Take a drive through Brocton-Portland and there are signs of discontent. It stems from the announcement earlier this spring that a possible data center was looking at the former Sugar Hill golf course on Route 5. That opposition also is evident in last week’s observertoday.com poll: Are you ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...