Abysmal Kerr County Goes After Camp Mystic

Kerr County is the local authority pursuing justice against the owners of Camp Mystic.  There could not be a more inappropriate government to undertake this effort given the County's nonresponse the evening of the disastrous July 4th flood.  

Kerr County did not drill for a flash flood disaster under the tenure of Emergency Management Coordinator William "Dub" Thomas (2015-2026).  In addition, it did not evaluate its "response" to the deadly July 4th flash flood event. These are basic competencies in the disaster response world.

Kerr County's Assistant County Attorney responded to the public information request:

Kerr County has completed its search for records responsive to your request for the Sheriff’s Office, all County Commissioners, Information Technology, Road & Bridge, Engineering, and the County Attorney’s Office. 

After a diligent search of files, records, and information systems reasonably likely to contain responsive materials, these departments and/or department heads have no records responsive to your request.

For some reason Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas legislature are giving Kerr County officials a free pass, other than some initial public humiliation.  

Kerr County officials did not participate in State of Texas Emergency Management phone calls prior to the July 4th floods.  Numerous other Texas County Judges and Emergency Management Coordinators fulfilled their duties and took life saving actions prior to and during the flooding.  Kerr County did not.

If the local government's position is that Camp Mystic leaders should have been able to predict, then that also applies to Kerr County, which never got off its fallen face, but the state continues to cover for it.

If there ever were a case of legal malpractice, this is it.  Kerr County should be prosecuting itself or the State of Texas should lead legal accountability for Kerr County leaders who clearly abdicated their responsibilities to plan, drill, evaluate those drills, respond to an actual event and then evaluate that response.

Camp Mystic may deserve the same but not at the hands of the "do nothing" local government charged with protecting it during a disaster.

ASAC to Hear Kennel Construction Update

Three and a half years after City Council approved an urgent request from city leaders to borrow $2 million to renovate a failing Animal Shelter, the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee will get an update on that yet-to-start project.  

City Council approved the shift to constructing multiple pods on December 2, 2025.  

The urgent financing was proposed in February 2023.  Five months from now, the time frame in the above report, puts it at March 2027.  Next up would be the bid process and once a successful bidder has been chosen, construction would begin.

I know how much my purchasing power has fallen in the last few years.  Given Council's hesitance to invest in competent Animal Services, I expect residents to get much less in shelter facility output from all the delays.  

The prior borrowing cost over $100,000 in fees and interest, a sum much better spent on low cost spay/neuter given San Angelo's third world level of street animals.  Time will reveal Council's wishes and whether any strategies will be undertaken to reverse years of "let them roam unaltered."

First Major FEMA Test Under Trump II

FEMA will have its first major test since TechGod Elon Musk unleashed the Department of Ungodly Greedy Executives Biased Against Government (DOUGEBAG).  

The storm is hitting on a Friday evening, a setback for government which often just runs during the week.  

Hospitals will need help as soon as the winds and water come down enough.  I say this having lived through a river flooded, teaching hospital in Virginia and worked to evacuate a Texas Gulf Coast hospital prior to a record hurricane (Hurricane Gilbert which failed to make the predicted turn and hit Mexico).

When the Bush White House seemed slow on Hurricane Katrina, I sent my estimate of the number of patients remaining in New Orleans hospitals, many of which needed urgent evacuations.

Hurricane Isaias is hitting deep Red Trump territory weeks before an election.  They may be more charitable to FEMA than most, but their patience and understanding could wane if help is too slow.  

Praying for people in harm's way to be in safe places and for the Lord to watch over and protect them.  

(Posted on StateoftheDivision as this blog has many posts on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.)

Update 10-19-26:  The Guardian reported:

US disaster survivors still await at least $10bn in federal aid: ‘It’s devastating’

Rangers Ride into Kerr County Flood Deaths

Texas Rangers need to broaden the scope of their investigation to include Kerr County officials responsible for disaster planning/response.  Kerr County officials are zero for four regarding flash flooding.

One, they did not drill for the highest risk disaster facing their community.  

Two, they did not participate in state disaster preparations for potential flash flooding for that July 4th holiday.

Three, they did not respond to the flash flood disaster as it unfolded.

Four, they did not evaluate their disaster response.

A team failed the 130 people who died (including the 27 at Camp Mystic) and added to the trauma of so many in Kerr County.  They should all be investigated and held accountable.  The State of Texas is purposely choosing to do otherwise.

Mysterious 3rd Data Center Finally Comes Forward

Cipher Digital, the company behind the Colchis Data Center, would not put San Angelo on its map.  This morning Cipher makes its first public appearance at Tom Green County Commissioners Court.  It's item #8 on the agenda.

San Angelo Mayor Tom Thompson steered me to Cipher in June.  Lots has happened in the interim.  Cipher Digital received conditional base load designation for their project just outside city limits on City Farm Road (adjacent to the Skybox/Emergent Data Center site).

The Mayor feared this would happen.  Months ago he wrote:

"ERCOT and AEP appear to be prioritizing the non-city property project for power allotments."

Wall Street took note of Cipher's ERCOT base load designation for Colchis.

Emerging from the shadows is Lee Bratcher, Cipher Digital’s head of policy and government affairs.  He of the silver tongue will likely be effusive in his praise of local collaboration and extoll the virtues of their Colchis site.  

