CleverTiger9474 (2026)

02/09/2026

POST #31: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE MARYLAND DATA CENTER STUDY?
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Maryland's data center study was due September 1. It didn't come out.
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Counties across Maryland paused data center development in part to wait for that report. It has not been delivered, and no agency has announced a new date.
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This is not only a Calvert County question. Jurisdictions across the state are holding decisions open while they wait. Here is what the law requires, who voted for it, who is waiting on it, and what to ask.
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WHAT THE LAW SAYS
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Senate Bill 116, the Data Center Impact Analysis and Report, was sponsored by Senators Karen Lewis Young and Justin Ready. A cross-filed version, House Bill 270, was sponsored by Delegate Brian M. Crosby.
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The law requires the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration, and the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business to analyze the environmental, energy, and economic impacts of data center development in Maryland. The Department of Legislative Services coordinates those assessments into a final report.
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The deadline written into the law is on or before September 1, 2026, to the Governor and the General Assembly.
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Source: Senate Bill 116, Maryland General Assembly
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0116?ys=2025RS
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WHAT THE STUDY IS SUPPOSED TO COVER
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The Department of the Environment assesses potential impacts on the state's natural resources, including air and water quality, the state's ability to meet Chesapeake Bay restoration goals, and available mitigation technologies.
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The Maryland Energy Administration assesses data center energy requirements, impacts on energy demand and supply, infrastructure needs, and the state's ability to meet greenhouse gas reduction commitments.
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The University of Maryland School of Business assesses economic and fiscal impacts, including the likely effect on state and local revenues and expenditures, and the jobs likely to be created through construction and operation.
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The Department of Legislative Services may request information from the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Assessments and Taxation, the Department of Commerce, and the Public Service Commission.
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Source: Senate Bill 116, enrolled text
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0116e.pdf
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HOW IT BECAME LAW
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Governor Wes Moore vetoed the bill on May 16, 2025. His veto message stated that the three studies in that package would cost at least $1.28 million and would require coordination across numerous agencies and institutions. This study was budgeted at approximately $502,000.
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Source: Technical.ly, veto override coverage
https://technical.ly/civics/maryland-data-center-impact-study-veto-override/
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Source: Governor's veto letter, Senate Bill 116
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/veto_letters/sb0116.pdf
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The General Assembly overrode the veto on December 16, 2025. The Senate voted 44-0. The House voted 109-21.
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Both versions became law. Senate Bill 116 is Chapter 10 of the 2025 Special Session. House Bill 270 is Chapter 3.
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Source: House Bill 270, Maryland General Assembly
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0270?ys=2025RS
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The override did not change the deadline. The chaptered text still reads September 1, 2026.
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Source: Senate override vote, December 16, 2025
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025S1/votes/Senate/0006.pdf
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Source: House override vote, December 16, 2025
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025S1/votes/House/0035.pdf
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THE VOTE RECORD
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There were five recorded floor votes on this bill.
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The Senate never recorded a single no vote at any stage. Third reading March 14, 2025: 46-0. Third reading April 7, 2025: 46-0. Override December 16, 2025: 44-0.
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Source: Senate third reading vote, March 14, 2025
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/votes/senate/0507.pdf
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Source: Senate third reading vote, April 7, 2025
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/votes/senate/1194.pdf
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The House passed the bill 134-5 on April 7, 2025. The five no votes were Delegates Arikan, Fisher, Grammer, Nawrocki, and Szeliga.
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Source: House third reading vote, April 7, 2025
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/votes/house/1282.pdf
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The House override passed 109-21 on December 16, 2025. Comparing the two House roll calls, fifteen delegates voted for the bill in April and against the override in December.
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HOW CALVERT'S DELEGATION VOTED
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Delegate Jeffrie E. Long Jr., District 27B: yes on passage, yes on the override.
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Delegate Todd B. Morgan, District 29C: yes on passage, yes on the override.
