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Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper
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founded in 1808
NEW REGULAR FEATURE ON OTSEGO COUNTY operations, page 5 VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Volume 218, No. 11
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, March 12, 2026
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Lawmakers Rail against State Climate Law; Green Groups Call State Report Inaccurate By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
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ALBANY tsego County’s representatives in Albany are criticizing the state’s landmark climate law after a report released by the Governor Kathy Hochul administration said its costs of implementation would be in the thousands of dollars for oil and natural gas users. The report comes as the Hochul administration has been mulling ways to alter provisions in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, Politico has reported. Environmental groups are calling the report
inaccurate, exaggerated and misleading. The report from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority estimated that “Upstate oil and natural gas households would see costs in excess of $4,000 a year” by 2031 if the CLCPA is implemented as written. The three-page report said costs would fall particularly hard on those without the ability to install low emission technology, which is harder to obtain for a range of reasons. Doreen Harris, NYSERDA president and chief executive officer, also wrote that the federal government’s Continued on page 9
Cooperstown Boys Win Section Again
Photo by PhotoJoe Photography-Joe Harmer
SYRACUSE—Top-seeded Cooperstown boys basketball won a repeat Section III Class C championship with a 74-51 victory over two-seed Cato-Meridian in Syracuse on Sunday, March 8. Miles Nelen scored 19 points and had five assists and two steals. Jackson Crisman recorded another double-double with 18 points and 20 rebounds. Cooper Coleman had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hawkeyes stand undefeated at 24-0 for the season. They will face Section IV Class C winner Notre Dame in the regional championship at Syracuse’s SRC Arena at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 15. INSIDE ► Larry sharpe talks gUbernatorial race IN HARTWICK, page 2 ► another county board meeting in the books, page 3 ► citizen science IS BACK, AND IT’S chaos! page 4 ►LOTS OF LETTERS, page 4 ► ccs hISTORY DAY OVERVIEW, page 6 ► HOLOCAUST EDUCATOR PLANS VISIT, page 9 ► NEALON ON BEHALF OF rss, page 10 Follow Breaking News On
Town of Hartwick Sets Public Hearing for Solar Moratorium By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL HARTWICK fter a contentious start to its new term of office, the Town of Hartwick board has found an issue to unify around: opposing a proposed solar farm. At its regular meeting on Monday, March 9, town board members unanimously voted to set a March 20, 6:30 p.m. public hearing for a proposed six month solar moratorium, pending timely review by the Otsego County Planning Department and publication of notices in “The Daily Star.” The moratorium proposal comes in response to solar company SolAmerica seeking to build a 12.8-acre solar farm near the intersection of Greenough Road and Dobbs Hill Road. Residents have been speaking out against the project since news of the company’s inquiries broke last month, including three
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Photo by Eric Santomauro-Stenzel
The Town of Hartwick board voted on March 9 to set a public hearing for a proposed six-month solar moratorium in response to a solar farm project being considered by Georgia-based SolAmerica.
public commenters at the Monday meeting. Opponents have cited noise, visual impact, potential environmental impacts and prox-
imity to residential properties. SolAmerica has yet to file an official Continued on page 15
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD