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Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Colorado Cities Wrestle With Costs and Benefits of Data Center Expansion
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Axios Denver, Approved, State

Colorado Cities Wrestle With Costs and Benefits of Data Center Expansion

By Alayna Alvarez | Axios Denver Colorado communities are taking dramatically different approaches to the boom in data center development, with a patchwork of moratoriums, incentives and new restrictions. Why it matters: The local experimentation is filling a vacuum left by state lawmakers, who failed last legislative session to agree on how Colorado should regulate the resource-hungry facilities. State of play: The fragmentation sets up another potential fight at the Colorado State Capitol next year over how to capture the upside of data center development without saddling communities with their enormous electricity, water and infrastructure demands. Driving the news: Denver — which already has 50 data centers — has&...
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American Manufacturing Surges to Highest Level in More Than Four Years
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Just The News, Approved, National

American Manufacturing Surges to Highest Level in More Than Four Years

By Kevin Killough | Just the News Growth was seen in fifteen manufacturing industries, including electrical equipment, appliances and components, primary metals, transportation equipment, machinery as well as computer and electronic products. Activity in the technology sector was driven by the artificial intelligence buildout. U.S. manufacturing activity increased to its highest level in more than four years in July driven by strong order growth, according to data from the ​Institute for Supply Management.  The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 55.6 last month from 53.3 in June, which was the highest since May 2022. Economists polled by Reuters had projected PMI would grow to 54.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT JUST THE NEWS
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Douglas County Cuts Red Tape to Speed Business Growth
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CBS Colorado, Approved

Douglas County Cuts Red Tape to Speed Business Growth

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Douglas County leaders have launched an initiative to reduce red tape and incentivize business development in the county. "It's all we ever wanted to do," Becky Stroh told CBS Colorado. "Finally, we got to the point in our lives where we're like, 'All right, we're ready to open up our own place.'" In 2012, Stroh and her husband opened their dream restaurant in Castle Rock, the Hideaway Bar & Grill. "Permits just take a while," Stroh said. "So getting approvals take a long time." Stroh says the permitting process for the initial opening, and subsequent remodels, was lengthy. "The LED sign outside, that I remember that permit took six weeks," Stroh said. "It would just be nice to know when are we going to get the pe...
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Douglas County Weighs Data Center Incentive as Front Range Restrictions Grow
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Douglas County Weighs Data Center Incentive as Front Range Restrictions Grow

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette At a time when Denver and Front Range governments are restricting or banning data center development, Douglas County commissioners are poised to approve a $19.3 million tax rebate agreement Tuesday for a new data center under construction in Parker. The contrasting approaches are occurring as the debate over data centers has taken center stage in Colorado and elsewhere in the country. Critics seek moratoriums or even a complete ban, citing worries about water and energy consumption, while proponents argue they bring in jobs and new revenue, not to mention their national security implications — America, they say, should not cede the battle for AI infrastructure dominance to global competitors. The proposed agreement would...
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Tech Leaders Say Misinformation Is Driving Resistance to Data Centers
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Just The News, Approved, National

Tech Leaders Say Misinformation Is Driving Resistance to Data Centers

By Christina Park | Just the News Facing NIMBY: Industry experts and lawmakers are pushing back against "disinformation" about data centers, arguing that they are vital for American jobs and technological leadership. State lawmakers and big tech are pushing back against misinformation surrounding data centers. Once welcomed for their local economic benefits, they say these facilities now face resistance due to fear and disinformation over water and electricity consumption, complicated by a global AI race against China. “What I want to do, and what President Trump wants to do is make sure we dominate the next revolution in technology, which is of course, AI and data centers,” economist Stephen Moore told the Just the News, No Noise show at the American ...
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Avon Opens Public Debate After Vandals Target Police Camera Network
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Avon Opens Public Debate After Vandals Target Police Camera Network

By Spencer Wilson | CBS Colorado A discussion over privacy, policing and public safety technology is taking center stage in Avon after three police cameras were vandalized earlier this month. That includes two speed enforcement cameras and one Flock license plate reader. The acts of vandalism happened during the early morning hours of July 18, when someone cut down or damaged camera poles and stole two of the devices. It resulted in more than $76,000 in damage and replacement costs, according to documents prepared for Tuesday night's Avon Town Council meeting. Police said they are actively investigating the felony vandalism and theft. The vandalism also ignited a much larger conversation online after the Avon Police Department's Facebook post about the damage...
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Report Says Billions Lost to Fraud as Federal Programs Flow Through States
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Just The News, Approved, National

Report Says Billions Lost to Fraud as Federal Programs Flow Through States

By Brett Rowland | Just the News Programs in question include Medicaid, food stamps and disaster relief. Twenty federal programs that route nearly $1.1 trillion through state governments – including Medicaid, SNAP and disaster relief – are vulnerable to fraud because of how the money is distributed, the Government Accountability Office reports. The money rarely goes straight from Washington to a recipient. It passes through states, then often to subrecipients, contractors and subcontractors. Every layer, GAO found, adds another entry point for fraud while making oversight harder to enforce. The report is the first in a planned GAO series examining fraud in state-administered programs. It reaffirms the agency's estimate that the government loses between $233 bi...
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Colorado Springs Planning Commission Keeps Data Center Project Moving Forward With Four New Conditions
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Colorado Springs Planning Commission Keeps Data Center Project Moving Forward With Four New Conditions

By Alex Edwards | Colorado Politics The Colorado Springs Planning Commission rejected appeals Thursday night against a proposed artificial-intelligence data center off Garden of the Gods Road. The vote of the commission was 6-2, but residents who filed the appeals will have 10 days to challenge that decision. While allowing Project Taurus to proceed, the commissioners set four conditions on the company, Raeden. These include: Requiring Raeden to report utility use data for the first 10 years of operation. Limiting utility use to a specified level of 50 megawatts, with the condition that if Raeden wants to exceed that, it must return to the commission for further approval. Raeden must furnish a corrected “single sheet” to the existing building plan. The...
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AI Camera Expansion Sparks Debate Over Privacy Freedom and Government Authority
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Washington Examiner, Approved, Commentary, National

AI Camera Expansion Sparks Debate Over Privacy Freedom and Government Authority

By Connor Boyack | Commentary, Washington Examiner On the morning of July 4, someone in Houston, Texas, cut two surveillance cameras in half and draped an American flag over the wreckage. In New Bern, North Carolina, police asked the public to help identify two men filmed destroying a camera — the public responded with hundreds of tips identifying the suspects as Batman and Robin. Since April 2025, Americans in at least five states have dismantled these devices from Flock Safety, a $8.4 billion company whose over 100,000 AI-enabled cameras now photograph passing vehicles in more than 6,000 communities. Yes, the vandals are committing crimes, and laws apply even when cameras annoy. But a nation’s lawbreaking, like its laws, contains information....
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Who watches the watchers? Why surveillance technology needs stronger oversight, not less
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American Thinker, Approved, Commentary, National

Who watches the watchers? Why surveillance technology needs stronger oversight, not less

By Brian Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker Trust is important. Verification is essential. More than 2,000 years ago, the Roman poet Juvenal posed a timeless question: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? — “Who will guard the guards themselves?” or “Who watches the watchers?” The Romans could never have imagined artificial intelligence, facial recognition, or nationwide networks of automated license-plate readers. Yet their question may be even more relevant today than it was three millennia ago. Recent debate over Flock Safety cameras illustrates why. The cameras have become an invaluable law enforcement tool. A stolen vehicle that crosses several jurisdictions can now be identified in minutes rather than days. An abducted child can sometimes be located be...
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