The Real Story – A Column
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE OREGON LEGISLATURE:
By Dirk Knudsen | The Hillsboro Herald
To the 90 members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly: STOP SB 1586 And Save Our City
As you enter the final hours of this session, you are being told that Senate Bill 1586 is a “Jobs Act.” You are being sold a narrative of urgency that demands you bypass Oregon’s land-use protections during a 35-day sprint. You are being asked to turn your back on the great Tom McCall, but the reasons you need to do so are based on falsehoods and a Trojan Horse land deal that has no right to be in a bill called the Jobs Act!
Search your souls: Why is this being ramrodded now?
I am writing to you as the Editor of the Hillsboro Herald, as a 63-year resident of the farmfields and suburban marvel that is Hillsboro, and not as a lobbyist. I am coming to you also as a broker specializing in land deals who has been in all of the back rooms- from METRO to City Hall and almost every known big players’ board rooms. Coming to you as a journalist who has crossed 825 journalistic write-ups, 10 million reads, and 80 stories on Data Centers and Hillsboro’s land expansions. Coming to you as a Father and Grandfather of 5 Washington County boys. I have spent thousands of hours mapping the cables, tracking the donors, and listening to high-level operators who warn that Hillsboro is no longer just a town—it is Digital Ground Zero for the United States.
Ask yourself, has Senator Janeen Sollman been extra invested in HB 1586? Are you being pressured or offered a “deal” to give a yes vote before this crazy short session closes? Does this one seem like there is something off with it, or that someone outside Salem is pulling the strings? Is the arrival of METRO and Juan Carlos Gonsalvez bugging you, or does it seem a bit over the top? Do you actually believe Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace? Or Washington County Commissioner Pam Treece, and the colorful list of other characters who have been brought to push this one through? Why is Hillsboro always taking the attention when it comes to “special deals” and “Grand Bargains”? Do your voters and the people you love and work for deserve your yes vote on this, or would calling a time-out be better? I can only guess, but 850 pieces of written testimony OPPOSING 1586, and hundreds of concerned citizens who were turned away from testifying on this Bill, speak volumes!
UPDATE – 2/26/26 Aerial Tour Of Data Center Alley – Some but not all of the 30 Hillsboro Data Centers (more coming)
PLEASE READ THE TRUTH OF WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE- And Maybe Only A Handful Of People Even Know
1. The “Rare Air” of the 8 Submarine Cables – No One Else Has This
You are being asked to approve the paving over 1,700 acres of prime soil, but you haven’t been told about the “Rare Air” Hillsboro now occupies. Hillsboro has achieved Network Access Point (NAP) status. We are the “NAP of the Northwest,” one of only a handful of places on Earth like this. There are 2 Fiber Rings in Hillsboro now, so every bit of data can run on multiple cables in both directions, with redundancy, high speed, and no risk of being taken offline. THIS HAS MASSIVE NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS, AND THAT IS MOTIVATING THIS BILL. BELIEVE ME-
The Digital Tsunami: 8 Transpacific Submarine Cables Make Hillsboro Unlike Any Other Place In The US – THIS IS THE REAL REASON
Hillsboro has achieved a level of global connectivity that few cities on Earth can claim, serving as the primary digital gateway between North America and the Pacific Rim through a dense cluster of subsea superhighways.
The crown jewel of this network is the Bifrost Cable System, a massive 260 Terabit-per-second pipe that provides the world’s first direct link from Singapore to the United States, specifically engineered to feed the insatiable demand of AI workloads. This is joined by the New Cross Pacific (NCP), which provides the fastest and largest data connection to mainland China in the U.S., effectively handling 80% of all US-to-China internet traffic from a single point in our backyard.
Further solidifying Hillsboro’s “Ring” status is Hawaiki, a carrier-neutral, low-latency link connecting the continental U.S. directly to Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. High-capacity traffic for the world’s largest tech giants is carried by the Jupiter cable (backed by Amazon and Meta) and the FASTER cable (backed by Google), both of which funnel tens of terabits of data per second into Hillsboro’s data centers.
Rounding out this strategic infrastructure are the Tata TGN-Pacific and Southern Cross systems, which serve as legacy backbones for global telecommunications, and the NorthStar cable, which acts as the vital high-speed link between Alaska and the lower 48 states.
Together, these cables do not just pass through Hillsboro; they terminate and interconnect here, creating a digital “Rare Air” where data moves at speeds and volumes that make our 1,700 acres of farmland the most coveted real estate in the Western world.
2. The “Fiber Ring”: A Fortress for Data Is Complete In Hillsboro
Listen to me, good ladies and gentlemen. Hillsboro isn’t just “connected” to the internet; it is the internet for the Western US.
