How was your 4th of July? I spent mine in Mt. Shasta for my annual “workation” and it was downright pleasant, weatherwise. Sunday was overcast, cool, and breezy - delightful.
After putting in a long day on Castle St. Saturday, I headed to my luxurious accommodations at the Tanners’ beautiful home. I was asleep by a little after 9, then woke up with a start when I thought there were bears using my car for a drum circle outside. Nope. Just the fireworks way over at Lake Siskiyou.
Fireworks are beautiful, but the noise is ridiculous. Ask any pet owner or animal shelter worker what happens every 4th. Dogs bolt their homes and end up in the shelter or worse. At best they’re nervous wrecks in their own homes. This year, the folks at Shasta Dam went a different way. Instead of fireworks, they put on a drone show. 200 drones flew in formation creating patriotic and locally inspired images, accompanied by a music soundtrack you could stream from your phone or device. How cool is that?
No smoke, no booms, no missing fingers. No. Fire. Danger. Organizers think 5-7,000 people attended, plus 1,000 boats. Apparently the shuttles and parking were not prepared for such huge numbers, but next year they will be ready for everyone. I love this idea and hope it becomes a trend going forward.
CORRECTION: Last week I mistakenly wrote that the 2025-26 Grand Jury had 18 months to investigate Sheriff Kain, but they “only” had 12. It was actually the prior Grand Jury that had 18 months to devise a way to remove Supervisor Pati Nolen from office. I apologize for the error.
Did you see District 5 Supervisor Greg Jones on Action News Now this week? He joined newscaster Haley Watts on her Straight From The Source podcast. They discussed groundwater, the future of farming in Tehama (and California), the economy, and more. Jones made it clear he was open to considering any type of industry to help the local economy. Watch it yourself here.
They even talked about data centers a bit, but I am of the opinion that having one or more of those in Tehama County is not a great idea. In May, Chief Administrator Gabe Hydrick suggested a Board of Supervisors Study Session on data centers after Senator Schiff introduced legislation to help protect the public from rising energy costs associated with the buildout of data centers nationwide. Note: To my knowledge, no one has approached the county with a proposal to build one here, so put the pitchforks and torches away. For now.
We haven’t seen that study session yet, but I am looking forward to an honest discussion on the pros and cons. We’ve all heard that they are voracious water guzzlers, and that’s true. But honestly, they aren’t as bad as I thought. According to Dr. Google, a medium sized data center uses about the same amount of water as 100 acres of almonds. Since we have over 50,000 bearing acres of almonds and walnuts in Tehama County, that’s literally a drop in the bucket. Large facilities can use many times that much, of course.
The bigger concern is that the aforementioned medium sized data center, according to Google, could use half as much electricity as the City of Red Bluff. On our already strained grid. What could possibly go wrong other than certain PG&E rate increases? Also, Google told me my questions used approximately 2 bottles of water, for cooling and electricity production. Oh, the guilt!
There are other environmental concerns - noise, wastewater, etc. In Wyoming, a Meta (Facebook/Instagram) data center flushed bacteria contaminated water into public sewers during construction. Local officials there are implementing new restrictions on how wastewater will be disposed of in the future. Horse gone - barn door now closed.
You may have read about an unnamed entity approaching the City Manager of Mt. Shasta to inquire about a potential data center in the Crystal Geyser water bottling plant in unincorporated Siskiyou County. The Siskiyou Board of Supervisors would make the final call if the entity pursues it, but the Mt. Shasta City Council is a hard no. And they have the Lemurians on their side, so FAFO amirite?
In Lake Tahoe, nearly 50,000 residents are losing their power supplier, NV Energy, which is diverting power to data centers in the Reno area. Residents have until May of 2027 to find another provider. How nice. What kind of infrastructure investment will be necessary to get power to these people and who will step up to build it? It will end up on their electric bills eventually.
The state of Virginia is experiencing a number of issues because they have welcomed data centers with open arms. Electricity costs have skyrocketed, water consumption is way up, and noise is a major annoyance, with residents near facilities reporting they can’t sleep because of the constant noise.
There are some pros to consider, of course. Construction jobs (temporary) and a few good paying permanent positions. Some centers run with as few as 25 human workers. What if someone fallowed 100 acres of nuts and put a data center in its place? Straight across trade on the water usage, but would it be incentivized as fallowed land? Charged as Commercial? AI and Deez Nutz - working together? We have no guardrails in place for this. Looking forward to the Study Session. I’m Team NIMBY so far. Change my mind.
You’ve already taken July 20th off work to attend the Public Hearings on Groundwater Fees, right? Friday columnist and adventure gal Shanna Long announced that the Farm Bureau will be holding a tailgate meeting at 9am (prior to the first hearing at 10) in the parking lot of the Admin Building at 727 Oak St. in Red Bluff. After coffee and donuts, we’ll mosey inside to the Supes Chambers and listen to citizens’ concerns hopped up on caffeine and sugar. Giddy-up!
Here are some fun things to do this weekend -
In Corning…
In Red Bluff…
And where I’ll be Saturday in Westwood (Lake Almanor)…
Get out and have some fun this weekend!
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