A data center is not a utility. Don't shove it down Oldham County's throat.
Through a series of open records requests we have obtained, we have learned that the powers that be have made the unilateral decision that a data center is a 'utility,' which means they think the project can proceed without public comment or planning and zoning approval. Unfortunately, this blatant attempt at bending the law is being exercised on land that is zoned for agricultural use. The attorney on the case at a high-powered law firm is single-handedly making this assumption. She doesn't live here. And she's not one of us, but she's gathering billable hours at our expense every day.
Data centers are springing up all over the country, and in almost every case, they are being shoved down the people's throats with the same playbook they're using here. No community wants a data center on prime agricultural land that can never return to its state once they start pouring concrete all over the county. They are associated with devastating environmental impacts, including alterations to important ecosystems as a result of the noise and light pollution and emissions they chug out. Further, they use vast amounts of water to cool their systems, because, well, they use a lot of energy. LG&E would love to sell it to them with their local monopoly. And a large data center can gobble up to 5 million gallons of water each day.
Gerth: Greenberg finally did right rejecting tennis center in Joe Creason Park | Opinion
State law (KRS 278.010) makes absolutely no allowances for 'data centers' as utilities, and as they provide nothing to the public, that makes sense. To be considered a utility, per state law, the project would have to generate energy 'to or for the public.' We find that a stretch.
We, the people, have told our elected leaders we are opposed to the project. We have raised our voices at fiscal court meetings, at coffee shops and at community meetings. They think they can slide this under the rug and get it done before anyone notices.
We've noticed. We are unhappy with the lack of concern from the people elected by us to represent our interests. We call on them to speak up on our behalf now, before it's too late.
Agree or disagree? Submit your letter to the editor.
Nathan Oberg is a long-time resident of Oldham County, graduate of Oldham County High School and president of 'We Are Oldham County,' a nonprofit organization that actively opposes 'Project Lincoln.' Owning a 50-acre family farm, Nathan has deep roots in the area and a strong commitment to preserving the county's heritage and natural beauty.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Oldham County data center offers nothing to the public I Opinion
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
New California dam removal could restore a river — and destroy a community
LAKE PILLSBURY, Lake County — For those living on the shores of this mountain lake, the bone-rattling drive along a gravel road to get here is a small price to pay for the California dream. Tucked amid towering pines and firs and gleaming with cobalt-blue water, Lake Pillsbury in the Mendocino National Forest is home to about 100 year-round residents and thousands of summer dwellers, lured by the pleasures of lakefront living: boating, fishing, swimming or simply enjoying a cold drink on a hot day. 'I don't know if it will knock your socks off,' Frank Lynch, a third-generation cabin owner, said as he motored his pontoon boat across the sun-splashed reservoir on a recent afternoon. 'But it's a really nice lake.' This vacation outpost about 3½ hours north of San Francisco, however, may not last much longer. The dam that impounds the lake is owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and the company wants to take it down. The move would drain the 2,000-acre reservoir, with its 31 miles of shoreline, and deliver a debilitating blow to the community. Removing the Scott Dam, alongside the removal of the smaller Cape Horn Dam downstream, both on the picturesque Eel River, is part of PG&E's plan to retire a century-old hydroelectric operation known as the Potter Valley Project, which the company says has gotten too expensive to run. Last month, PG&E filed the paperwork to decommission the project, officially putting the two dams and corresponding power facilities on course for demolition. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees power-producing operations, has final say over whether and when the company moves forward. Downstream communities along the Eel River as well as environmental groups and tribes have cheered dam removal as a way to restore the river's natural flows. Long-declining salmon and steelhead runs stand to benefit from the restoration. At the same time, the plan has raised concerns about power and water supplies in Northern California. Perhaps most discussed is the potential to lose water that is tunneled out of the Eel River for power generation miles away, then released into the east fork of the Russian River, where it's long served cities and farms in Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties. Much less talked about is the fate of Lake Pillsbury. 