Posted inArtificial intelligence Data centers

Kotek and Drazan now agree on one thing: a statewide data center moratorium

Political ambition creates strange bedfellows. Today the two main candidates for Oregon governor in November's election, Democrat incumbent Tina Kotek and Republican state senator Kristine Drazan, both expressed their support for a statewide moratorium on data centers -- even though they'd previously expressed reservations about this. Well, that's what happens when polling shows that most Oregonians are on board with a moratorium. A story in today's Oregonian by Mike Rogoway says: Gov. Tina Kotek and her Republican opponent, Sen. Christine Drazan, both called for statewide moratoriums on data centers Tuesday, converging on the same position within hours of each other…
No Comments
Posted inData centers National politics

Data centers are uniting the country. In opposition to data centers.

The United States is so politically divided, it's wonderful that Democrats, Republicans, and independents have come together on one important national issue: dislike of data centers. This image illustrated a Comment by Benjamin Wallace-Wells in The New Yorker's "The Talk of the Town" feature in the August 17, 2026 issue: Reading the Data. The digital version is titled, A.I. is Now a Major Election Issue. With the sub-heading, As Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s newly elected Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, put it, “People really effing hate data centers.” I'll share a PDF file if that link doesn't work for non-subscribers. A.I.…
No Comments
Posted inArtificial intelligence Data centers

If you care about the future of AI, watch this astonishing video of a Yuval Noah Harari interview

Today a friend emailed me a link to a You Tube video where Yuval Noah Harari talks about AI in an amazing fashion that only a historian with his breadth of knowledge about how the past of humanity intersects with the future of artificial intelligence could pull off. This graphic provides an overview. I watched the video earlier this evening, forsaking tonight's usual television diet of recorded Sunday political talk shows, because I'm a huge fan of Harari -- having read three of his books, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011), Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2015),…
No Comments
Posted inData centers

There’s a middle way on AI and data centers between anything goes and everything stops

Though I'm not a Buddhist, I like the notion of a Middle Way -- which traditionally avoids the extremes of asceticism and sensual indulgence. After all, most things in life seem well suited to moderation, a Goldilocks approach to life. Goldilocks went inside. First she tasted the porridge of the great, huge bear, and that was far too hot for her. And then she tasted the porridge of the middle bear, and that was too cold for her. And then she went to the porridge of the little, small wee bear, and tasted that. And that was neither too hot…
No Comments
Posted inCity Council City of Salem Data centers

With public opinion mostly against a Salem data center, it’s time to shed more light and less heat on the project

My approach to politics, and to life itself, is reflected in a basic principle of Tai Chi -- which I've practiced for about twenty years. Yang follows yin; yin follows yang. So two yang moves in succession is a Tai Chi no-no. Expressed in plain English, the notion is that when strength meets strength, a battle ensues. Which doesn't mean that conflict should be avoided. It means that a forceful attack shouldn't be met with an equally forceful counterattack, but with a redirecting of the opponent's energy, a softness that deflects hardness, allowing for a more favorable outcome than, as…
2
Posted inCity Council City of Salem Data centers

Who’s to blame for Salem data center debacle? Time to point fingers.

Last Thursday I spoke with a KATU reporter about the news that Governor Kotek had blocked the sale of property owned by the state that was going to be used by a data center proposed to be built in south Salem's Mill Creek Corporate Center. Referring to the massive turnout at last Monday's City Council meeting of people who were almost entirely opposed to the data center, I said: This is democracy in action. People came out. Loud, angry, sometimes impolite. It got the city’s attention. And it looks like it got Governor Kotek’s attention. When I heard that Kotek…
1
Posted inCity Council City of Salem Data centers

Here’s some of what I told the KATU reporter about the Salem data center that didn’t make it into her story

Having done quite a few interviews with local television news reporters over the years, I've learned that I should feel fortunate if a few seconds of my much longer brilliant observations on some subject make it into the televised story. After all, they only have a few minutes to tell the entire story, and I'm just a small part of that much bigger picture. So one of the last things I said to Jennifer Singh, the KATU (Portland) reporter who interviewed me yesterday about a major new development in the Salem data center saga, was something like, I really enjoyed…
No Comments
Posted inCity Council City of Salem Data centers

Salem data center’s three-year property tax abatement seems suspicious

Verrus, the corporation wanting to build a 75 acre, $5.1 billion data center at the Mill Creek Corporate Center in Salem, has already received a three-year property tax abatement. Meaning, if the data center is built, for three years neither the City of Salem nor other taxing districts would receive any property tax revenue from the project. However, there's a special meeting of the Salem City Council next Monday, August 3, where a moratorium on data centers will be discussed. If this applies to the Verrus project, the property tax abatement may be a moot point. Still, I want to…
1
Posted inCity Council City of Salem Data centers

Opposition to Salem data center is justified, but shouldn’t be wild-eyed crazy

Kudos to the Salem Reporter for providing live updates on the City Council meeting underway at the moment (9;30 pm), having started at 6 pm with a packed house, drawn by an agenda item about the five billion dollar Verrus data center planned for the Mill Creek Corporate Center. The council president, Linda Nishioka, said they expected five hours of public testimony. Most of it will be in opposition to the data center. Which is to be expected, since nationally about 70% of Americans are against them, with Republicans, Democrats, and independents all on the same page on this issue.…
3
Posted inCity Council City of Salem Data centers

How to comment on the Salem data center proposal (and make your comment count)

We all want to be heard, listened to, taken seriously. But when it comes to commenting on a development project that falls under land use, zoning, and similar sorts of rules, some usual tendencies should be kept in check. Like getting too emotional. And being too general. Both of which I'm prone to, as most of us are. I understand why so many people oppose the Oakline at Mill Creek data center planned to be built in the Mill Creek Corporate Center. Often this stems from a hatred of AI, artificial intelligence, and from horror stories regarding data centers elsewhere…
No Comments
Posted inCity Council City of Salem Data centers

Salem data center encountering same resistance as data centers elsewhere

It's a tough time for a corporation seeking to build an AI data center anywhere in the United States. Resistance is stiffening. So it's no wonder that Oakline at Mill Creek, the data center Verrus is proposing to build here in Salem, is trying to project a warm and fuzzy image. This is a tongue-in-cheek editing (by an AI, naturally)  someone sent me of the Verrus mockup of what the data center would look like. The deer peacefully grazing on the grass in front of the building is a nice touch. How noisy could the data center be if deer…
1
Posted inCity of Salem Data centers Environment

Data center proposed for Salem has both potential benefits and problems

Like most things in life of this sort, a data center proposed to be built on 75 acres in Salem's Mill Creek Corporate Center is more complex than avid proponents and opponents are willing to admit. Depending on who is speaking for or against the project, Oakline at Mill Creek would either be a boon to Salem's economy and tax base, or a giveaway to a giant corporation that will wreak havoc on its neighborhood and the environment. (Caption under image above says Digital rendering shown for illustrative purposes only – subject to change.) According to a Salem Reporter story…
1