A California city became the first in the US where voters passed a permanent ban on data centers
Residents of Monterey Park, California just made history, passing the country’s first permanent ban on data centers via a ballot initiative. While the official results won’t be certified until July 10, initial results have an overwhelming 86% of residents voting in favor of the ban.
While city councils have passed moratoriums, this ban is particularly significant since it's the first to be passed via ballot measure.
The vote comes after a fight to stop a massive data center near a residential neighborhood. The measure had support from all five city council members, but now officially puts future decision-making in the hands of residents.
Why is this good news? Across the country, there has been widespread public backlash to data centers over legitimate concerns around rising power rates, noise levels, water use and contamination, and more. This vote sets a new precedent that others could follow, ensuring the people impacted by data centers have the power.
Homelessness in Denver decreased for the first time in 9 years
In January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted its annual “Point-In-Time Count,” which tracks the number of people experiencing homelessness across the nation.
The results of that report were just released, with Denver officials finding that homelessness had significantly dropped in their city for the first time in nine years.
From 2025 to 2026, overall homelessness in Denver dropped by 12.5%. Of 6,411 people experiencing homelessness in the city this past January, 92% were in shelters, and 8% were unsheltered. The latter was a 64% decrease from 2023, showing that the number of people “rough sleeping” on the streets has dramatically decreased.
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