John C. Shepard, AICP

The West's data centers suck (water and power) - High Country News From simple searches to chatGPT, the big digital buildup threatens the grid and water supplies.

AI-processing data centers require massive amounts of energy and water, and relatively low power prices, state tax incentives, and lax regulations are attracting them to the West, threatening water supplies and straining the grid.

Traitor. #Resistance

I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

BREAKING: With #2030Census prep already underway, President Trump says he's instructed Commerce Dept to "immediately begin work" on a "new" census that excludes people living in the states without legal status from a count the 14th Amendment says must include “whole number of persons in each state”

Trump administration reverses Biden approval of major wind farm in Idaho The Trump administration has reversed a decision by former President Joe Biden to approve a major wind farm development in southern Idaho.

Trump administration reverses Biden approval of major wind farm in Idaho
@apnews.com

apnews.com/article/trum...

If MAGA is running the 250, I want no part in it. Very different feeling than post-Watergate 1976.

Firing of labor statistics head undermines trust in key data, ex-Trump official warns President Trump is expected to nominate a new head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics this week, days after firing Commissioner Erika McEntarfer following the release of a disappointing jobs report. Th...

Trump is recklessly shredding our economic advantages in the global economy.

Companies that are looking to make investments shouldn’t have to worry if Trump has cooked the books on economic data--but that’s exactly what’s happening following his decision.

www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Trump, Congressional Republicans propose big cuts for Western renewable energy labs, research | Colorado Newsline Trump proposals threaten to gut national research laboratories in Colorado, Oregon and Washington focused on addressing climate change.

National research laboratories in Colorado, Oregon and Washington focused on addressing climate change and energy efficiency would be gutted under budgets proposed by President Trump and congressional Republicans..
By @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social @emilyxfitz.bsky.social @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

STaR Members: Cultural preservation is emerging as a vital tool for rural planning & economic development. Read your editor's take on putting history & culture to work, in the latest edition of the Small Town & Rural Planning newsletter.
www.planning.org/divisions/sm...
#SmallTownRural #Planning

Government Data Is Under Fire, But it Makes the World Go ‘Round The data influences how much people pay in taxes, receive in retirement benefits and even how much they earn on some investments. The consumer-price index, published each month, is used to update ever...

Importantly, I would have nothing to talk about on LinkedIn. @wsj.com www.wsj.com/personal-fin...

STaR Member Christian Neuschmidt, AICP, has published an edition of APA's Zoning Practice on "Avoiding Pitfalls in Zoning Engagement."

Log onto APA's website and d/l your Summer 2025 STaR news.
Here's a better link than in the Newsletter:
www.planning.org/publications...

Trump EPA plans to claw back $7 billion in rooftop solar grants The administration seeks to rescind awards under Solar for All, including grants to 49 states for lower- and middle-income households to install solar.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to rescind $7 billion in awards under the Solar for All program, including grants to 49 states for lower- and middle-income households to install solar.

Ohio County Officials Exploring Temporary Housing for Flood Victims WHEELING — A modular home builder is speaking with Ohio County officials about building “tiny homes” in the community to provide affordable housing for those displaced during June 14 flooding in Valle...

I struggle to understand people's ongoing fascination with 'tiny homes' as a tool for disaster recovery, especially when HUD-certified manufactured homes are an option. The vast majority of households don't want to live in 400 square feet, period. www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-hea...

President Trump said he would appoint a new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics “over the next three, four days,” to replace Erika McEntarfer, the official he fired on Friday after the agency released a downbeat jobs report. Follow the latest updates.

“Janet L. Yellen, the former Treasury secretary and chair of the Federal Reserve, said the firing was not what is expected from the most advanced economy in the world.

“This is the kind of thing you would only expect to see in a banana republic,” Ms. Yellen said.

Until Trump Fired Her, She Was an Economist With Bipartisan Support Erika McEntarfer led the agency that produced key data on jobs and inflation. Then July’s report showed a weakening economy, and President Trump accused her of “rigging” the numbers.

Erika McEntarfer led the federal agency that produced key data on jobs and inflation. Then President Trump lashed out over the agency’s most recent jobs report and fired her for releasing monthly data showing weak hiring. He called the data “rigged” without offering any evidence.

It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.

Rural America is evolving. Manufacturing, tourism, innovation, and public services are reshaping the future beyond farming. 🔍 Dive into what really powers the rural economy—and how small towns are leading with resilience.
👉 jcshepard.com/2025/08/what...
#Rural #EconDev #Plannng

Trump Gets Rid of Those Pesky Statistics The numbers were simply not patriotic enough.

Donald Trump has fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The numbers were simply not patriotic enough, and "once these disloyal statisticians are out of the way, the data will finally start to cooperate," @petridishes.bsky.social writes:

ICYMI: The New Rural Playbook: Trends in rural planning.
We are blending tradition & innovation, digital & in-person engagement, and nature-based solutions for resilient, sustainable communities. Tools & case studies for implementation:
jcshepard.com/2025/07/top-...
#econdev #planning

U.S. Water-Related Expenditures For Data Centers To Exceed US$4.1B Through 2030 The role of water in the high-growth data center market is fast becoming a critical factor in site selection, design, and operations.

U.S. Water-Related Expenditures For Data Centers To Exceed US$4.1B Through 2030

Hyperscale data centers, which currently represent 51.4% of total market demand, are forecasted to withdraw [the] equivalent…of 4.6 million U.S. households.

www.wateronline.com/doc/u-s-wate...
#econdev

The grid battery storage line looks small on this plot, but no other line grew by a larger percentage. Batteries are coming to the grid, as we speak.

Donald Trump’s war on renewables A not-quite-total eclipse of the solar

Researchers reckon America’s greenhouse-gas emissions in 2035 will be 470m tonnes of CO2 equivalent above what they might otherwise have been, thanks to Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”. But the fight for renewables is not over yet

A lot of interest (at least in Middle America) in nuclear power, especially SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) but these are still demonstration phase at best.

All about politics. The MAGA base HATES #renewables because Biden & Company love them. Plus #wind & #solar overwhelmingly impact rural landscapes for urban gain. You want them? Put them in the City, is the perspective…. despite value of land lease & production tax payments.

Interior Order Chokes Off Permits for Solar and Wind on Federal Lands The department creates a seemingly impossible new permitting criteria for renewable energy.

HUGE: The Trump administration will no longer permit any solar or wind projects on federal lands unless they produce more energy-per-acre than coal, gas or nuclear power plants.

Solar and wind literally produce less energy per acre, so simply this may just kill off any project on federal lands.

A photo of a derelict house with text that reads "The fire code and a tax subclass can help cities tackle properties like these."

A desaturated photo of a derelict house with text explaining the story of Edmonton's use of the fire code and a tax subclass to address derelict properties.

Though communities deeply feel the pain of derelict properties—through fires, crime, squatting, and disorder—for years, many cities assumed they had very little real power to confront these properties.

Trump, Claiming Weak Jobs Numbers Were ‘Rigged,’ Fires Labor Official

For months, people have been asking me whether I still trusted gov’t data. My answer was always the same: The stats agencies faced longstanding challenges, some of which Trump was making worse. But there was no sign of political meddling.
I can’t say that anymore.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/b...

“Off with their heads!”

This is how they managed statistics in the old USSR.

Of course Trump is now claiming that the job numbers are rigged (after pushing a bonkers trade policy that has helped set this in motion).