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Eastern Standard

Eastern Standard: June 18th, 2026

By Tom Martin
Published June 18, 2026 at 12:55 PM EDT
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Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has set up data centers across about 900 acres in Gallatin, Tennessee.
Meta
Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has set up data centers across about 900 acres in Gallatin, Tennessee.

This Week on Eastern Standard:

The Kentucky Resources Council is offering model Data Center ordinances for communities debating whether to allow data centers. KRC executive director Ashley Wilmes provides details.

Lexington city planning commissioner Keith Horn discusses the city’s temporary moratorium on data center approvals, providing the commission time to finalize a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment that would effectively ban hyperscale data centers in Fayette County.

Appalachian journalist James Branscome details his proposed “Appalachian Homestead Act” that would redistribute land from failing coal companies to community land trusts and high-ground resettlement for farming, housing, and sustainable ventures.

A conversation with archaeologist and author Chris Begley about his new “Playbook for Emergencies” and preparation for natural disasters such as the eastern Kentucky flood of 2022 and recent tornadoes in Kentucky.

Eastern Standard
Tom Martin
Tom Martin hosts Eastern Standard, a weekly radio magazine of interviews and stories about interesting people, places, and things happening in the Commonwealth.
See stories by Tom Martin
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