The Two Rings: Ring I and Ring II are high-capacity, multi-thousand-strand fiber loops that circle our city. They connect the 8 trans-Pacific submarine cables outlined above directly to 30+ of the most advanced data centers in the world, all of which are up and running and owned by the most powerful private equity firms. The same firms that own PGE, NW Natural, Pacific Corp, and many of the data centers here in Hillsboro and around the world.
The “Zero-Latency” Zone: By building data centers directly on this ring, the SPINE of these cables, companies achieve “zero-latency.” For AI and high-frequency trading, being 10 miles away is like being on another planet. They must be in Hillsboro. And they will do anything to be here and not in Hermiston, or Portland, or Salem, or anywhere else. Here and only here- this is Gold and elsewhere is bronze.
The Redundancy:
The Rings (Ring I and Ring II) are what the industry calls Self-Healing Loops. How it works: If a foreign government cuts the Bifrost cable in the deep ocean, the “Ring” status in Hillsboro allows the system to instantly switch that traffic to the NCP or Hawaiki cables. The same applies to natural disasters, war, you name it. Nowhere else is this true in our Region- just here in Hillsboro.
The “Fortress” Argument: This makes Hillsboro the most resilient “Digital Fortress” in the United States. It is why the “Big Three” and the Feds are obsessed with Hillsboro and with the 1,700 acres. They aren’t just building a data center; they are building a hardened, redundant command node that can survive a “cable strike” in the Pacific.
2. The “Intelligence Hub” Reality – Hillsboro is a Geopolitical Ground Zero
If data is flowing both ways and being shared across the Ring, it means that every data center on that Ring has access to all the data from all 9 subsea cables. From Russia to New Zealand, the Pacific Rim’s digital economy now relies on Hillsboro. Former defense sources have warned me that the NSA is most certainly here, because we are no longer a town—we are a Strategic National Security Node. More than one source has consistently stated that the Federal Government is in Hillsboro and has been for some time. They have “people” working on the successful passage of this Bill.
3. The Insider Laugh: In the parking lots and pubs after work, the “Shapers” are laughing.
Have any of you felt the special presence of some influencers around 1586, or HB 4084 for that matter? We all can smell a lobbyist. But I am talking about really well-intentioned, good people with great words, on the community side of this argument, who also espouse the benefits of the Bill and want you to see that a “Yes” Vote is the right thing. Smart people with insight and degrees. We call these people “Shapers”. They are here, on the ground, and have been.
Shapers are some of the invisible architects of this bill. They are active and deeply involved. Some are in your body. Most are working on the outside, both in Salem and Hillsboro. Some work at METRO. Some sit on the boards of our Energy providers, and others on Westside economic think tanks, where all things good in Oregon happen in Washington County.
Legislators, if you want to know what a ‘Shaper’ looks like, watch Matt Damon in Promised Land. Steve Butler (Damon) arrives in a small town with a smile and a script, promising ‘economic relief’ while quietly stripping away a community’s family legacy. He uses his background as a “farm boy” to gain trust. He wears the flannel, drinks at the local bar, and tells the residents he’s one of them—while his actual job is to secure drilling rights for a multi-billion dollar energy corporation. His job as a “landman” isn’t just to buy land; it’s to shape the town’s perception so they believe the industrial takeover is their only hope for survival. He tells them the town is dying and that his company’s money is the “salvation.”
In Hillsboro, we have our own Steve Butlers. They use the ‘local girl’ narrative to sell a $1.7 billion land grab as a ‘Jobs Act.’ They frame the debate so you never see the 260-Terabit Tsunami or the 500 acres of empty land already waiting for jobs inside Hillsboro’s UGB. They make you feel like you are choosing progress, while in reality, you are just following a pre-set ‘shaping’ plan designed by global private equity. SB 1586 relies on the “Chicken Little” energy that the sky is falling, all Oregon jobs are gone, and that the 1,700 acres, while not what ANY OF US WANT, is our only choice if we want to save Oregon. Hillsboro’s proposed addition of 1,700 acres is not saving Oregon. Intel coming to Oregon, taking hundreds of millions in tax breaks, hasn’t exactly worked out. It hasn’t saved Oregon. The Timber Industry and Agriculture can save Oregon, but we don’t see anyone offering 13-year Enterprise Zone deals for them, do we? Oh, the Shapers are here, and they have been here- they wrote the beginning, middle, and end of the story before we ever began discussing this. Think about that, please – who benefits from 1586? You know what- take out the 1,700 acres and a lot of people will- but that land tucked in that Bill? That feels wrong, doesn’t it?
4. The Disclosure Gap – Conflicts Of Interest Take Center Stage
Senator Janeen Sollman, Mayor Beach Pace, and Washington County Commissioner Pam Treece have stumped for this bill without disclosing a staggering conflict of interest. They have received significant campaign contributions from the very landowners and/or lobbyists working with them who stand to gain a multi-billion-dollar windfall if you move this boundary. In any local hearing, this would be a “Hard Stop.” Why is it a “Fast Track” in Salem? And why have we not heard or seen any conflicts being disclosed in this Bill? I mean, that is the law, right? This is the stuff the OGEC lives for. Your Vote should come with assurances that the Sponsors are honest and operating within the legal boundaries we have all agreed to. I am not so sure that is happening here.
