More and More Communities Speaking Out in Opposition of Data Centers

Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, June 22, 2026

• In Monterey Park, which is east of Los Angeles, the city made history when it became the first to ban data centers earlier this month. But it’s likely not the last, as data center fights are erupting across California. 
• Firefighters have made significant progress in the warehouse fire that has been burning for several days in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. 
• The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District Alberto Carvalho has resigned, four months after the FBI searched his home and office.

Data center debate front and center in many California cities

As the state grapples with artificial intelligence and how to regulate the industry, attempts to add data centers to support this wave of technology are being met with strong resistance.

Earlier this month in Monterey Park, east of Los Angeles, residents overwhelmingly voted to permanently ban data centers in the city.

HMC Statcap is an Australian Company, and it had planned to build an AI data center in Monterey Park. Two years ago, the city paved the way for that to happen. But longtime resident Yun Wang said many residents didn’t find out about the plans until a year later. “They were moving things along for the cover of night, I would say.”

Residents packed a city council meeting in January to protest the plans. Wang said the city council didn’t really address residents’ concerns about water and electricity use. And so residents started organizing. Three months later, the city council voted to place a measure banning data centers on the June ballot.  “I can tell you that what went wrong with HMC was their community engagement was nonexistent,” Wang said.

That lack of transparency is causing residents in communities across the state to consider whether these proposals are sound investments.

Data centers are the backbone that run AI technology and California is home to at least 287 facilities. In 2024, data centers supported more than 665,000 jobs in California and generated $14.1 billion in state and local taxes, according to the Data Center Coalition.

Knockdown in sight after firefighters gain upper hand on Boyle Heights warehouse fire

Firefighters have made significant progress in the warehouse fire that has been burning for days in Boyle Heights.

At a Sunday news conference, LAFD Fire Chief Jaime Moore said fire crews were able to remove the walls to parts of the burning warehouse, paving the way for a full knockdown. He said he expects the acrid air that has spread across the region to subside soon. “I would anticipate this smoke for about two more days, possibly three,” Moore said Sunday.

Parks, pools and outdoor programs near the fire zone have been closed by L.A. County over air quality concerns.

The fire was first ignited Wednesday from what authorities said was a solar panel system atop the cold-storage facility leased and operated by Lineage. Flare-ups over the weekend sent smoke all across northeast L.A. — with smoke visible from afar into the weekend. Moore said firefighters have held the blaze to half of the 500,000-square-foot building, but chemicals used for refrigeration and the building’s layout have made fighting this fire a unique challenge.

Early monitoring showed particles were generally present at background levels, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said, but for several seconds at a time, they found increased levels of bromine and chlorine. “Bromine and chlorine are typically found at trace levels during structural fires and the levels seen were below short-term health-based exposure thresholds,” AQMD said. “Concentrations below this level are not expected to cause adverse health effects. No significant levels of air toxic metals were seen.”

Carvalho out as head of LAUSD

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has resigned as leader of the Los Angeles Unified School District, four months after the FBI searched his home and office.

 FBI agents searched Carvalho’s home and office on February 25. A Department of Justice spokesperson said the agency had a court-authorized warrant, but declined to provide additional details. Within days, LAUSD’s board voted unanimously to place Carvalho on paid administrative leave “pending investigation” and appoint longtime district administrator Andres Chait as acting superintendent. The district did not respond to LAist’s questions about whether the “investigation” referenced is federal or internal. Carvalho declared his innocence in a March statement and expressed a desire to return to his job.

Chait remains acting superintendent, but the board is expected to take up a discussion of the district’s leadership at a meeting this Wednesday. The status of the federal investigation into Carvalho is unclear. The L.A. searches are linked to a search of a Florida home associated with the company LAUSD contracted with to create a short-lived AI tool.