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LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — So here’s the scoop: at a lively shindig with state and local bigwigs, Entergy Arkansas spills the beans about juicing up Google’s new $4 billion tech adventure in Arkansas. It’s big, like set-your-clocks big.

Google’s whopping investment is all about cloud and AI smarts. There’s a shiny new data center springing up in West Memphis. Yeah, Arkansas is getting some Google love for the first time. On top of that, Google’s laying down a cool $25 million Energy Impact Fund. It’s their way of giving local energy costs a breather. They’re all in with home weatherization, fancy energy efficiency tech, and beefing up the energy workforce.

“We’re thrilled to buddy up with Google,” says Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux. “This $4 billion tech marvel and the $25 million fund? That’s community love, folks. We’re here to light up Arkansas and Google’s helping us shine.”

Google’s footing the entire energy tab for the facility. This setup is dropping $1.1 billion worth of goodness over the contract’s life. Plus, all Entergy Arkansas customers get a break on electricity rates. Big players like Google mean those electricity costs spread wider, making power cheaper for everyone. Neat, right?

The center’s getting juiced by Entergy Arkansas’s power-packed grid. Throw in a 600-megawatt solar project and a 350-megawatt battery system in Jefferson County, and you’re cooking. Google’s ready to shell out for these power moves. Entergy has filed for the green light from the Arkansas Public Service Commission. It’s all about keeping the lights on, boosting grid toughness, and keeping bills in check.

Landreaux is amped. “Tech giants are eyeing us because our power’s reliable and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Big guys like Google pave the way for infrastructure boosts, powering not just their gig but firming up the whole grid,” she notes.

Landreaux mentions, “Our cutting-edge grid is not just about powering stuff. It’s creating jobs, and strengthening our community – a brighter tomorrow for Arkansas. And hats off to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Arkansas General Assembly for laying down policies that let us power up Google’s dreams. That’s visionary leadership doing its thing.”

About Entergy Arkansas
Entergy Arkansas, LLC lights up about 735,000 homes in 63 counties. They’re in cahoots with Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), reaching 3 million souls across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. They’re all about growing, toughing up the energy grid while keeping costs on a leash. Clean energy? They’re on it with gas, nuclear, and renewables. They’re a Fortune 500 champ hanging its hat in New Orleans, boasting a team of about 12,000. Learn more at entergyarkansas.com and connect with @EntergyARK on social media.

Related Details:

• Investment Breakdown:

  • Google Technology Investment: $4 billion
  • Energy Impact Fund: $25 million

• Energy Projects:

  • Solar Project: 600 megawatts
  • Battery Storage: 350 megawatts

The local buzz just got a whole lot louder. This isn’t just about tech and energy; it’s about communities getting a slice of Google’s pie. Time to watch Arkansas glow.

The post Entergy Arkansas Fuels Google’s $4 Billion State Investment appeared first on Kingston Global Tokyo Japan.

A Colorado guy found himself in hot water for allegedly pitching $4.8 million worth of bunk investments to about 80 folks to fund his house-flipping hustle. Here’s the scoop.

Mack Jamie Sprouse, a 57-year-old from the Rocky Mountain state, turned himself in after a probe by the Colorado Division of Securities. They laid out their case to a Jefferson County grand jury.

The Division dropped a press release saying Sprouse was handing out promissory notes like candy, pledging to pay back the dough with fat interest. But hold up—he wasn’t licensed to deal in securities in Colorado. Plus, these investments? Totally unsecured. As if that wasn’t enough, the guy didn’t even have the cash to pay back his investors.

Sprouse is now starring in an 11-count indictment for securities fraud. Not exactly the kind of show you want to headline.

Urban Veneer Holdings LLC

Sprouse runs Urban Veneer Holdings LLC out of Lakewood. The outfit deals in “house flipping,” where you snap up homes, remodel them, and sell them for a sweet profit.

The Division didn’t hold back: “Sprouse made untrue statements of material fact and failed to disclose material facts to investors and engaged in business practices that operated as fraud and deceit,” they said. He basically spun tales about his plans for the investor cash and how he was funding Urban Veneer.

Financial Troubles Behind the Scenes

Public records indicate Urban Veneer Holdings got its start in 2020. But there’s trouble in paradise: six liens were filed against Sprouse or his biz since 2019 in Colorado. Not to mention, four civil suits in Jefferson County surfaced over the last two years. One creditor even claims Sprouse owes over $447,000. Yikes.

