downtown to pay via cell phone for a space. On Monday, a public hearing was to take place on the proposed change. That was ...