6 ms·

Utah senator smacks ABC reporters phone out of hand amid Data Center controversy

85 points by randycupertino 6mo ago

slwvx 6mo ago
[flagged]
- cap11235 6mo ago
  [flagged]
  - tomhow 6mo ago
    We've banned this account.
nradov 6mo ago
It's so weird that people are getting worked up about a fake project. Regardless of government activities, there is no industry financing to actually build anything. Kevin O'Leary’s Biggest Scam Yet: https://youtu.be/RWoV0EXxa7c https://youtu.be/RWoV0EXxa7c
- krupan 6mo ago
  If you are right that it's all a scam then that makes it even more upsetting that government leaders are falling for it
janice1999 6mo ago
> ABC4’s crew was also issued a trespassing notice. The class system in the US has never been more on display with the datacenter build outs. A senator who attacks a journalist gets them threatened by the police. Town halls to listen to local "concerns" are charades where they look for any excuse to arrest anyone who voices opposition [1]. [1] https://www.newson6.com/tulsa-oklahoma-news/arrest-made-during-heated-claremore-meeting-over-proposed-data-center https://www.newson6.com/tulsa-oklahoma-news/arrest-made-duri...
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- stvltvs 6mo ago
  It often seems that police officers' most sacred duty is to protect the property rights of the wealthy.
  - pocksuppet 6mo ago
    It seems like it is, because it is.
  - LocalH 6mo ago
    ACAB is real, because good cops either quit or they fight the system from within and receive abuse, and then they quit (or die)
- HumblyTossed 6mo ago
  >>> Claremore police arrested Darren Blanchard for trespassing during the meeting after officers said he refused to follow the rules after going over his allotted time to speak. Police escorted the man out of the meeting and booked him into the Rogers County Jail. There's something very very wrong with that.
  - Freedom2 6mo ago
    I'm just glad that this can never happen in America thanks to our constitution!
- tragiclos 6mo ago
  On the other hand, even if the town council takes concerns seriously and denies permission to build, the companies doing the building will just sue and build them anyways[1]. [1] https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/ai-data-center-michigan-saline-politics-farmland/ https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/ai-data-center-michigan-salin...
  - 6mo ago
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
Trasmatta 6mo ago
[flagged]
dlenski 6mo ago
Problems with the title: 1. The story is not about one of Utah's 2 US senators, but about one of its state senators. The title should probably say "Utah state senator." 2. There is a missing apostrophe in "reporter's"
- mike_d 6mo ago
  He is a Utah senator. It is a job title.
  - dlenski 6mo ago
    Many people reading this headline will initially assume, as I did, that it refers to one of Utah's two US senators. Why not add the word "state" and immediately clarify this?
    - randycupertino 6mo ago
      The strict HN title character limits make you consolidate the headline as much as possible.
      - xethos 6mo ago
        I actually went to call you on this before double-checking just to be sure. No, you were right - 80 characters exactly. Couldn't even fit the apostrophe for "reporter's"
- happytoexplain 6mo ago
  I am absolutely amazed to discover that, despite spending my whole life living in the US, I've never known that states also have their own senates. I'm starting to think that there is no age at which I will stop being embarrassed by the things I do not know.
  - mmh0000 6mo ago
    As always, there's an XKCD for everything: https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
dabinat 6mo ago
The impression I get from conversations with non-technical people is that they associate data centers with AI and all the associated controversies and negative externalities that come with that. They do not realize that there are non-AI uses for data centers. I wonder if it’s only a matter of time before people are openly trying to torch data centers.
- pocksuppet 6mo ago
  To be fair, 99.9999% of all new datacenter projects are explicitly for AI and only for AI. Only AI projects want this much rack space. All the big tech companies combined (except their cloud computing arms) could fit together in just one of these AI datacenters.
  - Stefan-H 6mo ago
    Have a source for that?
    - deleted 6mo ago
      [deleted]
  - Stefan-H 6mo ago
    Since you just submitted a statistic without any evidence substantiating it, I will leave this here for future readers: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-next-big-shifts-in-ai-workloads-and-hyperscaler-strategies https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-tel... It looks like much more like 50% of new datacenter capacity is for AI workloads.
- nervousvarun 6mo ago
  I have family in Lakeland, Fl which is an area that is currently deciding on whether to build one. All I've heard from them is they're worried about their power rates and water bills going up. Their assumption is the added strain on the local infrastructure will be passed on to them. People are drowning everywhere with inflation and anything that is perceived to lead to a higher monthly bill is going to encounter resistance.
grahamburger 6mo ago
Wow, second time this week that Utah has been on the HN Frontpage! Guess we're moving up in the world! Or, well, down, as neither story reflects particularly well on our state.
krupan 6mo ago
People in Utah are super upset about this data center project (and no, they aren't bussed-in paid protestors like "Mr. Wonderful" claims). Check Instagram and ksl.com for all the drama, it's very entertaining. Utahns are being asked to save water at every opportunity and then this world-record sized data center gets green lit by the state government with zero explanation as to how that jives with the drought narrative. People are already tracking down the financial links between state government officials and the people behind this are already being discovered. State senator slaps a reporter's iPhone out of their hand,county commissioner gets teary eyed saying his family was threatened, governor calls the attitude of all the citizens complaining "dumb" and throws a little temper tantrum. It's incredible
- sizzzzlerz 6mo ago
  You know there has to be money being passed under the table to the council members, state legislature, and governor's office by the billionaire's wanting to build these things. There is absolutely no benefit to the local's to have this in their backyard. The construction money will go to out-of-the-area contractor's to build it, they'll staff it (minimal as it will be) with H1B visa holders from India, and money that won't see light of day in the community. All they'll have is higher property taxes, water, and electricity bills. Of course, being republican, they'll continue to vote these same people back into office.
  - Worf 6mo ago
    > All they'll have is higher property taxes, water, and electricity bills. How would the datacenter lead to higher taxes and bills? Genuinely curious.
    - skeledrew 6mo ago
      For the utilities at least, data centers take a crazy amount of electricity and water to operate. These costs are subsidized through some sort of arrangement - that I've never really understood - with the respective companies and spread out among the residents. Maybe there's something similar re property with the area becoming more "valuable", leading to something akin to gentrification.
JohnTHaller 6mo ago
> Senator Jerry Stevenson (R-Layton) is a powerful GOP lawmaker on Utah’s Capitol Hill — sitting on three of arguably the state’s most powerful boards and chairing the state’s top budget committee.