'People will no longer be able to enjoy what the lake has to offer,' said Lake County Supervisor Bruno Sabatier, among those leading a long-shot campaign to stop the dam removal. 'If we don't fight for these small rural communities, who will?' A bygone way of life There aren't any boat tours on Lake Pillsbury — or hotels, restaurants or grocery stores — but the next best thing may be Lynch's pontoon. With 70 summers on the water and an active role in the community's advocacy group, Lake Pillsbury Alliance, Lynch knows the place better than most, and he's happy to share. From the captain's seat of his 22-foot Sun Tracker, he pointed out the distant herd of tule elk that roams the lake's north shore. He talked about the ghost town of Hullville that lies beneath the water, submerged with reservoir construction in the early 1920s. He mentioned the landing strip next to the reservoir that served soldiers during World War II. And he noted the possibility of losing it all. 'You'd hear people screaming and yelling if they were going to take down a lake that was more accessible,' Lynch said. 'People don't know about this spot so they might not care if it's gone.' Beyond losing a cherished destination, Lynch and other residents worry that draining the reservoir would mean less water for fighting wildfires and a reduction in taxes for the county as visitation drops and real estate values plunge. Lynch's brother, who also owns a home in the area, has been trying to sell his place for 11 months, but with the lake's future on the line, 'he hasn't had a nibble,' Lynch said. Lynch moored his boat at the Lake Pillsbury Resort, a primitive vacation spot that may be the most developed visitor accommodations in the region: about a dozen rental cabins and 40 campsites on a bluff above the water. All were full at the height of summer. A handful of other campgrounds and boat launches similarly front the lake. The resort sells maps, ice and a few kitchen staples such as milk and cereal as well as T-shirts that read 'Save Lake Pillsbury.' Like all homes and businesses here, the resort operates off the grid — in this case, getting power from generators. It has robust Wi-Fi that's often sought out by campers, given there's no cell service anywhere around. 'Some of the parents come in and say, 'Don't give my kids the Wi-Fi (code),'' said Andrea Coppa, a friendly woman working at the office. 'The things we don't do anymore are still here,' said Joey Friedman, a Martinez resident whose extended family had settled in across several camp sites, as they've done each year for decades. 'We're playing games, telling stupid stories, sitting around the campfire.' The manager of the resort, Mike Ahearn, says most of the roughly 7,500 guests he counts each summer are return customers. 'It's all about tradition here,' he said, noting that he's kept the business going because people keep coming back. 'We've never had a record of making money. It's been a labor of love.' Without the lake, Ahearn said, the place is 'done.' A new vision for recreation Dam removal would bring a whole new look and feel to the area. The reservoir would dry up, and the Eel River, which descends from the rugged, upper reaches of the Mendocino National Forest, would resume its historical course through the mostly empty lake bed. PG&E has committed to revegetating the lake bed with native plants and trees, in keeping with the surrounding forest, beginning a rewilding that supporters of dam removal say would reverberate far downstream — with more natural flows of water and greater vitality across the Eel River basin. 'It's going to restore our habitat, our fishing and our way of life,' said Lewis 'Bill' Whipple, former president of the Tribal Council of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, a federation of Native American communities that has grappled with the exploitation of their ancestral lands in the watershed. The undammed Eel would become the largest free-flowing river in California. The main stem of the river runs about 200 miles, generally northward, through the mountains of the Coastal Range to Humboldt County, where it empties into the Pacific near Eureka. One of the expectations of dam removal is that fish migrating from the ocean will find new spawning grounds in the river and creeks above Scott Dam. The dam has been an obstacle to fish passage for more than a century. Liberating the headwaters, environmentalists say, could boost fish reproduction and ultimately fish populations. Historically, as many as 800,000 chinook salmon swam up the Eel annually. The migration now numbers fewer than 20,000. For residents and visitors, the former reservoir site would remain accessible, per an existing conservation easement on the land. But how the land is used would obviously change. Activities would skew toward hiking instead of swimming, and kayaking instead of motorboating. Hunting and off-roading would probably remain pervasive. A series of community meetings to envision the future of the area, both with or without the dams, has yielded countless ideas, most leaning into the region's identity as a recreation hot spot. Among the proposals, should the dams come down, is building a hiking trail along the Eel River that follows a onetime Native American trade route. Another possible trail would climb from the river to the nearby Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. Many in the community also want to improve the area's roads, telecommunications and fire protection. 