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Delegate Mark N. Fisher, District 27C: no on passage, no on the override.
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Both of Calvert's senators voted yes on the override, as did every senator present.
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Source: Maryland Manual, delegates by district
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/hsedist.html
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Source: House third reading vote, April 7, 2025 (roll call)
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/votes/house/1282.pdf
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Source: House override vote, December 16, 2025 (roll call)
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025S1/votes/House/0035.pdf
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These are the numbers as they appear on the roll call sheets.
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WHO IS WAITING ON IT
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Jurisdictions across Maryland paused data center development in part to wait for this report.
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Frederick County: County Executive Jessica Fitzwater signed an executive order on July 1, 2026 pausing new applications through December 31, 2026.
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Source: Maryland Matters, counties respond to data centers
https://marylandmatters.org/2026/08/10/counties-scramble-to-respond-to-data-centers-setting-moratoriums-a-ban/
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Baltimore City: one-year pause effective July 16, 2026. The Mayor's office said it looked forward to reviewing the final state report.
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Source: Baltimore data center pause coverage
https://technical.ly/civics/baltimore-pauses-data-centers-to-study-grid-impacts/
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Baltimore County: moratorium approved February 2026, scheduled to run through January. Its own Planning Board report is due October 1, 2026. The County Council is considering an extension through June 2027.
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Source: Baltimore County Planning, Data Center Study
https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/planning/data-center-study
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Howard County: pause in place until new zoning rules are adopted, the county completes comprehensive rezoning, or no later than November 2027.
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Prince George's County: permits and applications paused pending an impact study.
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Anne Arundel County: pending legislation, with a County Council hearing scheduled for September 21, 2026.
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Harford County: permanent ban, approved unanimously by the County Council in June 2026 and signed by County Executive Bob Cassilly.
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Source: FOX45/WBFF, local data center rules across Maryland
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/maryland-data-center-debate-intensifies-as-local-rules-diverge
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Calvert County: six-month moratorium on data center site plan approvals, adopted August 18, 2026.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DEADLINE
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On August 31, 2026, FOX45/WBFF reported that the study would not be delivered on time. Senator Lewis Young said she now expects the report before the next legislative session, which convenes in January 2027, and that she is drafting data center legislation regardless.
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Source: FOX45/WBFF, August 31, 2026
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/maryland-wont-have-data-center-study-by-sept-1-why-a-lawmaker-remains-hopeful
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As of September 2, 2026, no revised delivery date has been announced by the Department of the Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration, the University of Maryland, the Department of Legislative Services, or the Governor's office.
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HOW TO CHECK FOR YOURSELF
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Reports submitted to the General Assembly are cataloged by the Department of Legislative Services Library. That catalog is the official record of whether a mandated report has been submitted, and it is public.
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Source: Department of Legislative Services, Mandated Reports
https://dls.maryland.gov/library/mandated-reports/
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WHAT TO ASK
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This report belongs to every county in Maryland, not just the ones with a project in front of them. Four questions have not been answered publicly:
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When will the report be delivered?
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Which of the three agency assessments are complete and which are not?
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Will the report arrive before the General Assembly convenes in January 2027?
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Will it arrive before local moratoriums expire?
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The entities responsible are the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration, the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business, and the Department of Legislative Services. Anyone can also ask their own senator and delegates, who are the recipients of the report under the law.
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Source: Maryland General Assembly, find your representatives
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District
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WHERE THIS LEAVES US
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A study required by two chapters of Maryland law, budgeted at roughly $502,000, passed both chambers without a single senator voting against it. Its statutory due date has passed. Local moratorium clocks are running, and several expire before or during the next legislative session.
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Maryland has neither the analysis nor a date for it.

