Newport News to Host Digital Infrastructure Town Hall Amidst Data Center Opposition
Newport News, Virginia, is hosting a Digital Infrastructure Readiness Town Hall to discuss data infrastructure and governance. Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany III and local activist Amanda Doughty will facilitate the event, which comes amidst ongoing community opposition to large-scale data centers in the area, particularly near Fort Eustis. Doughty previously organized a petition against data centers and has raised concerns about a facility at Jefferson Lab perceived by some as a large data center.
Newport News, Virginia, is preparing to hold a Digital Infrastructure Readiness Town Hall on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Denbigh Community Center. The event, which will focus on data infrastructure and governance, will be facilitated by Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany III and local activist Amanda Doughty. It is open to the public, with questions needing to be submitted in advance to council@nnva.gov.
Doughty has been a prominent voice in the community's opposition to large-scale data center developments in the Newport News area. She previously initiated a petition gathering thousands of signatures to oppose new data centers after news surfaced about a potential site near Fort Eustis. Doughty has also addressed community concerns regarding a building at Jefferson Lab, which, despite having a sign indicating 'data center,' houses the lab's High Performance Data Facility, not a commercial data center. She hopes the town hall will provide more clarity and address remaining questions about such projects.