The increasingly contentious national debate over data centers moved into Mesa last week as Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told a town hall that their explosive growth threatens to leave communities with higher utility bills, a range of health and environmental problems and inadequate government oversight.
Addressing over 250 people at a Mesa community center Oct. 14, Mayes questioned whether Arizona has done enough to protect residents as developers rush to build the enormous facilities needed to support artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other digital services.
The setting was particularly appropriate…