31/08/2026

POST #30: I READ THE TAX BILL
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In April 2026, Commissioner Earl F. "Buddy" Hance explained how the county notified residents about the zoning ordinance update that added Data Center as a permitted use: "We even put a notice in everybody's tax bill." I covered that in Post #18.
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So this year, I read the tax bill. Front and back. Then I checked it against what the county actually adopted.
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I found five things wrong. None of them changed what anyone owes. All of them are printed on an official tax document mailed to every property owner in Calvert County.
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WHAT THE COUNTY ADOPTED
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Calvert has two incorporated towns, North Beach and Chesapeake Beach. Residents there pay a reduced county rate, because the towns provide services the county otherwise would.
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On June 9, 2026, the Board of County Commissioners adopted Resolution 15-26 by a 5-0 vote. That resolution is what legally sets the tax rates for the year. It levies $0.967 per $100 outside the towns, and $0.605 per $100 inside both towns, down from $0.631.
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Source: Calvert County Resolution No. 15-26, adopted June 9, 2026, recorded Liber KPS No. 79, Folio 274.
https://www.calvertcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/57041/15-26
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The same rates appear in the adopted budget's rate tables.
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Source: FY 2027 Adopted Operating Budget, Fees and Tax Rates, pages 325-326.
https://www.calvertcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/57122/FY-2027-Adopted-Operating-Fees-and-Tax-Rates
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The Town of North Beach separately adopted its own municipal rate of $0.4859 per $100 on June 8, 2026, down from $0.5016.
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Source: Town of North Beach.
https://www.northbeachmd.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/58
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ONE: THE ONLINE BILL SHOWS LAST YEAR'S RATES
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The county's online tax portal displays a county rate of 0.631000 and a town rate of 0.501600 on North Beach parcels. Both are last year's numbers.
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The amounts charged use the correct rates. On a parcel assessed at $171,100, the county line computes at 0.6050 and the town line at 0.4859. On a second parcel assessed at $1,258,333, the same two rates apply. The totals are right. Nobody was overcharged. The rates printed beside those totals are not the rates that were adopted.
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The state line, 0.112000, displays correctly. It is the only one of the three rates that did not change for FY2027.
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I am not posting anyone's tax bill, including my own. Anyone can check this. The portal is public and searchable by address. Pull up any North Beach address, open the charges page, and compare what is shown to the adopted rates above.
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Source: Calvert County online tax portal.
https://calvertcountymd.munisselfservice.com
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TWO: THE PAPER BILL SHOWS NO TOWN RATE AT ALL
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The printed bill lists a state rate and a county rate. There is no town rate on it.
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A resident holding the paper bill has nothing to check against. A resident checking online sees a number the town did not adopt. Two governments lowered rates this year and neither reduction is visible on the document that reports them.
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THREE: THE PROPERTY TAX FORMULA IS PRINTED WRONG
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The definitions panel on the back prints: "Property Tax Formula: Property Tax = (Assessed Value x Tax Rate) + 100."
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It should be divided by 100. The paragraph directly above it says so correctly, instructing the reader to multiply the assessed value by the tax rate and then divide that amount by $100.
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FOUR: THE SCHOOL FUNDING NUMBERS DO NOT AGREE
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The front of the bill carries a note stating that $16.39, or 39 percent, of the annual county tax is designated to fund the Calvert County Public School System.
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On a bill with $4,201.62 in county tax, 39 percent is $1,638.63. Divide that by 100 and you get $16.3863. The printed dollar figure is the correct percentage calculation divided by 100 a second time, the same error as the formula above it.
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FIVE: THE COUNTY RATE IS LABELED AS THE TOWN'S
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The bill's Property Tax Rate Notice reads: "For properties located within the towns of Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, the municipal rate decreased from $0.631 to $0.605 per $100."
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That is not the municipal rate. It is the county rate charged inside the towns, levied by Resolution 15-26. North Beach's municipal rate is $0.4859. The adopted budget's own rate table repeats the same error, heading that column "North Beach Approved Tax Rate."
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ONE MORE THING WORTH KNOWING
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The back of the bill also states that to produce the same real property tax revenues as last year, the rate would be $0.9231. The county adopted $0.967 and held it there.
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That gap is $0.0439 per $100, roughly $176 on a home assessed at $400,000, and about $6.2 million across the county's assessable base outside the towns. That last figure is my own calculation from the adopted base.
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Nothing about that is improper. The rate did not go up. But holding the rate flat while assessments rise does raise revenue, and the only place that appears is small print on the back of a bill.
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WHY I AM POINTING THIS OUT
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Property taxes are the county's largest single revenue source, $228,603,736 in FY2027, more than half of all general fund revenue.
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Source: FY 2027 Adopted Operating Budget, page 31.
https://www.calvertcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/56895/FY-2027-Adopted-Operating-Budget
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I am not trying to nitpick a tax bill. But this is a tax document, and those are budget documents, and together they are how the county tells residents what it is collecting and why. Five errors on one page is a proofreading problem. It is also a reason to look harder at the documents that do not come in the mail.
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First installment is due September 30, 2026. Look at your bill.

