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The OBSERVER’s View

POWER Hochul’s veto on grid disappoints

The New York Independent System Operator continues to raise concerns about the reliability of the state’s electric grid in coming years - particularly in New York City - as questions continue to arise about the planning behind New York’s transition to an emissions-free power grid. It’s one reason why, in our opinion, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to veto a Grid Modernization Commission created by the state Legislature makes little sense. The governor says the decision is about cost, with the grid commission vetoed along with several other commissions that the governor said ...

COUNTY: No minimizing big money woes

About a decade ago when Vince Horrigan served as Chautauqua County executive, our newspaper did an editorial referencing how this area’s curse is minimizing continuing tax increases. At that time, Horrigan noted the county tax rate was increasing by pennies per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Never mind that costs for property owners were going up, it just wasn’t at a large margin. For the record, there is no minimizing what is happening in the city of Dunkirk or what could be coming for the village of Fredonia. City officials are cobbling together a budget plan for 2025 that will ...

Nation: Cabinet nominees deserve hearings

With plenty of buzz surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s planned nominees for cabinet positions, it is understandable for opinions to form early. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was right, then, to suggest the candidates named should be given a chance. “He’s got to appoint the team that he absolutely believes in,” soon-to-be U.S. Sen. Justice said. “We have to absolutely be fair about this, and we’ve got to give them time to get their feet underneath them to do the job I know they’ll do.” It’s impossible to miss that in the same breath he is asking people to be ...

HANOVER Keeping fire plans on front burner

Credit to Hanover for continuing to stay on top of the possibility of consolidating fire departments. As we have already seen with the North Lake Fire District, which is made up of Mayville, Dewittville and Hartfield, there are benefits. This week, town Supervisor Lou Pelletter reported he attended a webinar to learn more about the needs of fire departments — such as declining enrollment, updated training, and ever changing regulations — and how to meet those needs through consolidation. Pelletter received permission from the Town Board to enter into an agreement with the ...

DUNKIRK Overtime issue is costly to city

It is not only the lack of oversight with city budgets that has been troubling the city of Dunkirk in recent years. During this week’s Finance Committee meeting, another revelation came to light: the city is not properly keeping track of overtime. What other disaster is on the horizon? Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak said Monday the state Labor Department found the city police department had been keeping inaccurate records regarding overtime when it made a stop at City Hall last month. “We’re going to have a pretty hefty bill coming up we’re going to have to pay out, ...

DUNKIRK Battery facility plans need input of city

City of Dunkirk residents need to be a part of the discussion regarding a recent meeting of the Chautauqua County Planning Board. Last week, board members reviewed initial plans for a 250 megawatt grid-connected battery storage system, to be placed on West Seventh Street in the city. According to the application, the project will be a simple layout of battery containers connected to a new substation. The battery cells are contained in racks arranged within containers (each about the size of a shipping container) on a concrete slab. The containers are separated according to the ...