Category Archives: Business

Data Centers Good? Blank Checks Not!

By Eric Olson, Ph.D.

Data centers represent real private investment, they can strengthen the electric grid when structured correctly, they bring construction work, and they place Oklahoma inside one of the most important infrastructure build-outs of the next generation. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, finance, health care, and logistics all depend on the physical infrastructure that data centers provide.

So the question is not whether Oklahoma should welcome data centers. The question is whether public officials are negotiating good deals for the public?

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Senior Screwworm Advisor Announced

By Staff Report

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins recently announced President Donald J. Trump has appointed John Bellinger as the new Senior Advisor for New World Screwworm Preparedness. In this role, Bellinger will integrate into USDA’s team to help further drive its robust effort to explore all available technologies to combat the New World Screwworm.

“I want to thank John for joining our team as USDA transitions to the next phase of fighting and eradicating this pest from our borders, as we did nearly sixty years ago, yet it came back due to Biden’s failed open border policies,” said Secretary Rollins. “John’s roots in Texas where New World screwworm is at ground zero, and his private sector experience in the related food safety and cattle industries, will help the administration advance our response and protect U.S. livestock.”

John Bellinger
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Are Data Centers Betraying Citizens

By David Arnett

Private Fiber Lines Revealed in Public Right-of-ways

Are high speed commercial Fiber Optic Lines being installed illegally in Oklahoma to connect multiple data centers? Are public utility rights-of-way being used for private commercial installations without the knowledge or permitting approval of local and state officials? Are Oklahomans being bamboozled by the monied elite for billions of dollars over decades with no compensation provided to local property owners? Could this be happening within clusters of data centers nationwide?

Phyllis Fallen heard a construction crew approaching her property on 660 Road one mile south of the Mayes County-Wagoner County line in Oklahoma. When she stepped outside and asked what they were doing, the crew said they were laying a fiber optic line. No compensation was offered, and no documentation was initially produced.

Fiber Optic Lines in Wagoner County. Photo by Phyllis Fallen
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USDA: Small Meat/Poultry Plant Support

By Staff Report

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins launched the Small Processors Action Plan (PDF, 2.3 MB), a new set of actions to better support small and very small meat and poultry processing plants, improve customer service, and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining strong food safety protections for consumers. Additionally, Secretary Rollins announced that USDA is accepting applications for the fourth round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program to expand American meat and poultry processing.

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Veto Prohibits Solar, Battery Exemptions

By David Arnett

Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene, commented Monday in a public release on the governor’s pocket veto of legislation to prohibit solar generation facilities and battery energy storage systems (BESS) from qualifying for the Five‑Year Ad Valorem Exemption for Manufacturers, beginning in January 2028.

Dobrinski is chairman of the House Utilities Committee and House author of Senate Bill 237. The governor had until midnight May 29 to take action on the bill. Because he did not sign it into law, and because the 2026 legislative session is adjourned sine die, the bill became pocket vetoed.

“I’m extremely disappointed the governor chose not to enact this legislation that had widespread support from constituents and legislators alike. He overruled the decision of more than 100 representatives and senators to protect taxpayer money from going to out-of-state developers taking advantage of a forty-year-old tax incentive originally designed to add quality jobs investment to our state,” Dobrinski said.

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