18/08/2026

TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rally at 9:30 a.m. outside the County Administration Building, 150 Main St., Prince Frederick.

Public hearing at 10:30 a.m. on the six-month moratorium on data center site plan approvals, same building, Chesapeake Hearing Room.
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The hearing gets recorded — it streams at www.youtube.com/. The rally doesn't. If you're outside at 9:30, take video and post it. That's the only part of tomorrow that disappears if nobody does.

Say what you came to say in the record. Written comments are accepted at the hearing and until the record closes.

I have a conference all day and can't be there. Good luck to everyone who will be! This is what we have all been working towards. Every meeting, every comment, every post, every conversation with a neighbor or a friend or somebody in your own family got us to a hearing. Tomorrow’s the one that counts!

Keep it respectful in there. The facts are strong enough on their own, and a room full of people who stay calm is harder to dismiss than one that doesn’t.
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Stay classy, Calvert. You got this!

13/08/2026

POST #29

THE STATE FOUND CALVERT VIOLATED THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT

Maryland's Open Meetings Compliance Board issued its opinion August 10.

Source:https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Documents/pdfs/OMCB%20Opinions/20OMCB246.pdf

Two violations.

The statements filed before closing a meeting on March 11, March 18, and August 26, 2025 didn't describe the topics and gave no reason for excluding the public.

The summaries filed after the closed sessions of May 13, 2025 and April 28, 2026 were too vague. Both involved a business proposal.

On March 11, 2025, where the statement was supposed to list the topics, the county wrote “see memo.” The memo was written after the meeting ended. The board found that alone violated the law.

I pulled that same March 11, 2025 closing statement back in April and wrote about it in Post #13, dated April 19.

Post #13: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14ocNjskyjF/

The board rejected a third complaint about the county's website. It has no power to make the county do anything — its opinions are advisory.

The county told the state it has changed its protocol. It hasn't told us what changed.

Someone had to file a complaint to get this answered. That's the system working — anyone in Maryland can file one, it's free, and the form is on the Attorney General's website. But it's worth asking why it took a resident filing paperwork rather than the county reviewing its own practice.

The law requires the board to acknowledge this opinion at an open meeting. That's the moment to ask: what changed, and what happens to the sessions the state says fell short?

The opinion is linked above. Read it yourself.

11/08/2026

I've been in the middle of writing about what's actually driving electricity costs right now — how large loads on the grid get paid for, why a facility built anywhere in the regional grid can show up on our bills here, and why a company paying for its own infrastructure still doesn't mean the rest of us don't feel it.

But partway through I realized I was guessing at what people still have questions about.

Some of you already have a handle on this. Some of you don't, and that's completely reasonable — it's genuinely complicated, and a lot of it is decided in places most of us have never heard of. I'd rather answer the questions people actually have than the ones I assume they have.

There is also a lot of information landing all at once right now.

Our rates went up August 1. SMECO spent $124.8 million on power supply in January and February alone — 28 percent of what the cooperative spent on power for all of 2025, in two months.

Source: https://www.smeco.coop/about/news/cooperative-review/july_2026/articlethreejump/
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And on August 5, the St. Mary's County Board of Education had to approve a $931,859 budget amendment to cover electricity costs that came in over budget. That money got moved out of instructional lines.

