Dog's Head Recap + Join Us for Data Center Action Week

July 24, 2026 -- For 12 hours, we watched Austin City Council debate the future of the Dog's Head. In the end, the majority voted in favor of the TIRZ, but what I'll remember most isn't the vote, it's the PEOPLE THAT SHOWED UP. THANK YOU AUSTIN FOR DEFENDING DOG's HEAD!

Neighbors from every corner of Austin showed up with courage, passion, and deep love for our fair city city. SOS, GAVA, PODER, PSL Austin, and so many community members spoke truth to power. Even after the agenda was pushed to the end of the night, people refused to give up.

A huge thank you to the incredible Save Our Springs legal team, who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes, and a special shout-out to SOS staff attorney Beatrice Anderson for leading the charge on the Dog's Head advocacy campaign, from legal strategy to community organizing.

We may have lost the vote, but we flipped 3 votes, built a strong record for future action, and shined a light on a process that can no longer be ignored.

This is the foundation of an even stronger movement ahead.

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Join Us for the Data Center Week of Action

Are you concerned about data centers but unsure how to get involved?
Join us, along with Alliance for a Clean Texas and Public Citizen, next week for the Data Center Week of Action! 
The Data Center Week of Action runs from July 26th through July 31st, and you can RSVP and learn more HERE.

Each day next week there is a planned webinar to help you learn more about data centers and a specific action that you can take to oppose proposed data centers in Texas. Through a combination of policy briefings, training, and targeted actions, you will learn how to confidently participate in pushing back against data centers to effectively advocate for our shared water and environmental resources. The skills training on Thursday, July 30th will  include a presentation from our Staff Attorney Victoria Rose on how to fight wastewater permits associated with data centers.

The first in-person meetup is a rally on the Texas Capital south steps at 9 AM prior to the Senate Finance Committee at 10:30 AM. We are raising our voices to tell Governor Abbott to call a special session and consider a moratorium on data center construction in Texas. 
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Together, we can gain the skills and join forces to protect our communities. 

Data Center Lawsuit Filed in Guadalupe County

This past Monday SOS Senior Attorney Bobby Levinski filed a lawsuit in Guadalupe County on behalf of affected residents claiming that the county approved tax abatements and related development agreements for the Cloudburst and Palomino Alpha data centers in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Tax Code, and state conflicts-of-interest laws. The lawsuit challenges an estimated $150 million in county property tax-subsidies that would fuel the data centers’ pursuit to turn more than 1,700 acres of rural Guadalupe County into AI data centers spanning more than 4 million square feet and harming local residents through impacts to quality of life, local heat effects, heavy water use, and wastewater discharges.

Records show that Guadalupe County’s Judge Kutscher and his family own 186 acres being sold to the Palomino Alpha data center while at the same time Judge Kutscher voted on policy changes to help clear the way for tax incentives for the data center and brought a Palomino Alpha representative into executive session to discuss the project terms. In addition to other violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Guadalupe County obscured plans and decisions related to data centers from the public by omitting key details such as project locations, acreage, subsidy amounts, and others in public meeting notices.

Ultimately, county officials cannot ask taxpayers to subsidize massive data centers while keeping residents in the dark, and public decisions of this scale should be made in the open, not buried in vague agendas or negotiated behind closed doors. Accordingly, this lawsuit asks the court to intervene to stop Guadalupe County from using or enforcing the challenged approvals and to prevent public money from being spent under illegal agreements.

Please join us in our efforts by donating to SOS today to help fund our legal team’s work on this lawsuit and to protect our water and land from the growing threat of data centers.

Fund the Fight Against Corruption Today

It's clear from our work in San Marcos that the fight against unchecked data center growth and AI-driven development begins with everyday citizens. Thank you for showing up to learn and fight back with us. Your particpation is critical to this movement. 
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See you at the Capital Monday morning at 9 AM!

 SOS Alliance