The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Michael A. Chihak
We obtained the transcript of a secret meeting at which officials from the city of Tucson, Pima County, business organizations and Beale Infrastructure discussed Project Blue.
Southern Arizona Chamber’s Joe Snell: Project Blue! Project Blue! Project Blue!
County Administrator Jan Lesher: Shhh! Joe! This is a secret. Don’t be shouting that. We can’t let people know what we’re up to. I’m already in a jam for the memo identifying who the tenant will be.
Beale Infrastructure official: Yes, absolute secrecy about this, please.
Mayor Regina Romero: Who are you?
Beale official: Can’t say; there’s an NDA.
People are also reading…
Snell, Lesher and other participants (in unison): Oh, right, the NDA.
City Manager Tim Thomure: What does NDA mean?
County Supervisor Rex Scott: It’s Latin: nolo detegere avaritia. *
Thomure: And that means?
Scott: Google it.
Beale official: (after googling) That’s not what NDA means! I thought it was ... Oh, never mind. I just appreciate that you hid this from the public by doing an NDA. Because if people find out that “water positive” is just rhetoric, we’ll all be in a jam.
Romero: What does “water positive” mean?
Thomure: Good question, Mayor, and I’m the right person to answer it, because I know water.
(Long pause.)
Romero: Yes, Tim?
Thomure: “Water positive” means we’re positive there isn’t enough water for this. Yet we don’t anticipate any water emergencies, despite years of drought, continuing global warming and our willingness to send Tucsonans’ future water supply down an 18-mile pipeline.
Lesher: But we can’t say that publicly.
Snell: Right, because of the NDA. We can say this will be the best thing that ever happened to Tucson. Jobs, tax revenue, training, university research. Oh, and more traffic, lots more traffic. More demand for public resources, more heat expelled into our already overheated atmosphere.
Romero: Don’t think we can sell that to Tucsonans.
Snell: No? We’re selling them on construction jobs for the next decade for every man, woman and child in the city. By the way, aren’t you all proud that in my op-ed, I mentioned the “E word” just once?
Lesher: The “E word”?
Snell: Environment. I didn’t mention what this will do to the environment. I did say it would protect natural resources.
Thomure: Water is a natural resource.
Beale official: Right, but we can’t talk about it, because of ...
Everyone: (in unison) ... the NDA.
Thomure: What about Jan’s memo saying Project Blue’s tenant will be Amazon Web Services?
Beale official: People should know that this data center will be used for the public, for the cloud.
Thomure: Really?! Will it be a big rain cloud to replenish the water Project Blue will suck up?
Beale official: We’re working on that idea! We can’t talk about it, because of ...
Everyone: (in unison) ... the NDA.
* Nolo detegere avaritia: I do not wish to expose greed.
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Michael A. Chihak is a retired newsman. He lives in Tucson.