Source: https://thebaynet.com/rising-utility-costs-prompt-nearly-932000-budget-adjustment-for-st-marys-schools/

Same cooperative serves most of Calvert. So how does Calvert plan to handle it?
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And that question isn't just for Calvert. However far this reaches — Charles, St. Mary's, anywhere in Maryland this finds you — same question. The grid doesn't stop at a county line and neither does the bill.

So — what are you still confused about? What are you worried about? Is there something you think needs to be addressed before next week?

Ask it here and let me go get answers. If there's a document, I'll find it. If there isn't one, I'll say that too.

Chart: St. Mary's County Public Schools, "Energy Consumption and Cost Increases," August 5, 2026.

10/08/2026

𝗦𝗠𝗘𝗖𝗢 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦: 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗕𝗬 𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗗𝗔𝗬, 𝟰:𝟯𝟬 𝗣.𝗠.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗪:
https://www.directvote.net/SMECO

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁:
https://www.smeco.coop/about/annual-meeting/notice-of-2026-annual-meeting/

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If you have a SMECO account, you are not a customer. You are a member — an owner of the cooperative. You get a vote on five board seats and two bylaw changes, and it closes in three days.

This is not an endorsement of anyone. It is what is on the ballot and what it decides.

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THE DEADLINE

Voting closes August 12, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. Ballots were mailed and emailed on July 13. You can vote by mail or online.

Online voting: https://www.directvote.net/SMECO

There is no on-site voting at the annual meeting. If you do not vote by Wednesday afternoon, you do not vote.

Source: SMECO Notice of 2026 Annual Meeting. https://www.smeco.coop/about/annual-meeting/notice-of-2026-annual-meeting/

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YOU CAN VOTE IN EVERY COUNTY, NOT JUST YOURS

This surprises a lot of members. Five seats are open — one in Calvert/Anne Arundel, one in Charles, one in Prince George's, and two in St. Mary's. Twelve candidates are running.

Members vote for candidates in all counties, not only their own.

SMECO has 15 directors serving staggered three-year terms, with five seats up each year.

Candidate biographies and each candidate's own statement:
https://www.smeco.coop/about/annual-meeting/notice-of-2026-annual-meeting/

Full notice as a PDF:
https://www.smeco.coop/wp-content/uploads/SMECO-2026-Annual-Meeting-Notice.pdf

Read them yourself and decide for yourself.

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THIS IS A SOUTHERN MARYLAND VOTE, NOT A COUNTY VOTE

The fact that you vote in every county is not a technicality. It is the whole point.

SMECO serves Charles County, St. Mary's County, southern Prince George's County, and most of Calvert. The cooperative does not stop at a county line. Neither does the grid, and neither does the price.

A large load added in one county changes what the cooperative has to buy for everyone in it. A rate decision made for St. Mary's is a rate decision made for Lusby. A board seat filled in Charles County votes on the tariff that hits a bill in Prince Frederick.

Southern Maryland has spent a long time arguing county by county while the decisions that actually move our bills get made regionally — at PJM, at the Public Service Commission, and at this cooperative. The other side of these fights is organized regionally. We have not been.

This ballot is one of the few places where that is already fixed for us. Every member votes on every seat. Use it that way.

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THERE ARE ALSO TWO BYLAW CHANGES ON THE BALLOT

These have gotten almost no attention, and one of them involves your money.

The first would amend the director oath of office to add a commitment to support Board policies as adopted from time to time by the Board.

The second concerns capital credits — the margins allocated to your account each year. Two changes are proposed:

The window before unclaimed credits are considered assigned to the cooperative would extend from three years to five.

And the use of those unclaimed funds would change. The current bylaw directs them to reduce the cost of electricity to the members. The proposed language strikes that and replaces it with assisting members under the cooperative's statutory powers, or making donations to non-profit charitable organizations approved by the Board of Directors.

Source: SMECO Notice of 2026 Annual Meeting, Proposed Bylaw Revisions. Link above.

In plain terms: money that currently lowers everyone's bill would instead be directed by the Board.