5. The 500-Acre “Ghost” Parcels – Hillsboro Stands Ready Now
The claim that Hillsboro is “out of land” is a fraud. I have 6 minutes of video footage proving that inside our current boundary, there are nearly 500 acres of shovel-ready industrial land. I inserted the video and the map below. Those 500 acres are empty because they are zoned for Real Jobs, and the city’s “Industrial Sanctuary” clause prohibits data centers on this land. The market only wants Hillsboro for one thing right now: to use our cheap power and water to convert Singapore’s data into private equity profits.
6. The 2032 Power Mirage – Hillsboro’s Power Grid Is Reportedly Full
So, as busy as I am in Hillsboro, I talk to lots of people. I walk the lands, I get tips and informants, and I chat it up with people working on the industrial facilities being built here. The Herald has been told through multiple sources over the past—including data center contractors—that the Hillsboro grid is nearly full. A land sale is falling apart now because the owners waited two years, and just weeks before they were to close with a data center developer, they were told they would need to wait a few more years. Three people have now informed me that power will not be available until 2032-2033, unless it has already been committed. This happened in Forest Grove last year, when two large data centers went down due to a power outage. PGE has not returned a phone call, and the City of Hillsboro staffer I spoke to feigned ignorance.
So here is the Lie: How can SB 1586 promise “immediate jobs” and Advanced Manufacturing (that needs MASSIVE POWER) when there isn’t enough power to run a factory on those 1,700 acres for another seven years? Let’s be honest- no one working on this Bill has done any ground truthing, confirmed public utilities, and for sure, the availability of Power and Water. If they have, I want to see it in writing. The people on the ground here in Hillsboro right now are not lying.
7. The Nuclear Whispers: Time For Adults To Talk
My ex-military informant had a lot of great thoughts and information. The one thing he thought I had not heard of is one none of us want to talk about, but it is past time we did. He warned me that this overbuilt power grid in Hillsboro is designed for Reverse Energy Flow. He was wrong…I had heard this before, because not 3 weeks ago, I had the same discussion with a retired Pacific Power man. And he is certain that this power grid in Hillsboro is different. Both of them said it – this grid is being built to be the home of a Nuclear Reactor. So while you all debate “jobs,” the feds are airlifting micro-reactors to Utah. Yes- that just happened, and Trump loves Nuclear. Check it out https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721761/us-military-airlifts-small-reactor
On February 15, 2026, the Pentagon and the Department of Energy completed the first-ever airlift of a nuclear microreactor. The Mission: A 5-megawatt (MW) microreactor (built by Valar Atomics) was flown from California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Energy Secretary Chris Wright explicitly stated during the airlift that this “nuclear renaissance” is designed to meet the skyrocketing electricity demand from Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers. The Utah reactor is expected to reach “criticality” by July 4, 2026. While this specific unit is small (5 MW), the administration’s goal is to prove they can fly “plug-and-play” power to any location with a 3,500-foot runway—like the Hillsboro Airport.
Legislators, if the Hillsboro grid is truly ‘full’ until 2033, then SB 1586 is a ghost bill. You cannot build ‘Advanced Manufacturing’ without power. The only reason to move this 1,700-acre boundary right now is if you know what the public doesn’t: that the Hillsboro Ring is being prepared as a Private Nuclear Energy Hub. And while that is a near term Fantasy, it is not in the long term.
Honorable Legislators: PLEASE DON’T VOTE FOR SB 1586 – Not Right Now
The Final Question: Who Do You Serve?
Legislators, the “Shapers” want you to believe that if you don’t pass SB 1586 right now, in the dark of a short session, Oregon will fail. They want you to feel the heat of a manufactured emergency so you don’t look at the cold facts on the ground.
But the ground is exactly what is at stake.
Once these 1,700 acres of prime Tualatin Valley soil are paved, they are gone forever. You cannot “undo” a machine hub. You cannot “reclaim” land once it has been hollowed out for the “Big Three” and their 260-Terabit digital tsunami. If this plan is as “great” as Senator Sollman and Mayor Pace claim, it will still be a great plan in the long session. It will withstand the sunlight of a public bus tour, a community town hall, and a real audit of our 2032 power grid.
I am extending a personal invitation to every one of you: Do not vote on this bill until you have seen the field. * Call me. I will give you the names and the data that the “Shapers” left out of your briefing packets.
