Same vapid promises

As I read Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s touting of his recent “ Community First Data Center Standards”, I couldn’t help but recall a memorable scene in the movie Full Metal Jacket. In this iconic scene, the character Animal Mother says the line “You talk the talk. Do you walk the walk?” to Private Joker after Joker delivers a sarcastic John Wayne impression.

The so – called “ Community First “ playbook is nothing more than the same vapid, recycled promises that were made to the communities for the amphitheater noise. Such “ standards “ are simply empty boilerplate clichés. From the amphitheater approval process to date, every action ( or non-action ) by the city has been to protect the amphitheater from accountability for its’ noise pollution rather than protect citizens . Although data center low frequency tonal noise is a well recognized 24/7 nightmare for adjacent communities it is likely the city will again kneel to developers & monied interests & abandon communities .

Judging by actions instead of words reveals the true intent of a person or a situation. Words are easy to say, but actions show what someone truly values. With regard to the amphitheater or data center noise , the mayor & city officials clearly “talk the talk “ but fail to “ walk the walk. “

Murray Relf , M.D.

Colorado Springs

Hypocrisy is hard to miss

Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s new “Community-First Data Center Standards” makes a promise:

“Approval is not simply permission to build. It is a commitment to operate responsibly and remain accountable throughout the life of the project.”

For residents surrounding Ford Amphitheater, the hypocrisy is hard to miss.

Before the amphitheater was approved, residents were assured it would comply with existing noise limits. After it opened and those assurances collided with reality, Mayor Mobolade did not demand the accountability he now champions. Instead, he exercised the authority granted to the mayor under city code to issue hardship permits allowing the venue to operate above those limits.

And when state law restricted such permitting authority, the City of Colorado Springs lobbied in support of SB26-098, legislation that would have expanded local authority to permit private, for-profit businesses to exceed statewide noise standards.

Now the mayor declares that development cannot come at the expense of neighborhoods or quality of life. He promises projects will respect surrounding neighborhoods. He promises accountability.

Those principles apparently do not apply near Ford Amphitheater.

Accountability is meaningless if standards can be imposed to secure approval and then relaxed when compliance becomes inconvenient. “Community-First” is difficult to take seriously when the mayor promises one neighborhood protection from a controversial development after using his own authority to relieve another controversial development from standards intended to protect its neighbors.

Most galling is his response to Project Taurus concerns: “We listened. And we are responding.”

Ford Amphitheater residents have been speaking for years. The mayor heard them, too. His response was to issue hardship permits.

To Project Taurus neighbors: look at what the mayor has done, not what he has said. “Community-First” sounds impressive until you see his ‘protections’ for Ford Amphitheater neighbors. His actions reveal his standard: promises for residents, exceptions for developers.

Robert Frye

Colorado Springs

Guardrails for all data centers

I love the Garden of the Gods and Colorado Springs. Our environment is gorgeous, and I want it to remain a wonderful place where I can enjoy being outdoors and hike with friends and family without worrying about pollution. That’s why I am writing this letter in response to this article: “Colorado Springs mayor announces ‘community-first’ standards for data centers”.

While I hoped the mayor’s protections would be comforting to read and would protect the people, Project Taurus would use roughly one-fifth of the Ray Nixon coal plant’s capacity and may drive up our energy bills, pollute our neighborhoods, and deplete our waters. (https://coloradosun.com/2025/12/08/coal-study-colorado-springs-utilities-consumer-costs/). And as I read further into the article, I wondered whether the mayor is putting these “guardrails” in place for the people or because the people fought back. Although these promises lack substance and seem empty, they are a step in the right direction, but not nearly enough. The mayor’s policies mention nothing about the potential 30 backup generators needed for this center that would use dirty energy sources like fossil fuels and therefore contribute more to air pollution.

The people need state legislators to implement guardrails for all data centers. That’s why I’ll be calling my state legislators to show them I care, and I urge you to do the same.

Darby Conerly

Colorado Springs

Colorado’s ridiculous politicians

Colorado has to have some of the dumbest politicians on the face of the planet. Our governor to be Phil Weiser has run on the platform that he has sued President Donald Trump 64 times. What an accomplishment! That begs the question: what has he done, or, more importantly, what will he do for the citizens of this once great state? Trump only has two more years in office and then what will Weiser do?

Now we have the mayor of Denver trying to sue tobacco companies for littering the city with cigarette butts. Think about that for a minute, and you’ll soon realize how this is the same mayor who welcomed “our new neighbors” with open arms when Joe Biden opened the border for everyone. These neighbors are here illegally, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the politicians. The tax-paying Colorado citizens are supporting them. The citizens of Denver and Colorado are being governed by the loony-tune Democrats. When will common sense make an appearance in this state? Sadly, it appears not for another four years.

Barry S. Oswell, LtCol, USAF (retired)

Colorado Springs