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THE CONTEXT SMECO GIVES FOR IT

SMECO states the change conforms the bylaws to Maryland House Bill 227 and Senate Bill 561, signed April 22, 2025 and effective October 1, 2025, which provide that capital credits unclaimed more than five years after retirement are no longer treated as abandoned property and may be retained by the cooperative.

That is accurate, and worth knowing before you vote. The state law allows the cooperative to keep the funds. Where the funds go after that is decided by this bylaw.

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WHAT SMECO SAYS ITS OWN PRINCIPLES ARE

SMECO publishes seven Cooperative Principles it says it adheres to. Two of them speak directly to this ballot.

Democratic Member Control states that cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions, and that elected representatives are accountable to the membership.

Members' Economic Participation states that members allocate surpluses — including toward benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative, and toward supporting other activities approved by the membership.

Source: SMECO, Cooperative Principles. https://www.smeco.coop/about/your-cooperative/cooperative-principles/

Those are SMECO's standards, not anyone else's. Read them next to the bylaw and reach your own conclusion.

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TWO THINGS MOST MEMBERS DO NOT KNOW

Board service is a paid position. Per SMECO's most recent IRS Form 990, for fiscal year 2024, director compensation ranged from $27,150 to $42,200, with the Chairman at $42,200.

Source: IRS Form 990, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, EIN 52-0492367, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/520492367

And quorum is very small. SMECO has more than 151,000 members. Ballots cast by mail or online count toward a quorum of 500 participating members. Only 50 members need to attend in person.

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WHY THIS PARTICULAR YEAR

The board elected this week will oversee the cooperative through decisions already scheduled.

Under Maryland law, SMECO must file its own large load tariff with the Public Service Commission by September 1, 2026. That filing determines how very large customers are billed and whether existing members end up subsidizing them.

Source: Southern Maryland Chronicle, April 30, 2026. https://southernmarylandchronicle.com/2026/04/30/calvert-county-hears-smeco-plan-for-data-center-power-demands/

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THE ANNUAL MEETING

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 6 p.m.
Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department Social Hall
28165 Hills Club Road, Mechanicsville, MD 20659

Results are announced at the meeting. Again — no voting on site.

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THREE DAYS

More than 151,000 members. A quorum of 500 ballots. Fifty people in a room.

Every fight in Southern Maryland right now — the data centers, the substations, the rates, who pays for what — runs through decisions this board will make. The large load tariff is due in three weeks. The board voting on it is being chosen this week.

And what it costs you to participate is opening an email and clicking a ballot.

If turnout is low again, no one has to explain that. It becomes the answer. Boards that are never seriously contested stop expecting to be. That is not a theory about anyone's character. It is just what happens when nobody is watching.

You own this cooperative. Nobody has to give you permission to act like it.

Read the bios. Read the bylaw change. Vote by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

And send this to someone in Charles, St. Mary's, or Prince George's. Their vote counts in your county too.

04/08/2026

👀🫣😳 in work meetings all day but I’m assuming they announced this at the BOCC meeting today?

31/07/2026

I’M STILL HERE
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I took a break after the primary elections. This clever tiger was a very tired one, and sometimes work, family, kids, animals, mounting bills... I’m looking at you SMECO…. you know... life gets in the way.
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I applaud those of you who have kept going strong. I may have been quiet, but I have been here. I just refuse to post anything that isn't fact-based and sourced to the best of my ability — and that takes time. Lots of time. I am very thankful to my family who understood the importance of the mission and I’m thankful to all of you understanding I needed a bit of a break.
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And while I was recharging, you all did something. June and July proved that our voices will be heard, no matter what anyone calls us. Funny thing about facts: they don't care if they were typed by a "keyboard warrior." A document says the same thing whether it's read from a podium or a couch.
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But I have to say this part with kindness: I'm watching the dreaded shift. We won a round and now everyone is turning the proverbial pitchforks on each other. That has to stop. People are allowed to have different opinions — that's the whole point of all of this - democracy. Mine, for the record: to me, the potential cons outweigh any pro I've seen put on the table for data centers. Others see it differently, and they get to. The record is where we sort it out, not the comment section.
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Because the work is not done. Here's what's still on our plate:
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SPEAK NOW — AUGUST 17 AND 18
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The public hearing on the proposed six-month data center moratorium is Tuesday, August 18 at 10:30 a.m., Chesapeake Hearing Room, 150 Main St., Prince Frederick. Advance written comments must be received by 4:30 p.m. Monday, August 17, by email to [email protected]. The county's own notice says the ordinance "may be substantively modified, revised, amended or otherwise changed, based upon comments received in the record."

