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…
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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.…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Trump gives boring speech at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

I can't stand Trump. But usually my anger at his antics keeps me interested in what he's saying. Last night was different. His hour long speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was so boring, it should be sold as a sleep aid. Thankfully, I'd recorded it on CSPAN. So after twenty minutes or so of watching this Lesson in How to Make Your Audience Wish They Were Watching Paint Dry Instead of You, I started pressing the 30 second advance on my remote in a vain attempt to find some genuine humor or even just some fresh insults. Didn't work.…
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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…
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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…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

I urge Salem City Council to rule on Betsy Vega’s qualification to be a Ward 6 city councilor

Here's my open letter, which will become an open email, to the nine members of Salem's City Council. My subject is whether Betsy Vega meets the requirements in the city charter to be a city councilor. *************************************************************** Dear Mayor Hoy and councilors Paul Tigan, Linda Nishioka, Shane Matthews, Deanna Gwyn, Irvin Brown, Mai Vang, Vanessa Nordyke, and Micki Varney: As you're aware, the City of Salem has issued a statement regarding Betsy Vega's eligibility to be on the November 2026 General Election ballot after she was certified as the winner of the Ward 6 city council race in the May…
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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…
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Posted inDonald Trump International issues

Trump is tolling the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from tolling the Strait of Hormuz

I just checked. Sadly, The Onion satirical news site doesn't seem to have a story yet about Trump announcing today that he plans to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz a 20% toll after the United States takes control of the Strait, because Trump is upset that Iran has been seeking to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz a smaller toll when they had control of the Strait. This absurdity would be funny if it wasn't so deadly serious. After all, Trump's Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said just a few weeks ago: No country is…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

Here’s what ChatGPT says about whether Betsy Vega is qualified to be a Salem city councilor

In my previous post I criticized the legal opinion by Eugene attorney Truman Stone of whether Betsy Vega meets the qualifications to be a Salem city councilor following her victory over Ward 6 incumbent Mai Vang in the May 19 primary election. My main concern was that Stone downplayed the language in Section 25 of the city charter that says: A councilor shall have resided in the ward the councilor represents during the 12 months immediately before being elected or appointed to the office. Stone considered that domicile was the correct term for judging whether Vega met that residency requirement,…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

City officials ignored Salem charter in wrongly qualifying Betsy Vega as Ward 6 city councilor

When I learned today that the City of Salem had issued a public statement about a decision that Betsy Vega was qualified to serve as the Ward 6 city councilor despite a challenge by Paige Barton, the campaign manager for incumbent councilor Mai Vang, who Vega defeated, I was surprised. After all, Barton had presented evidence that Vega (photo above)  hadn't lived in Ward 6 for the twelve months prior to the election -- regardless of whether "election" means the May 19, 2026 primary election at which Vega got over 50% of the votes, or the November 3, 2026 general…
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Posted inDonald Trump International issues

Trump screws up World Cup soccer by interfering in red card decision

I should have known. Not to say to people, "I'm enjoying the World Cup, in part because soccer is one place where Trump isn't mentioned." Except now he is, having interfered in FIFA's, the soccer (football to the rest of the world) federation's, decision to issue a red card to a star American player that disqualified him from the United States team's match in the round of 16 against Belgium tomorrow. Trump screws up everything. So I guess it isn't surprising that he has screwed up the World Cup. It's just another reason for the rest of the world to…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Patriotism means seeing the United States as it is — both flawed and fabulous

I don't have an American flag. I'll stand for the Pledge of Allegiance but I don't say the words. For me the Fourth of July means our dog is going to be scared by fireworks, nothing more. I'm proud to have never served in the military, having gotten a high lottery number in Vietnam War days. Yet I consider myself patriotic. Not because I think the United States is the best country in the world. Because I love our country in spite of its many flaws. Which I'm confident is how non-Americans view their own countries: they love India, Brazil,…
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Posted in2028 election Donald Trump National politics

Supreme Court just gave Trump more power. Also the next Democratic president.