slwvx 6mo ago

[flagged]

cap11235 6mo ago
[flagged]
- tomhow 6mo ago
  We've banned this account.

It's so weird that people are getting worked up about a fake project. Regardless of government activities, there is no industry financing to actually build anything. Kevin O'Leary’s Biggest Scam Yet: https://youtu.be/RWoV0EXxa7c https://youtu.be/RWoV0EXxa7c

krupan 6mo ago
If you are right that it's all a scam then that makes it even more upsetting that government leaders are falling for it

janice1999 6mo ago

> ABC4’s crew was also issued a trespassing notice. The class system in the US has never been more on display with the datacenter build outs. A senator who attacks a journalist gets them threatened by the police. Town halls to listen to local "concerns" are charades where they look for any excuse to arrest anyone who voices opposition [1]. [1] https://www.newson6.com/tulsa-oklahoma-news/arrest-made-during-heated-claremore-meeting-over-proposed-data-center https://www.newson6.com/tulsa-oklahoma-news/arrest-made-duri...

deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
stvltvs 6mo ago
It often seems that police officers' most sacred duty is to protect the property rights of the wealthy.
- pocksuppet 6mo ago
  It seems like it is, because it is.
- LocalH 6mo ago
  ACAB is real, because good cops either quit or they fight the system from within and receive abuse, and then they quit (or die)
HumblyTossed 6mo ago
>>> Claremore police arrested Darren Blanchard for trespassing during the meeting after officers said he refused to follow the rules after going over his allotted time to speak. Police escorted the man out of the meeting and booked him into the Rogers County Jail. There's something very very wrong with that.
- Freedom2 6mo ago
  I'm just glad that this can never happen in America thanks to our constitution!
tragiclos 6mo ago
On the other hand, even if the town council takes concerns seriously and denies permission to build, the companies doing the building will just sue and build them anyways[1]. [1] https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/ai-data-center-michigan-saline-politics-farmland/ https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/ai-data-center-michigan-salin...
- 6mo ago

