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Micron committing millions to Boise housing, Portland housing authority budget ‘worse than expected’, Washington Gov. Ferguson creates anti-fraud role, Amazon pivots AI strategy from maximizing usage to being ‘pickier’, Oregon broadband projects delayed by data center moratorium.

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Early third-quarter earnings show a ‘resilient’ U.S. consumer, with signs of strain (CNBC)

Trump administration may let more Russian diesel onto market, energy secretary tells CNBC (CNBC)

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Fiber, broadband projects by Oregon highways on hold after Kotek data center order  (OCC)

“The Oregon Department of Transportation is evaluating at least 20 permits for such projects to investigate the extent to which they involve supporting data center operations.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s recent executive order barring data centers on state lands is creating roadblocks for telecommunications companies building out fiber-optic cable networks that transmit internet data and that are typically buried along state highways.

Kotek’s September order directed state agencies to pause approving new or pending leases, easements and right-of-way permits for data centers sited on state properties and lands. 

In response, the Oregon Department of Transportation placed on hold at least 20 state right-of-way permit applications from fiber-optic companies, according to records the transportation agency released to the Capital Chronicle. 

Agency officials are verifying whether the projects are “specific to data centers” because they have limited insight into their whole purpose, according to spokesperson Kevin Glenn. He said the agency did not set a deadline for the companies to respond to officials’ inquiries and that “the timing is dependent on the proposers.”

“The proposed applications are to permit installation of a large amount of buried broadband or fiber conduit on state right of way, typically along the highway shoulder, which strongly indicated a potential connection to data centers,” he wrote in an email. “We’ve asked the companies to describe their projects to better understand if they are in fact associated with data centers.”

Three fiber-optic companies — Denver-based Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., the multinational company Lumen and the California-based fiber optic company Intermountain Infrastructure Group — control the 20 paused applications. All own large-scale fiber optic networks made up of underground cables connecting data centers, cellular providers and other large-scale information processing facilities across the West, including Oregon. 

Zayo in 2025 completed a 622-mile long-haul fiber optic cable route that connects data centers in Prineville and Umatilla to Reno, Nevada. The transportation department paused nine permits the company needs to lay cables along Oregon highways from Morrow to Multnomah counties, and between Wheeler and Clackamas counties.”

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‘How do we make it successful:’ Micron details housing, transit programs as $50 billion Boise expansion set to ramp up (BD)

“Boise’s Micron Technology is laying out in detail how it will make promised investments in housing and transit as it works on a $50 billion expansion of its campus on Federal Way.

Micron promised $75 million in community investment shortly after it first announced it would add a memory fabrication plant on its Boise campus. In the four years since, the company has been relatively tight-lipped about how it would spend the funds, but did provide some details to BoiseDev last month.

The chip giant says it will go above the initial $75 million promise, and is detailing a total of $142.1 million in investments it is making in Idaho as part of its expansion.
The company said it will spend $10.5 million on a pair of housing investments. The first is to provide $2.5 million in funding to the City of Boise’s project along Capitol Blvd. at Island Ave. near Boise State to build apartments geared toward residents who earn 60% of the area median income. The project, part of the city’s Housing Land Trust Program, will build about 325 apartments and include a parking garage and other services.

Separately, Micron will support efforts by non-profit LEAP Housing with $8 million. Half of those dollars will go to add 30 rental homes in Mountain Home, with the other half going to help with down-payment assistance for up to 200 first-time homebuyers across Ada, Boise, Canyon, Elmore and Gem Counties.
Micron’s initial promise also said it would help with transit. Gatzemeier said that at buildout, Micron expects to employ an additional 3,500 full-time workers for the fabrication plants, on top of its existing and long-established employee base.

Now, the company says it will focus a large piece of investment on mass transit, with an $11.6 million donation to Valley Regional Transit, which operates the bus system across Ada and Canyon counties. The money will be used for several initiatives, including adding a new bus route that will connect Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, and Boise. It will also help expand VRT’s on-demand service near the campus and add additional park-and-ride hubs.

Micron also claimed it has spent $25.1 million in “transportation investments around our campus,” though it lists a series of improvements on its property, including parking lots and roundabouts. The company does say it is “also studying further incremental improvements along I-84,” and that it is working with the City of Boise and ACHD to “create pathways to private funding” for projects like the extension of Lake Hazel Rd. and Orchard St. on the south side of I-84.

For the first time, Micron is providing additional details about a program it announced earlier this year, which will provide funding to local children through the Trump Accounts program.

Micron said it will spend $45 million to provide $250 donations to the 530A Accounts of 182,000 kids under 18 in Ada, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, and Gem counties. The company said it would spend $250 million across the country on 530A donations, including efforts in other states where it operates.”

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