'As an undiscovered gem, there's a real opportunity,' said Mark Green, executive director of CalWild, the nonprofit that was commissioned to hold the brainstorming sessions. Officials at the Mendocino National Forest, which manages most of the land around Lake Pillsbury and counts the reservoir as one of its top attractions, declined a request for an interview. But in an emailed statement, District Ranger Frank Aebly said that the Forest Service was committed to 'public recreation and habitat management' if and when the dams are razed. The federal agency hasn't taken a position on dam removal. Aebly said he expects most of the Forest Service campgrounds in the area to stay open, 'though some may close.' PG&E, which owns most of the land beneath the reservoir, told the Chronicle that it intends to sell or give the lake bed to another party, possibly a land trust or tribe, to manage like a preserve. The new owner hasn't been determined. The earliest that deconstruction of the dams and power facilities might begin is late 2028, pending federal approval, company officials said. The work would take two to three years to complete. The estimated cost, to be paid by PG&E and its customers, is $530 million. PG&E officials said the decision to retire the project wasn't taken 'lightly.' But they felt it was necessary to stop saddling ratepayers with the high cost of running the aging operation, especially given the small amount of electricity it generates. The lost power, they said, would be replaced with cheaper energy purchased from the open electricity market. As for the water that the project provides, the company's decommissioning plan supports having a new agency take over the infrastructure that tunnels supplies for power generation from the Eel River to the Russian River. Going forward, however, the new water agency, which won't produce electricity, has committed to moving less water, a setback that communities in the Russian River basin will have to contend with. Appealing to the feds At the Soda Creek Store, shortly after the 9 a.m. opening, Robert 'Buzz' Ogneff was behind the cash register prepping for the day. First order of business was fixing the front door after a bear tried to break in. 'He got in the laundry room (in the back), busted a couple of things,' Ogneff said, as he stood at the counter, shirtless and ready for the morning heat to kick up. 'If the bear got in here, it'd be a real mess.' As the major retailer on the lake, the store is often the first — or last — stop on a visit. Besides offering gas, snacks and beer, there's a small selection of camping equipment, auto accessories and tourist trinkets. For those wanting to commemorate the dust-choked, hourlong drive from Potter Valley (Mendocino County), which is the closest town, koozies for sale at the register proclaim, 'I survived the road to Lake Pillsbury.' The shop, for locals, is also a hub of communications. People come to inquire about road conditions, hunting season, the cannabis harvest and remote residents who haven't been seen or heard from in a while (and probably don't want to be). Nick and Edie Uram have run the store for nearly 35 years. They live on site with their many cats, which means they respond at all hours to lost vacationers, car breakdowns and wildfires. The Urams, both in their 70s, plan to continue operating the business for as long as they can, though they're bracing for change with dam removal. 'It will still be kind of a recreation area,' Nick said. 'But the lake and the waterskiing and the jet skis, if they take out this dam, that's over.' A poster on the front of the store honors Lake Pillsbury as a 'hero' for saving the community during the August Complex fire, the largest wildfire in California history. The lake was used for aerial water drops. The community's efforts to save the lake haven't gone as well, though it has secured support from the county brass. The Lake County Board of Supervisors has sent letters to PG&E and state and federal politicos, making their case that Scott Dam should remain. The board has even petitioned the Trump administration for help, appealing to the president's nationwide directives to boost water supplies and power generation. The federal government hasn't given any indication it will intervene to halt dam removal. Lynch, who stopped at the Soda Creek Store on the way to his permanent home in Sonoma County, doesn't like to think about Lake Pillsbury without a lake. His father and grandfather built their family cabin here in the late 1940s, with only hand tools, and he's never missed a summer on the water. He's even spent the offseason at the lake before, hunkered down in the dark of winter and occasional snow. 'Will I still come when it's 100 degrees and there's only a trickle of a river?' Lynch asked himself aloud. 'No. Not a lot. Well, yeah, I guess I'll still come.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
