Mark Walczyk

10/15/2026

Governor Hochul's "Cap & Invest" = even higher energy costs.

"The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are designing a program that sets an annual cap on the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that is permitted to be emitted in New York.
Under the program, large-scale greenhouse gas emissions sources and distributors of heating and transportation fuels will be required to purchase or obtain allowances for the emissions associated with their activities. By applying a price to the amount of pollution, a cap-and-invest program incentivizes consumers, businesses, and other entities to transition to lower-carbon alternatives." https://capandinvest.ny.gov/ (Hov. Hochul's website)

This has been delayed until after the election. The program (rules written by Gov. Hochul) establishes a declining limit on statewide carbon pollution to help New York meet its climate goals by forcing polluters to pay more. Since NY's energy grid is supported by diesel generators and natural gas plants, and you may drive a car with an internal combustion engine, and you may heat your home with natural gas, propane, or oil, what does this mean for you?

- Homes with natural gas and heating oil, $4,100 increase annually

- At the pump, $2.23 more per gallon of gas

- On the electric bill, $1,000 to $3,000 increase annually

We already pay 70% higher utility bills than the rest of the nation.

Register to vote before Oct. 24th
Early voting Oct. 24th - Nov 1st (at select locations)
Apply for an absentee ballot if you're not going to be around
Election day - Nov. 3rd

10/14/2026

Supreme Court Judges handle major civil and criminal trials. Mike Manfredi is an awesome guy, great family, and will serve us well on the bench.
See you tonight, Sir!

Watertown — Come Meet Mike!

Mike will be at Time Warp Tavern in Watertown on October 14th from 5:00–7:00 PM!

Stop by, say hello, grab some wings on us, and spend some time getting to know Mike.

We hope to see you there!

10/14/2026

Check out Christine the History Queen 👑

10/14/2026

Want to learn about NY grid, rates, and production? follow: New York Energy Alliance

10/13/2026

10/13/2026

'Twas the Story that Changed Christmas - and it's roots are right here in upstate New York, told by our very own Christine the History Queen 👑

Do you really know the "Jolly old elf?"
Do you know the home where the author "tore open the shutters and threw up the sash?"
Do you know why it was written and how it changed Christmas?
Don't know what to get your history-buff friend for the holidays?

I just think it's so cool that this iconic Christmas tale is local, and the story behind the story is really cool.

Grab it now online or expect to see it on shelves this season:

Buy 'Twas the Story that Changed Christmas, (Paperback) at Walmart.com

10/13/2026

I have seen this forest beauty,
Watched and studied it all the time.
How the big trees would mature,
Younger ones would fall in line.

Like the old man's pace grows slower,
He has seen it at its best,
And he hears the gentle whisper
As he sits him down to rest.

As we reach the age of forty,
Strong and vig'rous in our stride,
And the woods tools we are carrying
Over shoulder and by our side.

Talking of the woods and beauty,
And the work I like the best.
I listen to a whisper
As I lay me down to rest.

When we reach the age of fifty,
The old ladder is then complete.
When we hear the foreman calling
It is anything but sweet.

"Come along and let's get going,
Load those logs and stop your jest."
Then I listen to that whisper
As I sit me down to rest.

You have done your best old fellow,
Younger ones will take your place.
You have seen Old Tug Hill slaughtered,
All of this you've had to face.

Five more years will be the finish
Of this beauty and the rest
And they'll hear the gentle whisper
As they lay me down to rest.

"The Forester's Poem" by John (Old Lard) Clemens c1950

10/13/2026

We recently honored Leona Chereshnoski for 42 years of service on the NYS Tug Hill Commission board.
A resident of Lorraine, with long-term family ties to Osceola, she has a long history of civic and community involvement, including: Treasurer, NYS Old Tyme Fiddlers’ Association; Secretary, Osceola Snowmobile Club; NYS Library Association; Jefferson Lewis Library Association; and election observer for the Town of Lorraine. She was also the librarian of the Osceola Public Library and the owner of Old Lard’s Barn Bed and Breakfast, and is a retired librarian from the South Jefferson Central School.

Leona and her husband, Ray, raised their three children Sherry, Pete, and Jackie in Lorraine, where Ray operated a logging business and served terms as town justice and highway superintendent. After raising her children, Leona went to college at age 47 and finished her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five and a half years, while working full-time at South Jeff as librarian and taking care of her family. Leona’s mother Alice Clemens, was a renowned fiddle player. Leona and her family were highlighted in the Venerable Folks of Tug Hill exhibit in 2016. She's poured her life into the culture and communities of the Tug Hill and we're all better off because of her work, volunteerism, and advocacy. Thank you Leona!

10/13/2026

Yesterday was the kind of day the climate plan is built around. Mild, 60s everywhere, no furnaces, no air conditioners, a holiday Monday with many offices dark. If renewables are ever going to carry New York, it is on a day like this one.

Here is what the day did. Gas supplied 44% of the state’s electricity and 51% of the peak hour. Solar supplied 5% of the day and 0% of the peak. Its best hour reached 18% of the state, against 28 to 31% on last week’s sunny days, because Syracuse sat under drizzle until dark and Albany didn’t see sun until early afternoon. The utility-scale fleet topped out at 700 MW.

And the Champlain Hudson Power Express, the 1,250 MW line sold to the city as its clean-power backbone, delivered nothing. Not a low number. Zero, all 24 hours, with NYISO’s limit on the line set to zero, which is the signature of an outage rather than a quiet day. It is still at zero this morning. On Sunday it ran for four hours. Meanwhile New York exported an average of 546 MW to Quebec on the old tie beside it, all day.

The peak came at 7 PM, after dark, at 18.0 GW. Gas ran 9.2 GW. The four reactors ran 3.3 GW, the whole fleet, flat for 24 hours. Niagara and the pumped-storage plant at Blenheim-Gilboa pushed hydro to 3.5 GW. Imports were 6%, with the backbone contributing none of it.