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

Trasmatta 6mo ago

[flagged]

dlenski 6mo ago

Problems with the title: 1. The story is not about one of Utah's 2 US senators, but about one of its state senators. The title should probably say "Utah state senator." 2. There is a missing apostrophe in "reporter's"

mike_d 6mo ago
He is a Utah senator. It is a job title.
- dlenski 6mo ago
  Many people reading this headline will initially assume, as I did, that it refers to one of Utah's two US senators. Why not add the word "state" and immediately clarify this?
  - randycupertino 6mo ago
    The strict HN title character limits make you consolidate the headline as much as possible.
    - xethos 6mo ago
      I actually went to call you on this before double-checking just to be sure. No, you were right - 80 characters exactly. Couldn't even fit the apostrophe for "reporter's"
happytoexplain 6mo ago
I am absolutely amazed to discover that, despite spending my whole life living in the US, I've never known that states also have their own senates. I'm starting to think that there is no age at which I will stop being embarrassed by the things I do not know.
- mmh0000 6mo ago
  As always, there's an XKCD for everything: https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/

dabinat 6mo ago

The impression I get from conversations with non-technical people is that they associate data centers with AI and all the associated controversies and negative externalities that come with that. They do not realize that there are non-AI uses for data centers. I wonder if it’s only a matter of time before people are openly trying to torch data centers.

pocksuppet 6mo ago
To be fair, 99.9999% of all new datacenter projects are explicitly for AI and only for AI. Only AI projects want this much rack space. All the big tech companies combined (except their cloud computing arms) could fit together in just one of these AI datacenters.
- Stefan-H 6mo ago
  Have a source for that?
  - deleted 6mo ago
    [deleted]
- Stefan-H 6mo ago
  Since you just submitted a statistic without any evidence substantiating it, I will leave this here for future readers: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-next-big-shifts-in-ai-workloads-and-hyperscaler-strategies https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-tel... It looks like much more like 50% of new datacenter capacity is for AI workloads.
nervousvarun 6mo ago
I have family in Lakeland, Fl which is an area that is currently deciding on whether to build one. All I've heard from them is they're worried about their power rates and water bills going up. Their assumption is the added strain on the local infrastructure will be passed on to them. People are drowning everywhere with inflation and anything that is perceived to lead to a higher monthly bill is going to encounter resistance.

grahamburger 6mo ago

Wow, second time this week that Utah has been on the HN Frontpage! Guess we're moving up in the world! Or, well, down, as neither story reflects particularly well on our state.

krupan 6mo ago

People in Utah are super upset about this data center project (and no, they aren't bussed-in paid protestors like "Mr. Wonderful" claims). Check Instagram and ksl.com for all the drama, it's very entertaining. Utahns are being asked to save water at every opportunity and then this world-record sized data center gets green lit by the state government with zero explanation as to how that jives with the drought narrative. People are already tracking down the financial links between state government officials and the people behind this are already being discovered. State senator slaps a reporter's iPhone out of their hand,county commissioner gets teary eyed saying his family was threatened, governor calls the attitude of all the citizens complaining "dumb" and throws a little temper tantrum. It's incredible

sizzzzlerz 6mo ago
You know there has to be money being passed under the table to the council members, state legislature, and governor's office by the billionaire's wanting to build these things. There is absolutely no benefit to the local's to have this in their backyard. The construction money will go to out-of-the-area contractor's to build it, they'll staff it (minimal as it will be) with H1B visa holders from India, and money that won't see light of day in the community. All they'll have is higher property taxes, water, and electricity bills. Of course, being republican, they'll continue to vote these same people back into office.
- Worf 6mo ago
  > All they'll have is higher property taxes, water, and electricity bills. How would the datacenter lead to higher taxes and bills? Genuinely curious.
  - skeledrew 6mo ago
    For the utilities at least, data centers take a crazy amount of electricity and water to operate. These costs are subsidized through some sort of arrangement - that I've never really understood - with the respective companies and spread out among the residents. Maybe there's something similar re property with the area becoming more "valuable", leading to something akin to gentrification.

JohnTHaller 6mo ago

> Senator Jerry Stevenson (R-Layton) is a powerful GOP lawmaker on Utah’s Capitol Hill — sitting on three of arguably the state’s most powerful boards and chairing the state’s top budget committee.