1 Spectacular Growth Stock Down 50% to Buy Hand Over Fist
Key Points Global-e Online helps make selling products internationally as simple as selling domestically. Thanks to the complexity its platform solves, the company may have a widening moat. Following short-term turbulence around tariffs, Global-e is now trading at an all-time low valuation. 10 stocks we like better than Global-E Online › The stock market continues to float near all-time highs. With this rise, many growth stocks have reached new peaks of their own, and a decent portion of these are now sporting lofty valuations. However, one of my favorite growth stocks has gone in the opposite direction. Despite its promising growth potential and rising margins, international sales helper Global-e Online (NASDAQ: GLBE) is down 50% from its highs as it battles short-term tariff headwinds. The company is currently trading near its lowest-ever valuation. Here's why it's time to buy this promising, founder-led growth stock. Growth options abound Global-e Online aims to help merchants sell internationally as easily as they sell domestically. Typically, selling goods online in a foreign country is a highly complex task that's often not worth the battle for merchants to do in-house. That's where Global-e's end-to-end platform comes in. Taking this complex sales process off of its merchants' hands, Global-e offers a full suite of global e-commerce enablement solutions, such as: Region-specific pricing in more than 100 currencies. More than 150 payment options, adjustable by location. Local messaging for customers and website layouts in more than 30 languages. Shipping options from more than 20 providers, with returns. Duty and tariff calculations in more than 170 markets. Zero-risk payment fraud. Local-market knowledge that lets merchants act locally. Solving these issues in just one country is challenging, but doing this across 20, 50, or 100 countries can be a nightmare. Add in the fact that merchants who have switched to the company's offerings see a 40% conversion uptick, and the value proposition of Global-e Online's platform is clear. Thanks to the value it provides to its merchants, the company has grown revenue sevenfold since 2020. Despite that incredible growth, Global-e still has less than a 1% market share of the $1.1 trillion cross-border e-commerce industry. This small market share leaves a lengthy growth runway ahead for the company. Here are the four most crucial growth areas to watch. 1. Add new merchants In 2020, Global-e added new merchants that did $287 million in gross merchandise volume (GMV). By 2024, this number had quadrupled. Now more than 1,400 merchants strong, the company regularly inks new deals with major retailers and brands such as Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Adidas, Victoria's Secret, and LVMH. Management has stated that its payback period on new merchants is less than nine months across multiple geographies, meaning that customer growth doesn't take long to become profitable. 2. Grow alongside customers Perhaps the most potent growth lever for Global-e is its ability to grow alongside its merchant customers. Since 2019, the company has grown its annual GMV per active merchant cohort by four times. This growth highlights the booming sales that new customers see as they expand into international markets with Global-e. An example of this notion comes from Adidas, which expanded its partnership with the company from eight markets in 2021 to 27 today. In total, Globel-e's merchants have grown their GMV four to five times faster than the overall e-commerce industry, making the growth stock a compelling investment idea. 3. Geographic and business-to-business expansion Aside from adding more merchants and growing alongside existing ones, Global-e can also expand its economic footprint to grow. For instance, it's in the process of adding the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Indonesia to its supported countries. Furthermore, the company has global sales expertise in the business-to-business (B2B) industry, which may be worth two or three times as much as traditional business-to-consumer (B2C). With the global B2B e-commerce market worth roughly $20 trillion in 2024 -- compared to $6.3 trillion for total online