No one ever could accuse Trump of being a genius at predicting the long term outcome of his actions. Trump acts, or rather reacts, emotionally in the heat of the moment on the basis of gut feelings, not on any sort of deep analytical understanding. So it isn't surprising that Trump is glorying in a victory given to him by the Supreme Court today, as described in a BBC story. Nearly 100 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not have unchecked power to replace commissioners on regulatory agencies set up by Congress…
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Posted inMicki Varney Progressive Salem

I fashion a fruit creation for Progressive Salem potluck

I'm a terrible cook. My best dishes are either microwaved frozen dinners or take-out food. Left to my own cooking devices, I rely heavily on tofu and brown rice. Not even slow-cooked brown rice. Three-minute microwaved frozen packaged brown rice from Trader Joe's. So when I needed to bring something to the Progressive Salem potluck at Woodmansee Park today, my first (and also last) thought was to buy some organic fruit. I settled on strawberries and blackberries. This morning I labored for a whole five minutes or so, rinsing the fruit, slicing the tops off of the strawberries, and then…
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Posted in2026 election City Council

City of Salem hiring Eugene attorney to help with investigation of Betsy Vega’s eligibility to be city councilor

Initially the City of Salem announced that the City Recorder and City Attorney would investigate an allegation that Betsy Vega is ineligible to be a city councilor even though she beat incumbent Mai Vang in the May election. That investigation was expected to be completed by June 22. But yesterday the City of Salem said that the investigation deadline now is July 7 because a Eugene attorney, Truman Stone, has been hired to help the City Recorder. Here's a screenshot of part of an email from the Salem Reporter (I'm a subscriber). This seems like a wise decision. If the…
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Posted in2026 election National politics

Democratic Socialists of America do well in New York primaries. Great news for Democratic Party.

I'm a firm believer in the Big Tent approach to Democratic Party politics. We need to include all sorts of people under the party banner. Including those who don't pass the sort of purity test that some Democrats demand of their politicians. Opposed to abortion? Welcome to the Big Tent. Love your assault rifle? Welcome to the Big Tent. Support Israel? Welcome to the Big Tent. Big fan of billionaires? Welcome to the Big Tent. Favor more drilling for oil and gas? Welcome to the Big Tent. Those are examples of how people with some right-wing leanings can find a…
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Posted in2026 election City Council City of Salem

Betsy Vega’s election as Ward 6 city councilor may hinge on definition of “qualified elector”

Betsy Vega has been certified by Marion County Elections as the winner of the May 19 election for the Ward 6 city council seat, as she got 44 more votes than Mai Vang, the incumbent. But Paige Barton, Vang's campaign manager, has filed a complaint with the City of Salem that asserts Vega may not be qualified to be a city councilor, according to the City Charter. Section 25. Qualifications. (1) An elective city officer shall be a qualified elector under the state constitution and shall have resided in the city during the 12 months immediately before being elected or…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

UFC bouts at White House were entertaining, even as setting was beyond disturbing

Yesterday I belatedly realized that the highly controversial UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) bouts at the White House were being shown on Paramount+ at no extra cost, and we had a Paramount+ subscription. So I fired up our Apple TV at 5 pm Oregon time, 8 pm Washington DC time, because I was curious to see the spectacle that had caused so much justified uproar among progressives like me. It did seem outrageous that the UFC folks could basically rent the White House grounds for MMA (mixed martial arts) fights in an especially built octagon that was plastered with ads for…
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Posted in2026 election National politics

Graham Platner’s Maine primary victory is a win for flawed people — which is everyone

Today the voters of Maine made Graham Platner the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat currently occupied by Republican Susan Collins. With 71% of the vote in, the New York Times shows Platner ahead of Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, 72% to 20%. Sure doesn't look like Maine Democrats have lost faith in Platner, even after reports surfaced that he had behaved badly with several girlfriends, and had exchanged sexual text messages with some other women at the beginning of his marriage. Nineteen polls were taken between July 2025 and June 2026 of the Democratic primary between Platner and…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Trump’s bizarre lie-filled end of his interview with Kristen Welker is astoundingly disgusting

I'm not easily shocked by Trump's utterances. But today Brian Stelter, the chief media analyst at CNN, shared on X a transcript of the final minutes of Kristen Welker's recent interview of Trump at a Wisconsin farm. Welker is the host of NBC's Meet the Press, and is a well-respected journalist. When I read it, I was struck by how this breaks new ground even for Trump in his authoritarian Hall of Shame. Naturally it is beyond embarrassing that the United States has s president who cares so little about truth and facts -- not exactly a good quality for…
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