Come to Hillsboro. PLEASE – I will personally drive you to the 500 acres of shovel-ready land that is currently being ignored. I will show you “Data Center Alley” and let you hear the roar of the fans that are replacing the quiet of our heritage. I will show you the cables as they run directly East and then West with new infrastructure heading towards the Coast. We can stand in the awesome glow of a BESS Battery Arrays where 200 humming lithium-ion batteries as big as semi-trucks groan 24-7. I mean it- come and we will book a bus, and we will all go to the nearby famous Helvetia Tavern for the best burger on the West Coast, but you’d better hurry. I think a certain Senator might be working on another bill- just saying.
Please look quickly at what Janeen Sollman has in mind for us – Look at what we have already had built here?
Search your souls. Are you here to serve the global private equity firms laughing in the parking lots at Oregon, or are you here to serve the Oregonians whose schools are being fleeced and whose future is being sold for $1.5 million an acre?
Tom McCall once said, “Oregon is demure and lovely, and it ought to be played with abandon and care.” Ramrodding SB 1586 through this session is an act of abandon, not care.
Vote NO on the SB 1586 land grab. Protect our soil. Protect our process. Save our state.
Over 880 pieces of testimony have been submitted. 95% say NO. If this is a great idea, it will still be a great idea during the long session in the light of day.
To Our Readers and the GOOD people of Washington County – it is up to you now!
You want to stop this atrocity? You want Hillsboro and Washington County to see another 1,700 Acres pushing up plumes and sucking up our power?
DO ONE THING- GET ON THE EMAIL AND PHONES AND CALL YOUR LEADERS– LET THEM KNOW THAT SB 1586 and the 1700 Acre Land Grab Must STOP NOW – Ask them for a No Vote -Tell them to strip this land deal out and work on Statewide Benefits for all
Be kind and courteous and ask them to really look at the whole picture because something is very wrong with this situation.
Washington County Leaders – House Of Representatives
CHECK THE MAP HERE
State Representative District 25 (map(Link is external))
Representative Ben Bowman
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1425(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-295, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.BenBowman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bowman(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 26 (map(Link is external))
Representative Sue Rieke Smith
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1426(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-281, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.SueRiekeSmith@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/riekesmith(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 27 (map(Link is external))
Representative Ken Helm
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1427(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-490, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.KenHelm@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/Helm(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 28 (map(Link is external))
Representative Dacia Grayber
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1428(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-492, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.DaciaGrayber@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/grayber(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 29 (map(Link is external))
Representative Susan McLain
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1429(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-493, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.SusanMclain@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 30 (map(Link is external))
Representative Nathan Sosa
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1430(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-280, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.NathanSosa@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sosa(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 31 (map(Link is external))
Representative Darcey Edwards
Party: Republican
Capitol Phone:503-986-1431(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-374, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.DarceyEdwards@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/edwards(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 33 (map(Link is external))
Representative Shannon Isadore
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1433(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-276, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.shannonisadore@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/isadore(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 34 (map(Link is external))
Representative Mari Watanabe
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1434(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-483, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.MariWatanabe@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/watanabe(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 35 (map(Link is external))
Representative Farrah Chaichi
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1435(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-478, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.FarrahChaichi@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/chaichi(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 36 (map(Link is external))
Representative Hai Pham
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1436(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-282, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.HaiPham@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/phamh(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Representative District 37 (map(Link is external))
Representative Jules Walters
Party: Democrat
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1437(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-489, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.JulesWalters@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/walters
Visit our Election Maps page to see redistricted boundaries. Each Senate district is comprised of two House districts.
State Senate District 13
Senator Courtney Neron Misslin
Party: Democrat
House Districts: 25, 26
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1713(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-425, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.CourtneyNeronMisslin@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/neron(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Senate District 14
Senator Kate Lieber
Party: Democrat
House Districts: 27, 28
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1714(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-205, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.KateLieber@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/lieber(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2029
State Senator District 15
Senator Janeen Sollman
Party: Democrat
House Districts: 29, 30
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1715(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-207, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Senate District 16
Senator Suzanne Weber
Party: Republican
House Districts: 31, 32*
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1716(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-405, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.SuzanneWeber@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/weber(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Senate District 17
Senator Lisa Reynolds
Party: Democrat
House Districts: 33, 34
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1717(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-409, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.LisaReynolds@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/reynolds(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
State Senate District 18
Senator WInsvey Campos
Party: Democrat
House Districts: 35, 36
Capitol Phone: 503-896-1718(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-215, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.WlnsveyCampos@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/campos(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2029
State Senate District 19
Senator Rob Wagner
Party: Democrat
House Districts:37, 38*
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1700(Link opens phone app)
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-201, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.RobWagner@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/wagner(Link is external)
Term Expires: January 2027
*=Non Washington County District
Don’t know how you can say “96% would sell” when a whole bunch of us haven’t been consulted: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVPn7OdCM83/?igsh=MXVwcndsejB5ZDV3dg==