retail sales -- there's lots of potential for Global-e. 4. Managed markets with Shopify Perhaps the best endorsement of Global-e's operations (and why I believe it has a wide moat) is its partnership with e-commerce juggernaut Shopify. The fact that an e-commerce darling as powerful as Shopify would rather partner with Global-e than try to sell internationally on its own speaks volumes. Since combining to form Shopify Managed Markets, the companies have processed transactions for more than 10,000 merchants, filling orders in over 175 countries. Not only does this help grow Global-e's sales, but it acts as an incubator of sorts for potential customers for the company, as these smaller merchants grow their fledgling companies and brands. Global-e's lowest-ever valuation Despite all of these promising growth options and Global-e's widening moat, its stock is down 50% from its highs as the market seems to be worried about how tariffs will impact its business. However, co-founder and President Nir Debbi believes that while these tariffs create short-term uncertainty, they may create long-term opportunities for the company. Added tariffs make international sales more complex, whether it's B2B or B2C, and that's when Global-e can step in to help. Regardless, due to these headwinds, the stock now trades near its lowest-ever valuation. Considering that Global-e expects to grow sales by 24% when it reports second-quarter earnings on Aug. 13, this valuation is reasonable. Furthermore, management believes the company's 22% free-cash-flow (FCF) margin could grow to 26% to 28% over the long haul, which would make its valuation even cheaper. Though the road to success may be bumpy since Global-e Online's operations are tied to tariff volatility, the company's growth potential, wide moat, and rising margins make it a spectacular opportunity at today's valuation. Should you buy stock in Global-E Online right now? Before you buy stock in Global-E Online, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Global-E Online wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,108,033!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025 Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in Adidas Ag, Global-E Online, and Shopify. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Global-E Online and Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Spectacular Growth Stock Down 50% to Buy Hand Over Fist was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Singapore LTA holds off on approving cross-border e-hailing with Johor
While the idea of hopping into an e-hailing car to cross from Johor to Singapore may sound like a commuter's dream, it's not quite ready to hit the road. However, there have been talks about it. Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) clarified on 3 Aug that although cross-border ride-hailing was floated during recent discussions, there are currently no plans to fully liberalise such services. This came after a bilateral meeting on 1 Aug between Singapore's Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, where various proposals to improve cross-border connectivity were explored. Among them was the notion of introducing cross-border e-hailing as a more flexible transport option. In a Facebook post, Datuk Onn Hafiz said the proposed service could reduce congestion, offer commuters more convenience, and create new income streams for local drivers. He added that the concept may also serve as a bridge between the two nations' public transport systems — a nod to both integration and innovation. However, Minister Siow was quick to temper expectations. In his own statement, he acknowledged that while ride-hailing was indeed part of the discussion, no decisions had been made. Instead, he reiterated Singapore's commitment to safeguarding the livelihoods of current drivers and platform workers, and cracking down on unauthorised cross-border services. Currently, cross-border travel by taxi is governed under the Cross-Border Taxi Scheme (CBTS), which allows up to 200 licensed taxis from each side to operate between designated pick-up points — Ban San Street Terminal in Singapore and Larkin Sentral in Johor Bahru. Also on the meeting's agenda: updates on the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, which is on track to begin operations in Jan 2027. Officials discussed everything from construction progress to fare structures and synchronising bus schedules. There are even proposals to start cross-border buses earlier than the current 5am roll-out to help untangle the morning gridlock at the Causeway. So while the idea of seamless ride-hailing across borders may still be parked at the curb, the conversation is certainly moving. And in the realm of transport diplomacy, that's a ride worth watching. New KL to JB ETS route delayed again — 2025 launch unlikely, no new date confirmed The post Singapore LTA holds off on approving cross-border e-hailing with Johor appeared first on
