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Unusual coalition fights plants for Meta Environmentalists, oil companies oppose data center power proposal
BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer
It’s not often that environmental groups and oil companies team up for a cause. The plan to power Meta’s giant AI data center in remote Louisiana has proved to be a rare exception. A coalition of some of Louisiana’s largest oil, gas and petrochemical companies are fighting the proposal
from Entergy to spend billions on three new power plants and related infrastructure to support the tech giant’s biggest ever data center. They have joined environmental and consumer watchdogs in the effort. The companies, under the banner the Louisiana Energy Users Group (LEUG), allege Entergy’s plan would create an “unprecedented risk” to other utility customers,
potentially leaving them to cover costs. Entergy says safeguards will be in place, while Meta and state officials highlight the economic development benefits the project will bring to an impoverished area of northeast Louisiana. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced its plan in December to build the $10 billion data center in rural Richland Parish. The new
facility will be a centerpiece of the tech company’s race to create technology smarter than the human brain. Entergy, the state’s largest utility, is building the plants to power the facility, which will sit on agricultural land the size of around 70 football fields and consume more electricity than two New Orleans summers.
ä See COALITION, page 7A
La. OMV replacing computer system
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Sharing of satellite storm data to continue
Vendor selected in drive to speed service
Federal government had planned to cut program
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
BY KASEY BUBNASH
Getting a driver’s license, registration or other service from Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles could get much easier because the state has selected a vendor to replace its half-century-old computer system, state officials said. “It’ll be modern. It’ll be quick. It’ll be easy in-and-out of the OMVs,” said Bryan Adams, who has overseen the agency since Dan Casey resigned as commissioner in March. “We hope to make the experience when you go to the Office of Motor Vehicles a lot friendlier than it is now, because obviously the system we have is outdated. It’s slow. It shuts down.” Gov. Jeff Landry announced Tuesday the choice of a new system in a video posted on social media, saying Louisianans will be able to “rely on a state-of-the-art program.” The video is part of his ‘Diner Days’ series on YouTube. Eventually, the state hopes Louisianans will be able to access some services online, but officials do not yet know what exactly will be possible, Adams said. “Ultimately we want to be able to give our citizens a choice and make it much easier for them to renew their driver’s licenses,
The federal government is reversing course on a plan to cut crucial hurricane forecasting satellite data following pushback from meteorologists and government officials nationwide. Erica Grow Cei, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Tuesday that data collected through the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program would continue to be distributed for the foreseeable future. DMSP satellites, which are operated by NOAA and the U.S. Air Force, provide environmental and weather information used both in the planning of U.S. military operations and NOAA’s weather forecasts, according to the agency. While Grow Cei said the program represents just one dataset in “a robust suite” of hurricane forecasting and modeling tools used by NOAA, hurricane and weather experts say the loss of DMSP satellites, which offer unique capabilities that help scientists track storms at night and spot signs of rapid intensification, would be a devastating blow. The U.S. Department of Defense first announced plans to halt data collection through the program in late June, with the suspension slated for June 30. No reasoning was provided in a service notice issued by NOAA on June 26. The news came as a shock to local and national weather forecasters, many of
ä See OMV, page 7A
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IMAGE PROVIDED By THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
A satellite image shows Hurricane Iona forming in the central Pacific Ocean on Monday.
ä See SATELLITE, page 6A
WWII postal battalion may get new honor Lafayette native thought to be last living member of unit
This all-Black battalion was part of the Women’s Army Corps, and a Lafayette native, Fannie Griffin McClendon, was among their ranks. In April, the 6888th were honored with a Congressional Gold Medal. Soon, these intrepid women BY JOANNA BROWN may be featured on a new forever Staff writer stamp through the U.S. Postal Last year Netflix released a new Service, if a petition by the Six Tyler Perry film, “The Six Triple Triple Eight Stamp Project Team Eight,” honoring the women of the receives enough signatures. In the spring of 1945, the women 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. During World War II, of the 6888th were shipped out to this unit worked tirelessly to con- Birmingham, England, to take on nect American soldiers in Europe the extraordinarily difficult task with mail from home, under the of delivering a backlog of around banner phrase “no mail, low mo- 17 million pieces of mail. Much of the mail was damaged, poorly rale.”
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addressed, indecipherable — and McClendon and her fellow soldiers figured out how to deliver it, clearing what was expected to be a sixmonth task in three months. They were then moved to France, where the 6888th repeated the feat and were lauded with a parade in Paris after victory was declared in Europe. After returning to the U.S., the women of the unit dispersed to their homes and careers around the country. Many of them stayed in military service, such as Lafayette-born McClendon, who achieved the rank of major in the Air Force before becoming an antiques dealer. McClendon is now 104 years
old and living in Tempe, Arizona. She is thought to be the last living member of the 6888th, and her niece, Dianne Mouton-Allen (a member of the stamp project team) resides in Lafayette. Forever stamps are designed to depict distinguished people, historic milestones and natural wonders. They are nondenominated, and are intended to always be usable regardless of current postage price. Forever stamps are linked to the current price of a 1-ounce First-Class mail postage. The full petition, titled “Honor the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion with a U. S. Forever Stamp,” can be found at Change.org.
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Lafayette native Fannie Griffin McClendon was a commissioned officer in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.
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