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This week, I’ve been super heads-down on a really important story for The Verge about how data center developers are inflating the number of promised jobs for projects slated for rural America. 

It’s highly underreported thanks to the loss of reliable local news outlets, and, as some of the experts I talked to for the story noted, many of the select boards and town halls are “outgunned” when it comes to assessing the real impact of these massive infrastructure projects. These deals are often hidden behind layers of LLCs, which don’t require any transparent reporting to local or state governments, making the entire thing even more damaging to the very fabric of our communities and country. 

There’s so much to pull on here that my original draft ran 3000 words long. Granted, I’m wordy, but there is so much information out there that’s just hidden from public view and this feels like its going to continue to be a really vital story to tell. 

Funny enough, the story idea and pitch evolved from a simple question following Governor Janet Mills’ veto of the first state moratorium on data centers. The veto didn’t make any sense to me, and in her statement, she claimed 100 or more jobs would result from the $550 million deal. I wanted to know the hard data on how many jobs a data center actually brings to an area and discovered that, according to economists who have studied this, the reality is far grimmer. 

I’m curious about how many of you discover story ideas by simply wondering about some fact, figure, or statement made out in the world? Drop me an email and tell me about a story you really enjoyed reporting, that originated with a question, annoyance (which admittedly is usually where my story ideas come from), or some seedling of an idea that evolved into a full-blown feature story. 

Additionally, if you’re struggling with pitching and want some really skilled help, subscriber Jillian Anthony is offering a pitching workshop on May 23 to write your pitch in 15 minutes (before the editor in your brain decides to chime in.) She just had her first piece published in the New York Times, and has tons of really great advice to offer. Definitely check it out if you have the time. 

Chess is a surprisingly good training ground for critical thinking.

If you play chess online (on Chess.com, for example), there’s a tool you should be using to get better at the long game. 

The app is called Chessalyze, and it is a new Android app that imports your games from Chess.com and Lichess, then gives you move-by-move Stockfish analysis with accuracy ratings, move classifications (brilliant, blunder, and everything in between), and an interactive evaluation graph, plus player insights including strengths and weaknesses, all running locally on your device. You can rerun old games to learn where you went wrong, and you own all the data.

Sign up via this Google Doc link to try it out and give feedback before he releases it into the wild. Once you sign up, you’ll get a link to download the app for free. Right now, it's only available to Android users, but he plans to open it to Apple users once he completes this round of testing. If you signed up last week, be sure to find the automated email response and download the app to start learning from your games.

The jobs list is huge today and includes more than 30 new opportunities for journalists to make as much as $295k per year and $100 per hour.

All of the roles are hybrid or remote, and I include all email addresses and pitching guides so you can chase down the right editors to pitch.

On the freelance front, there are opportunities to pitch and work for:

There are tons of brand new opportunities to go full-time, too, at publications like:

There are lots of Comms jobs on the list, and Dishonorables are solid, as is the Passion Project.

All jobs pay at least $1 per word and up to $268,000 per year, and have been posted in the last 7 days. If you’re tired of searching for brand new roles yourself, this is the newsletter for you.