Gas Price Up $1 per Gallon

Sam's Club Gas price:

Feb. 27 - $2.33 per gallon

Day 1 of attack on Iran by U.S. and its 51st state Israel:

Feb. 28 - $2.59

Afterward:

March 4 - $2.93

March 9 - $3.13

March 11 - $3.33 per gallon

As of this morning San Angelo has experienced a $1.00 per gallon rise which is a 43% increase.  That happened in less than two weeks.  

Skybox Website Shows Wichita Falls PowerCampus

Skybox has a video of its Wichita Falls "PowerCampus Texas" project on its website.  The project is in conjunction with Blue Owl, which recently stopped early redemptions at one fund in response to investor requests

The design of the Wichita Falls PowerCampus accommodates AI and machine learning.

Skybox is "committed to being a transparent and collaborative partner."  They have a lot of work to do in that arena if they actually come to San Angelo.

Update 3-8-26:  San Marcos voted against zoning for a data center for the second time.  The item can come before their city council again in six months.  

San Angelo City Council could not get Skybox to make a presentation at their evening meeting on February 17th when the company was in town for a Chamber of Commerce event.

The news keeps getting worse for Blue Owl, the potential lender for San Angelo's data center.

Waiting on the 380 with Skybox

San Angelo City Council directed staff in regard to conditional use zoning standards for data centers.  Numerous citizens spoke during public comment with many encouraging Council to utilize a formal development process like Round Rock, Texas.  

Skybox presented earlier today at a Chamber of Commerce event (with paid registration) but did not appear at City Council (which citizens may attend at no charge).  

Mayor Tom Thompson closed the data center agenda item with "the rules are the rules and we set forward with that with the 380."  The 380 is an economic development agreement.  

I submitted a public information request for economic development documents on December 8, 2025.  

Please provide documents, communications, emails and texts relative to the City of San Angelo's economic development arrangement with Skybox Data Centers or whichever legal entity is developing the data center on former city land within the City Farm area in the northeast portion of town. 

This information could include a projected timeline, specific financial or tax incentives, and any other inducements, monetary or in-kind services. 

The Development Corporation website mentions the project with its statement: "Facilitated data center site development tied to renewable energy access." My request is relative to this specific City of San Angelo effort

The City petitioned the Attorney General to keep all relevant documents confidential and away from public view.  

Only the City knows how comprehensive their Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is with Skybox.  Rest assured, Skybox has employed the best lawyers to keep their information, even the most basic, private.  

After Tom Thompson referenced the 380 which is under tight lock and key, it felt like Council had picked out the attire and hair style for the person (Skybox) who might rob you later (higher electricity and water bills).   

Public subsidies are yet to be explored by this council.  I don't see how they can give Skybox tax breaks (or more) without sharing something.  

Update 2-19-26:  When asked about what information cannot be shared per any signed Non Disclosure Agreement and who from the city had signed such a NDA with Skybox the city replied:

The City of San Angelo has reviewed its files and has determined there are no responsive documents to your request.

And this applies to contracted entities as well?  

Data Center Sound Requirements Have Giant Loophole

San Angelo City Council will entertain design recommendations for data centers in this evening's meeting.  Council members are likely attending the presentation by SkyBox Data Centers at a Chamber of Commerce event today.  

The U.S. Department of Energy recently enacted such an emergency for backup power generators: 

Currently, there are tens of gigawatts of readily available backup generation that have remained largely untapped until now. Deployment of backup generation resources (whether auxiliary, standby, directly-connected, battery storage or other, and whether synchronized or not to the bulk power system) at data centers (including but not limited to hyperscaler facilities), and at other large load industrial and commercial customer sites, can prevent avoidable blackouts, thereby saving lives and reducing costs to the American people. The employment of this backup generation is expected to reduce stress on the grid. 

This will permit orderly, safe, and secure operations during Winter Storm Fern. Consistent with my letter issued on January 22, 2026, ERCOT requested today that DOE issue an order pursuant to FPA section 202(c) to allow the deployment of backup generation during emergency conditions.

By overtaxing the Texas energy grid, data centers can fire up their generators and sell power back through ERCOT.  

Abilene's giant AI facility started as a Bitcoin mining energy arbitrage play on stranded cheap renewable power.  It happened to be in the right place at the right time to get scooped up into Trump II's White House AI initiative "Stargate."   

Anyone care to hear what 160 emergency generators sound like when they are all fired up?  Anyone else want to be downwind of their emissions?  

We used to smell the rendering plant when the wind blew from the northeast.  What will an energy emergency smell like in San Angelo's future?

TechGods bring a different kind of rendering which includes massive amounts of garbage from the internet.  I expect this next round to be no different than their contributions to date.

Kerr County Emergency Officials Confused on July 4th

Text messages revealed how long emergency response was delayed in the deadly Kerr County July 4th flash flood.  Officials paid to respond to disasters were difficult to reach or not available when needed.

Kerr County is yet to release an after action report on their response to the flash flood.  County Commissioners raised the need to do one back in August 2025.  

