Sound Off

Sound Off: May 15, 2026

By Sun Herald

May 15, 2026 3:00 AM

A line of traffic raises clouds of dust near Amazon’s data center campus on the outskirts of Canton. Construction on the complex is still ongoing, and some news outlets have reported that the site will be completed by summer of 2027. Rogelio V. Solis Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk

Sun Herald readers weigh in on local and national topics.

Data centers

A proposed Stratos Data Center in Utah will cover an area twice the size of Manhattan and require 9GW of energy, more than the entire state of Utah consumes, and a whole lot of water. There is local backlash. These energy and water hogs are getting out of control.

Oil economics

Gas is high here even though we only import 2 percent of our crude oil as you say. The reason is that our producers can sell oil on the world market at the world market price. So, if you want some of it, you’ll have to pay the going world market price.

Oil economics II

Oil is priced on a world market, not by where a particular gallon comes from. Even if the U.S. imports relatively little oil through the Strait of Hormuz, any threat to 20 percent of the world’s supply pushes global crude prices higher. Traders also react to fear of future shortages, shipping risks, and insurance costs. For U.S. prices not to reflect world oil prices, we would essentially have to become a totally isolationist country with a completely separate energy market. In today’s interconnected economy, disruptions anywhere affect prices almost everywhere. Hope this helps explain the “oil math.”

Poor management

The strip mall at Cowan and East Pass Road is an eyesore. It’s in a prominent area where tourists travel daily on their way to the beaches. Kudos to KFC that has a trash can at the exit of their drive-thru. But the parking lot and especially the west side of the building are littered with trash.

Unacceptable

Donald Trump’s latest degrading of a female reporter for asking a reasonable question again shows his misogyny, lack of impulse control, bad judgment and compulsive need to dodge and deflect.

Hantavirus

So Democrats are the only ones alarmed by the hantavirus? I guess Republicans are ready to break into quarantine and kiss those who tested positive for it? FYI, no one has blamed Donald Trump.

All lies

From the ballroom to the Epstein files to the Iran war, you knew President Trump was lying. You saw it with your own eyes. His lips were moving.

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