Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 30° under cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to drop down to 24°, a full six degrees cooler than yesterday, also under cloudy skies with snow-showers. There is very little snow in the forecast from the NWS.

There is a Gale Warning in effect until 1:00 p.m. today. South winds up to 35 knots can be expected and waves will be building to 4 to 8 feet. For the "Big Lake, those are just heavy swells from St Joseph to Manistee.

The cold temperatures combined with the winds blowing @ 14 mph will cause a wind-chill of near zero by midday and with the blowing snow, commuters will be challenged.

Oddly, the entire Muskegon school district will be closed today, not due to the cold temperatures, but due to a heavy influx of illness. I was trying to remember if that ever happened when I was an active teacher, but the old memory needs some Prevagen™ I guess.

Yesterday marked the closing of the Sims BLP power plant on Harbor Island. For 37 years, this plant has produced the majority of the electricity for Grand Haven. The City Council agreed to the shut-down two years ago, with an expected closure date sometime in June of this year. However, with the dwindling coal supplies on hand, the plant has now closed. It will take until June of 2021 to complete the demolition of the old facilities and the needed construction of a new control room for the distribution sub-station still located on the property.

The end of the coal-fired generation of electricity in GH is now a reality. Grand Haven has purchased additional electricity for several years during maintenance shutdowns at the Sims plant. In the past, the city has purchased and will continue to purchase electricity through the Michigan Public Power Agency, comprised of 22 municipalities that have had their own power plants.

In addition, plans call for the construction of a new building to house new gas-fired  boilers to generate a small amount of electricity for the city's downtown snow-melt system. The current boilers at the plant will keep the snow-melt system operational this year.

In the past, the BLP used a diesel power plant to provide extra power for many years, but of late, that power has been sold to the grid for purchase by other municipalities.

Mary had her "Tad" session yesterday and then went to the grocery store while I finished the indoor chores, made more vegan Italian meatballs, and did some reading. I also worked on a piece of music that I'd like to debut at this Saturday's Irish Jam Session. I have more practice to do, but I like how my cover of a tune called Absent Friends, written by the Furey Brothers, is sounding. If you are curious, here are the Furey Brothers performing that song on YouTube™. I am but one man and a guitar, so my version may not be exactly like theirs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaOxch_bius

Today, we plan to stay inside and read. John was supposed to come by yesterday, but he had some additional work to do on another job, so he will instead be here today to do those small things that my yak says no to doing.

Today, I won't even be as ambitious as yesterday. Mary may finish my new hat too, as she is nearing the end of her efforts. Ciao.