Mason County, West Virginia community opposes data center project, seeks resignation of House Speaker
A West Virginia community in Mason County is actively opposing a data center development, with organizers calling for the resignation of House Speaker Roger Hanshaw due to his representation of the developer. The community group is appealing an air quality permit related to the project. This local activism is highlighted within a broader article about grassroots efforts against ICE.
The Groundwork Project has launched its Immigrant Protection Rapid Response Fund to support grassroots organizers in states like West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Alabama, which often receive less national media attention for their efforts against ICE overreach and detention expansion.
The article highlights various local fights, including a specific data center development in Mason County, West Virginia. In Mason County, community organizers are actively challenging a data center project and calling for the resignation of House Speaker Roger Hanshaw. Hanshaw is representing a second data center-related developer against a community group that is appealing an air quality permit for the project.
Elsewhere, Oklahoma organizers successfully halted a proposed ICE detention center, and communities in Mississippi and Alabama are seeing increased engagement in immigrant protection efforts. The Groundwork Project emphasizes the importance of these local, often underfunded, initiatives in driving social justice and civil rights.