Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) ordered the state government to take steps that could empower local communities to have a larger say in data center development and slow down approvals in a state that is already home to the data center capital of the world. Executive Order 22 bans executive branch officials from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for data center projects, requires expedited noise regulations, and a review of backup-generation operations used by data centers, among other requirements. The order also establishes an AI task force responsible for evaluating how the state government can address risks to Virginians like … Read the full story at The Verge.