Sprouse managed to pay a $50,000 personal recognizance bond, getting out of jail the same day he was nabbed.

Legal Proceedings

The Colorado Attorney General’s Criminal Justice/Financial Fraud Unit is on the case, with a hearing marked on the calendar for June 8. We’ll have to see how that goes.

A Personal Tragedy

On a personal note, Sprouse’s family faced heartbreak when his son, Jordan Sprouse, died in 2014. The 18-year-old was killed by a DUI driver just weeks before graduating from Lakewood High School. The driver, trying to scare his wife, sped through red lights on Kipling Avenue, crashing and taking young Sprouse’s life. Alton Kirkland, the driver, is serving a 35-year stint in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

This tale is another layer, adding tragedy to Sprouse’s unfolding legal turmoil.

Logan Smith

Logan Smith is on the assignment desk at CBS Colorado in Denver. With more than 30 years under his belt covering digital, TV, and print media, he’s seen it all.

For real-time updates, check out CBS Colorado.

The post State Takes Legal Action Against Colorado Property Investor for Fraud and Losses appeared first on Kingston Global Tokyo Japan.

The political drama swirling around State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis has taken another twist. Colorado elections big shots are digging into a campaign finance complaint against her, sparked by The Colorado Sun’s juicy exposé.

Apparently, the spotlight turned on the Longmont Democrat after one Cory Gaines—a conservative player in this political chessboard—dropped a dime on her, suggesting she might’ve bent the campaign finance rules. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office agrees there’s enough smoke to see if there’s fire. They reckon the allegations might hold water if proven true.

Now, Jaquez Lewis stands on the hot seat. She’s got until Monday to either dust off the alleged infractions or push back against them. The clock’s ticking.

State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis gestures as she speaks before Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed four gun control bills. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Complaint

Gaines is blowing the whistle over what he calls Jaquez Lewis’ misuse of campaign cash. According to him, she splashed campaign dough on personal whimsies, sent forbidden contributions to a rival candidate, and, oh boy, missed jotting down some financial dealings. He claims his intel came straight outta a Colorado Sun story about Jaquez Lewis’ Capitol antics—allegedly putting her aides through the grind like domestic workers.

Allegations and Reports

Come December, The Sun started airing the dirty laundry. They reported how Jaquez Lewis’ former aides cried foul over some work shenanigans. Back in November, that’s when they said she had them doing odd jobs, like backyard pruners and party bartenders. The dollar bills supposedly came from her campaign coffers, which, FYI, ain’t cool by Colorado law. Here’s a deeper dive on campaign finance rules.

But wait, it gets spicier. The grapevine says she might’ve finanaced door-knocking missions for an Adams County commissioner candidate. The wrench in the works? This commissioner was butting heads against a rival’s spouse within the Dem camp. Nonetheless, the buzz at the time was quiet, as those transactions didn’t pop up on the state’s TRACER system.

After the cat was out of the bag, Jaquez Lewis quickly took to fixing her finance sheets, checking the “Sonya For Colorado” account for discrepancies. Yet, she claims it was all just a mix-up with her campaign numbers.

The Fallout

Despite her attempts to correct the record, Jaquez Lewis isn’t out of the woods yet. Colorado rules are tight: no using campaign cash for personal kicks or doling it out to other politicos’ campaigns, be it direct or in-kind.

In a statement released Thursday, the senator denied any hanky-panky. She brushed off the allegations, saying the bartending gig was for a campaign shindig. She’s sticking to her story about mixing up checkbooks—claiming she planned the aide’s payment from her leadership committee. It’s an honest-to-God mistake, according to her narrative.

Jaquez Lewis also said her Morrison Avenue fundraiser’s scoop, snagging two Benjamins from some Jamestown local, was all by the book. Meanwhile, folks at her leadership committee, “Sonya for Dems,” counted 11 donations that day. Her defense? “I have substantially complied with Colorado campaign law.” According to her, there was never any attempt to game the system.

Still, trouble shadows her steps. Legislative aides? Nah, she ain’t got any state-paid helpers now; she’s in the doghouse after multiple complaints. Stripped of committee gigs and facing an ethics probe, she might even get the boot from the legislature altogether. And it’s an awkward situation with her colleagues, especially since she’s been all about worker rights in her legislative pursuits.

Even so, Jaquez Lewis is no newbie to the political scene. She made her way into the legislature back in 2018. By 2020, she scored a spot in the Senate, and recently rolled into another term, winning Senate District 17 by a comfortable margin.

Read the full source article here.

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