Translation: your comments can change the words. Whatever your opinion — yes, no, longer, shorter — put it in the record where it counts.

Source: https://calvertcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/57293/Legal-Notice---Data-Center-Temporary-Moratorium-Public-Hearing-0818

Source: https://calvertcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/57292/Draft-Ordinance---Adoption-of-a-Temporary-Moratorium-on-Data-Center-Approvals
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WHAT IF IT'S VOTED DOWN?
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Fair question, and everyone should be asking it before August 18, not after. If the moratorium fails, nothing pauses. The AWS site plan application keeps moving through review. The zoning text amendments — the actual rules — remain the only lever, and staff already said that work was paused. So "then what?" is a question for the five people on the dais that morning, and for every candidate on the ballot in November: if not a pause, then what is the plan? Ask it. In the record, at forums, at your door. A no vote does not end this conversation — it just removes the deadline.
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WATCH THE WORK, NOT JUST THE VOTE
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A moratorium is not a victory lap — it's homework with a deadline. If it passes, the six months exist for studies and zoning text amendments, and the current board holds the pen through December 15. A pause is also not a withdrawal: the AWS site plan application is still active. We keep watching.
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SEPTEMBER 1
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The State of Maryland's Data Center Impact Analysis and Report is due to the Governor and General Assembly — the statewide homework on environmental, energy, and economic impacts that everyone has been waiting on.

Source: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0116?ys=2025RS
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NOVEMBER 3
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Every commissioner seat is on the ballot. And here is a genuine wish: it would be nice to see those running switch from arguing about data centers to telling us what they would actually DO in office. There are so many more topics than data centers. And be wary of any blanket promise — "I will never raise taxes" sounds great, but nobody can predict the future, and a promise that ignores reality is not a plan (that’s not a personal attack just an in general thing people promise).
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Every one of us has something we'd fight for — schools, blossoming farms, quiet nights, low bills, less traffic, all of it. As someone with children, mine is the schools: "Calvert has the best schools" is the hat this county has hung everything on for years. But when the schools are funded at the bare minimum, cracks will start to show — and a title is not permanent. The job of the people asking for our votes is to listen to ALL of it and do what's best for the county as a whole. That means working together. Ask the candidates specific questions. Expect specific answers. Then hold whoever wins to them.
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AND THEN IT MOVES FAST
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The new board is seated December 15. The 2027 session of the Maryland General Assembly convenes January 13 — four weeks later — with the September 1 data center report in hand and statewide decisions on the table. If the moratorium passes, it expires just weeks after that. There is no warm-up period. Whoever we elect has to hit the ground running, and that only works with team players willing to work together for the common good. Keep that in mind in November.

Let’s not forget this is all of Maryland all of the PJM grid…. But there are more issues than just data centers.
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ONE LAST THING
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I'm not here just to be here. I'm here to help get answers — to your questions, and to the ones nobody has thought to ask yet. So tell me: What have I missed? What are you worried about? What do you think no one is talking about?
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You can comment below, DM this page, or email [email protected]. Anything you share with me stays confidential. Always has, always will. I only post facts, not gossip — but between us, there's usually a little truth hiding behind the gossip, and that's exactly where the digging starts.
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The documents and information kept coming while I was “gone”. Numbered posts are coming, and not just about data centers. Good to be back.

Have a great weekend!

CleverTiger9474

02/09/2026

31/08/2026

18/08/2026

13/08/2026

11/08/2026

10/08/2026

04/08/2026

31/07/2026

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