The County has a plan to respond to flood disasters.  How did that plan work on July 4th?  It's long past time for the public to be informed of official actions vs. those specified in the disaster plan.  Not doing an evaluation would be yet another abdication of responsibility.  

The banquet of non-consequences continues.  Competent leadership must be a thing of the past.

Citizens Have to Pony Up to Learn about Skybox

The City of San Angelo discussed Skybox Data Centers in closed/executive session today.  Mayor Pro Tem Tommy Hiebert stated "there are no announcements coming out of executive session."  

Public comment at the beginning of the meeting included several citizens who encouraged the city to fulfill its public information obligation and provide documents relative to the project that the city is not asking be exempt from public disclosure, a process involving the Texas Attorney General's office.  

I submitted a Public Information Request on Skybox on December 8, 2025.  As of today, the city has provided no documents other than the Attorney General letter requesting exemption.  

Citizens have been told that Skybox officials will make a presentation on the project.  It will occur within a Chamber of Commerce event on February 17th.  Ticket prices are $49 for Chamber members, $59 for non-members and $500 for a table of eight.  

City leaders have shared what Skybox has allowed them to share.  It is strange to hear Mayor Tom Thompson refer to numbers he has heard as being out in the public.  Apparently, he cannot stray and reveal numbers that are not yet out there in response to citizen questions and concerns.  

The City added a presentation from Skybox to its Data Center webpage.  One slide shows:

The company's attempt to debunk data center secrecy may need to involve more than a Chamber of Commerce event requiring payment to hear the presentation.  

City leaders should make it clear the information citizens deserve on this project and present such information themselves.  That has not yet happened.  

City Council will meet on February 17th but not at its usual time of 8:30 am.  The meeting will begin at 5:30 pm,  Look for Skybox to be on the agenda since their leadership will be in town.

In our non-disclosure agreement (NDA) world it's the business' right to share whatever information they desire with the public.  Government officials give up that obligation as part of the economic development recruiting courtship where giant incentives are often offered.

SkyBox on Council's Agenda for Closed Session

San Angelo City Council will meet Tuesday, February 3rd at 8:30 am and tackle legal issues relative to the economic development arrangement with SkyBox Data Centers.  The public will not hear Council's deliberations and the City has been unwilling to share public information on aspects of any deal.

I submitted a public information request (PIR) in December and the city appealed to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for approval to not share certain and possibly any information regarding incentives and subsidies.  At the time of submission I did not realize the city annexed the land the same day it approved the letter of intent to sell the land to SkyBox.  That was March 4, 2025.  

My PIR request is below:

Please provide documents, communications, emails and texts relative to the City of San Angelo's economic development arrangement with Skybox Data Centers or whichever legal entity is developing the data center on former city land within the City Farm area, just outside city limits to the northeast of town. This information could include a projected timeline, the city's plans to annex the land or develop a special arrangement where the city provides services (police, fire, water, etc.) to an entity not within city limits, specific financial or tax incentives, and any other inducements, monetary or in-kind services. The Development Corporation website mentions the project with its statement: "Facilitated data center site development tied to renewable energy access." My request is relative to this specific City of San Angelo effort.

City leaders, both elected and employed, have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDA) regarding this project.  That is why  you will hear Mayor Thompson say things like "I've heard this number ($ investment, # of gallons of water use, number of cars using street after construction is completed)."  The Mayor can share information that is already in the public sphere that approximates this particular SkyBox project.  He has to keep the actual specifics confidential per the NDA.

Normally, an elected official would come up with critical information items that need to be shared with the public and ensure that occurs as part of the business recruitment process.  Not anymore.  Companies consider the most basic information to be confidential and require officials to sign NDAs.

City Council members have a fiduciary duty when approving a new economic development incentive.  What happens when some Council members have access to more detailed information, financial and otherwise, on the project?  Can the lesser informed Council members fulfill their fiduciary duties?

Recently,  the City of San Angelo Development Corporation (COSADC) approved an economic development agreement with True Lighting Protection LLC.   San Angelo's Chamber of Commerce produces the economic development impact analysis as part of their contract with the Development Corporation.  

COSADC board member Travis Stribling asked for detail regarding the projections relative to that agreement.  Rather than provide more detail or reveal projection assumptions, city staff restated the information on the slide.  In the past more detailed economic development analysis have been included in board packets and presented in the meeting. 

I requested a copy of that analysis for True Lightning Protection via a PIR and received what staff did not share with the board and a member who sought such information.  What I received was totally appropriate for a board providing project funding.

It remains to be seen what is shared after the closed session on Tuesday, if anything.  It is more common for no report to be given to the public after council meets in executive session.

Update 2-3-26:  Mayor Pro Tem Tommy Hiebert stated there was nothing to report after Executive Session in today's City Council meeting.  Many people gave public comment at the beginning of the meeting with several encouraging city leaders to share information with the public on Skybox.  Speakers referenced the city's legal responsibilities under Texas Public Information law.