Field Ledger · 2026-07-06 — Text
Our friend and colleague Lucian Perkins opined on social media: “Unlike much of the country, the Fourth of July in Washington didn’t feel festive so much as surreal.
“The day began with absence. The annual Independence Day parade down Constitution Avenue — something I had planned to photograph — was canceled because of extreme heat. Washington had just endured some of its hottest days on record, with the heat index nearing 108 degrees.
Though it seems nobody has contracted the potentially deadly bacterium as a result of Meta’s fill-and-flush, the city’s response to the incident underscores the degree to which people across the US are scrutinizing data centers — and the undeniable impact they have on their neighbors.
“The day began with absence. The annual Independence Day parade down Constitution Avenue — something I had planned to photograph — was canceled because of extreme heat. Washington had just endured some of its hottest days on record, with the heat index nearing 108 degrees.
Though it seems nobody has contracted the potentially deadly bacterium as a result of Meta’s fill-and-flush, the city’s response to the incident underscores the degree to which people across the US are scrutinizing data centers — and the undeniable impact they have on their neighbors.
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