Data center delay

Bhopalb. This is WSHA's After All Things, with daily news and culture from around Long Island Sound. Some Long Island leaders are praising the governor for her one-year moratorium on large-scale data centers. A federal appeals court gives the green light to Tweed Airport's expansion. Plus, what to expect from tonight's gubernatorial debate against the two Democratic candidates. Those stories and more are coming up. I'm Sabrina Garone. Some Long Island leaders are praising the governor for her one-year moratorium on large-scale data centers. WSHU's Desiree Diorio explains. New York Governor Kathy Hochul met with Long Island leaders this week to get feedback on her one-year moratorium on permits for data centers. State regulators say they'll use that time to build a framework to protect the electric grid, water supply, and environment. Kevin McDonald is with the Nature Conservancy. We see this as an inevitability, and we should be as smart as we can and as capable as we can and innovative as we can to be sure that we're capturing the full breadth of the resource impact that happens to the state's extraordinary natural resources, particularly on Long Island. Several leaders say they're worried AI will take away jobs and make energy and housing more expensive. Dan Lloyd is with minority millennials, an advocacy group based in Amityville. If there's a shift into skilled trade and union labor to build these centers in the next 12 months, we want to make sure that majority minority communities have the direct entry and apprenticeships like Opportunities Long Island on Long Island to make sure that this next generation is prepared to be active in this next economy. Some high-profile opponents of the moratorium, like the Long Island Contractors Association, say builders will leave the state and take good-paying jobs with them. Desiree Diorio, WSHU News. A federal appeals court has given the green light to Tweed New Haven Airport's expansion in the face of a challenge from environmental advocates. WSHU's Shelley Hesman-Kadish reports. The court rejected an appeal brought by the town of East Haven and the environmental group save the sound. They challenged the FAA's conclusion that the expansion would have no significant effect on the environment. They said the FAA didn't go far enough. They didn't consider how the expansion would affect flooding, wetlands, and state-designated environmental justice communities. Tweet New Haven wants to build a bigger terminal and extend its runway.

The project has been controversial for years. It's faced significant local opposition over both environment and noise concerns. It must still obtain multiple state and local permits before receiving final approval. Shelly Hasman-Kadish, WSHU News. A state job report says Connecticut's unemployment rate has risen higher than 5%, even with a record number of new jobs. WSHU's Ava Keough has more. June is the sixth consecutive month the state's unemployment rate rose, making the rate 1% higher than the national average. Moreover, Connecticut Department of Labor officials say the state has added more jobs in the first half of 2026 than in all of 2025. That includes 1,600 new private sector jobs. Construction jobs are also at an 18-year high. State labor officials say they are worried that older workers are retiring faster than younger workers can replace. them, which is pushing up the state's unemployment rate. Ava Keough, WSHU News. A debate tonight will be the first and probably only head-to-head match up between the two Democratic candidates for Connecticut governor. More on that is coming up.

Every day, WSHU is here with reporting that keeps you informed, conversations that help make sense of the world, and music that enriches your day. Thursday will be holding a special one-day fun drive to support the programs you count on every day. Give today and your donation will be matched dollar for dollar. Your support makes it possible for WSHU to keep serving, informing, and connecting our community. Make your matched gift right now at WSHU.org. And thanks. Yesterday's torrential rainfall led to some substantial beach erosion in southwestern Connecticut. The rain triggered multiple beach closures in towns like Stratford, East Haven, Clinton, and more. Video circulating online shows a West Haven beach with about four-foot washouts of sand all the way down to the water. WTNH reports the town is asking the state for assistance with sand replenishment. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine is urging the owners of a battery energy storage facility in East Hampton to shut it down. Romaine says he's concerned about toxic contamination after a fire at the facility in 2023. A national homeschooling advocacy group is challenging Connecticut's new law that requires families to get state approval before homeschooling. Supporters of the new law say it helps screen for parents with a history of abuse and neglect. Opponents say it's a violation of privacy and parental rights. The former Suffolk County District Attorney and his aide are asking President Donald Trump to pardon their criminal convictions. Tom Spoda and Christopher McPartland were convicted for their roles in a cover-up after a former police chief beat a handcuffed man. Tensions were high between Connecticut's U.S. Senator Chris Murphy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday. WS.HU's Molly Ingram. reports. Pete Hegseth was there to ask the Senate Appropriations Committee for more money for the war in Iran. He told senators the estimated total cost of the war so far is $37.5 billion. One Democrat replied that was, quote, suspiciously low. Murphy asked Pete Hegseth if the goals of the war had changed. Initially, President Trump said he wanted to destroy the country's nuclear capacity. Have our goals been simplified to reopening the strait and to getting into a negotiation over a nuclear program? Now, I don't think you have a realistic plan to do either of those things, but I think it's important for us to know what we're funding. Pete Hegseth says the goal is still no nuclear capacity. Getting after their conventional capabilities, missile launchers, defense industrial base, their Navy was all part of it ensuring they can't blackmail us into pursuing a nuclear capability. Laser focused on Iran will never have a nuclear capability. That's the promise the president has made and that he will keep. Murphy didn't spend all of his five minutes on the war. He also got into it with Pete Hegseth over the Qatari jet gifted to President Trump. Will you commit that the President will not take this jet with him out of federal inventory when he leaves office? That's not a decision for necessarily me to make, and ultimately we're grateful to have it in the fleet for the Air Force to protect the President of the United States. That's a deeply unsatisfactory answer to the American public.

Congress will spend the next few days deciding if and how the Pentagon will get more money for the war in Iran. Molly Ingram, WSHU News. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and State Representative Josh Elliott of Hamden will face off in a televised Democratic primary debate tonight. WSHU's Ebong Udama has more. The debate will offer Connecticut Democratic primary voters, the first and probably only head-to-head matchup between the two. It's on WTNH News 8. Lamont is seeking a third term in office. Elliot's challenging him from the left. He's a member of the Progressive Caucus in the State General Assembly. Both men have already tried to make their case to voters in a couple of gubernatorial forums that included Ryan Fasio, the Republican candidate in the race. The winner of the primary will face Fasio in November. Connecticut's primary election is on Tuesday, August 11th. Ebon Udama, WSH News.

For the latest from Around Long Island Sound, listen to us on the radio online with our free app. And of course, tune in right here to the After All Things podcast every weekday evening. Don't forget to check out our brand new merch shop over at WSHU.org. Find teas, tanks, mugs, water bottles, and so much more. Thank you so much for your support. I'm Sabrina Garon. Have a great rest of your day. And we'll talk tomorrow.