Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved a request from Mayor Lisa Borowsky last week to begin examining how the city’s zoning ordinances apply to data centers and whether more specific requirements are needed as the industry continues to expand nationwide. Scottsdale City Council directed the city manager and city attorney to agendize a work study session focused on current data center … Read More
When a Data Center’s Promise Dries Up (and What It Means for Arizona)
By Alexander Lomax A cautionary tale is unfolding in California’s Imperial Valley, and it has direct implications for Arizona. Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing promised its planned AI data center would avoid drawing from the Colorado River. The developer said the project would rely on reclaimed and recycled water from local cities, not supplies from the drought-stressed river. That pledge has … Read More
When AI Can’t Even Say Your Name: The Glendale Community College Graduation Fiasco
There is a moment at every graduation that belongs entirely to the graduate. Not to the administration. Not to the institution’s brand. The moment when someone says your name out loud and you walk across that stage. At Glendale Community College’s May 15 commencement, held at Desert Diamond Arena, the school decided that moment was too much trouble to get … Read More
AI Blowout: What Shocking Quarterly Earnings Reports May Mean for the Tech Industry in Arizona
Wall Street delivered a harsh verdict last week when Amazon announced its fourth-quarter earnings. Despite beating revenue expectations with $213.4 billion, the stock tumbled nearly 8% after CEO Andy Jassy unveiled a staggering $200 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026, far exceeding the $146.6 billion analysts had anticipated. The message from investors was clear: the era of unlimited AI spending … Read More
TSMC’s $197 Million Land Purchase: Another Pillar in Arizona’s Tech Ascendance
Arizona’s transformation into a global semiconductor powerhouse gained further momentum this week when TSMC Arizona secured 900 acres near Loop 303 and Interstate 17 at an Arizona State Land Department auction for $197.25 million. This isn’t just another real estate transaction: it’s a definitive statement that the world’s largest chipmaker is cementing North Phoenix as a critical hub for advanced … Read More
Profiles in Courage: When Mayors Choose Constituents Over Corporate Pressure
By Alexander Lomax Sometimes the measure of leadership isn’t found in what you approve, but in what you have the courage to oppose. The contrast between Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke’s decisive rejection of an unpopular AI data center and Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky’s handling of the unpopular Axon development reveals two fundamentally different approaches to serving constituents when corporate interests … Read More
Momentum for Arizona as an AI Hotbed is Building, but Not Without Roadblocks
Arizona’s transformation into a major technology hub reached another milestone this month with Cognite’s announcement of its new global headquarters in Tempe. The Industrial AI company’s relocation from Oslo, Norway represents more than just another corporate move; it’s validation of Arizona’s emergence as a serious player in the artificial intelligence economy. With over 100 new jobs coming to the Phoenix area … Read More
The Future of Journalism
By Brian C. Anderson, reposted from City Journal Three decades ago, the visionary social thinker Peter Huber published Orwell’s Revenge, a book that turned one of the twentieth century’s most haunting political parables on its head. Where George Orwell imagined a future of total information control, Huber saw the opposite: a world where digital technology shattered centralized authority. In 1984, the Ministry … Read More
Arizona’s Silicon Renaissance: Why Nvidia’s Manufacturing Announcement Changes Everything
Arizona being a hotbed for the tech industry has been a common theme; shoot, we just wrote about it last week. But a recent development shows that we may have been understating how critical our state is becoming with an entire global industry. When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took the stage at the company’s first-ever Washington D.C. conference this week, … Read More
Is Phoenix Becoming the Capital of AI? Further Expansion Demonstrates Its Importance in America’s Hottest Sector
It’s been a big few years for Arizona, and more specifically the tech sector. They have been able to land a number of massive new developments and headquarters, but a more recent news story has us wondering something which would have sounded absurd only 5 years ago…is Phoenix becoming a capital city for Artificial Intelligence? Phoenix’s transformation into a global … Read More
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