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The OBSERVER’s View

The OBSERVER’s View: City’s piddly action in midst of firestorm

As has been well documented for more than two years, the city of Dunkirk is facing real troubles. Finances are in shambles. Morale, of course, is at all time lows in City Hall. How is the Common Council responding to the big problems through the first five months of the year? It does not. Instead, it takes on another meaningless issue. It creates a resolution — that it approved — that would not allow the public to be served with paperwork during a council meeting. “The service of legal papers upon individuals during the course of a public meeting may create a chilling effect ...

The OBSERVER’s View: Electric bus decision a start for state

A five-year delay in the state’s electric school bus mandate is a reasonable compromise in the state budget. The electric bus mandate was always far too optimistic that technology would be ready quickly. Early adopters of electric buses have found the technology isn’t ready for New York’s winters. And, in a state where Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed relatively flat state aid for many smaller districts, the cost of bonding for electric school buses was going to be more than most districts’ taxpayers were going to be willing to spend for technology that couldn’t yet handle ...

Finding some time for Memorial Day

Sadly enough, many Americans unintentionally will disrespect the true meaning and purpose of today's solemn national holiday. After all, ever since 1971 when Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be observed on the fourth Monday in May, for many, the holiday is simply the final day of a long weekend dedicated to the start of summer fun and frolic. For far too many of us, Memorial Day's primary purpose has been corrupted. The day has become a day to fire up that shiny new grill for outdoor barbecues, a day to catch some rays at the beach or simply a day off work to ...

The OBSERVER’s View: Art Trail helps boost county

It is easy to get caught up in the downtrodden happenings in northern Chautauqua County in recent years. Fredonia has bad water. Dunkirk is out of money. Yes, local government has a long tradition of ignoring troubles until they arrive at the doorstep. On the other end of the spectrum is a more positive picture in the growing Art Trail, which takes place Saturday and Sunday as well as Labor Day weekend. As organizers noted in a news release this week, the Art Trail has become a meaningful economic driver for the region, attracting visitors from across New York state and neighboring ...

The OBSERVER’s View: Put end to raises for legislators

The idea of automatic cost-of-living-adjustments for Chautauqua County legislators is, and frankly always was, a bad idea. We weren’t in favor of legislators receiving a 64% increase in pay in 2024. While that was the first raise in county lawmakers’ pay in about 20 years. A $5,700 raise doesn’t look like much until you realize it equaled a nearly $110,000 increase to the county budget. Now, next year, legislators are set to receive another pay increase tied to inflation. Can all the county residents who work two jobs raise their hands if their part-time employer have ...

The OBSERVER’s View: Strong support seen for control board

Over the last week, more than 600 observertoday.com website viewers gave us their opinion regarding “Do you favor a control board for the city of Dunkirk?” Along the lines that have been written on social media and in several discussions, the poll found an overwhelming 89.66% in favor while 10.34% against. Current council members, at the moment, have not once talked about whether they approve of this direction or not. What’s more concerning is they barely have answers when looking to 2027 on how to make ends meet. As readers may have noticed within the last six months, Dunkirk is ...