Expect no real details.  This is the beginning of an effort to obtain public subsidies, significant public subsidies.  Tom Green County has been very generous with tax abatements for prior solar/energy project.  The State of Texas has a giant pocketbook for economic development. TechGods have tapped that before and will do so again.

Cipher Digital is a former bitcoin mining company that is repurposing everything for AI.  The public is not supportive of handouts to companies chasing obscene wealth at their expense.  Cipher just needs to convince a majority of Commissioners and that process begins today.

Update:  The silver tongue is flowing for those watching Commissioners' Court live.  Lee Bratcher joined Cipher in early 2026.  The press release for his hiring noted:

Mr. Bratcher worked closely with policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders in the energy and data center spaces, contributing to the research and development of two pieces of legislation passed during the 87th Texas Legislative Session, as well as two additional bills enacted during the 88th Session and signed into law.

Bratcher dropped the name Bill Blevins, Cipher's Head of Grid Strategies:

Blevins joins Cipher from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”), where he served as Director of Grid Coordination.

That announcement came in June.

The project is yet to be approved but Cipher already gave AEP $17 million to prepare their grid connection.  Yes, things are coming into focus.    

Beacon Offers Mapslop

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I found an error on Beacon Data Centers campus map in early August.  After checking back mid-September, it was still there.  I used their contact form to directly inform them.  

I received a form e-mail thanking me for my support.  That seemed a bit excessive, shifting a "simple FYI/you might want to correct that" into full blown backing for their monstrous Westline data center/power plant.  

I can only hope our country's bad relations with Canada has Beacon looking at home for new data centers.  Otherwise, Canadian geography isn't what I expected.  

Texas is not Alabama and never has been, just as a simple message is anything but full support.  Take your errors elsewhere gentlemen.  Please.

Update 9-22-26:  What's with data centers and maps?  Cipher Digital wouldn't put San Angelo on its map at all.  Cipher has finally emerged from the shadows and will meet with Tom Green County Commissioners Court today.

Update 9-24-26:  Commissioners' Court showed a video of Texas state Senator Charles Perry calling Beacon Data Centers a "bad actor" and that he will oppose their doing business in Texas.

Update 10-23-26:  Texas State Rep. Drew Darby called for Beacon Data Centers to abandon their plans for a data center in the Dove Creek area of Tom Green County.

Beacon dropped the map from their website.

Cipher Digital's Colchis (San Angelo) Gets Base Power Nod from ERCOT

Proactive reported: 

Under the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’s Batch Zero procedure, Cipher Digital said 1.1 gigawatts received conditional base-load status, comprising Stingray’s 100 megawatts and Colchis’s one gigawatt. 

That status means ERCOT’s grid study treats the capacity as established.

Power connections still need to be authorized. 

The Colchis site is a joint venture where Cipher Digital expects to own 95 of the equity.  Cipher has been growing its equity stake since it first announced the project in November 2025.  

Cipher Digital essentially beat the competition to the punch around their grid connection.  

Colchis site includes fully executed direct interconnection agreement with American Electric Power for dual interconnection facility.  

The joint venture partner has never been identified.  These guys don't like revealing anything.  Cipher Digital didn't put San Angelo or Tom Green County on their map.  Their description of the project places it in "West Texas."

San Angelo Mayor Tom Thompson thought Colchis might leapfrog the Skybox/Emergent Data Center as the two applications targeted the same power source, the Red Creek substation.  

Colchis, despite being proximate to the Skybox/Emergent site, is not in City limits.  They will need to negotiate access to water, sewage, fire and police services.  I can't imagine they would provide all that themselves.  

Cryptobrifeing noted:

The company is also developing natural-gas laterals capable of supporting up to 2.5 GW of on-site generation. That behind-the-meter generation capacity gives Cipher the ability to power facilities with its own gas-fired generation when grid power is unavailable or uneconomical.

Residents of Northeast San Angelo could have both a data center and power plant near them.

Cipher recently raised $810 million through Stingray Compute LLC secured notes.  Fitch Ratings noted:

Stingray Compute LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cipher Digital, is issuing approximately $810 million of senior secured notes to fund construction of a 70 MW critical IT load (100 MW gross) purpose-built HPC data center in Andrews, TX. The total budgeted project cost is approximately $826 million, including about $735 million of capex, $38 million of capitalized interest during construction, a $45 million DSRA and $8 million in fees and expenses. Sources and uses reflect a 98% loan-to-cost ratio, resulting in $810 million in debt and $16 million in equity contribution net of $64 million of capex reimbursement. 

The data center comprises two phases — a 10 MW Network Hall and a 60 MW Data Hall — with rent commencing for each phase upon its completion. The campus is 100% pre-leased to Amazon Data Services, Inc. under a 15-year triple-net lease with rent payments and operating expenses unconditionally guaranteed by Amazon.com, Inc. (AA-/Stable). The assets, rights, responsibilities, and cash flows of the project are ring-fenced within a bankruptcy-remote special purpose entity.

Colchis may have power in its sights, however financing will be the next big hurdle.  The State of Texas, despite its talk, remains accommodative to data center development.  Locals effectively have no say.