Tommy N. Turner

Published research, working papers, and commentary.

Cite the concept DOI. It always resolves to the newest version and is what belongs in a citation. Version DOIs and this site's URL are not citation targets. ORCID 0009-0005-7422-9881 binds the Zenodo and SSRN identities.

Virginia data center series — statewide and analytical volumes

  1. What Virginia Is Spending, What Virginia Is Getting: The Commonwealth Data Center Reference
    v5.2
  2. Governing the Demand Shock: Local Institutional Variation in Virginia's Data Center Boom (Report)
    REPORT
  3. Governing the Demand Shock: Data Centers, Local Power, and the Distribution of Cost in Virginia
    BOOK EDITION — sibling to the REPORT
  4. What Tennessee Is Building, and What It Is Not Regulating: A Statewide Data Center Report
  5. What Georgia Is Spending, What Georgia Is Getting: A Statewide Data Center Report
  6. Two Systems, One Drought: Virginia's Groundwater Ceiling, Its Rivers, and the Water the Energy Buildout Actually Uses
  7. The Aquifer Says No: DEQ's SJ 25 Groundwater Study and the Data Center Question East of I-95
  8. When the Operator Builds the Plant: The Google–CFS Power Purchase Agreement and What It Means for Virginia's Energy Market

Virginia data center series — county case studies

Henrico is the shell every case study clones.

  1. Case Study: Henrico County — How Two Neighborhoods Forced Virginia's Second-Largest Data Center Jurisdiction to Change Course
    Henrico — the template
  2. Case Study: Hanover County — Mountain Road, Tract, and the Search for Leverage
  3. Case Study: Chesterfield County — The $0.24 Rate, the Thirty-Year Lock, and the Two-Corridor County
  4. Case Study: Mecklenburg County — Boydton, South Hill, and What Fifteen Years of Data Centers Produced
  5. Case Study: The Fredericksburg Ring — Five Jurisdictions, One Corridor, and the I-95 Path South
  6. Case Study: Orange County and the Town of Orange — Convergence at Two Scales
  7. Case Study: Louisa County — The First Overlay, the Amazon Retreat, and the $17 Billion Bet
  8. Case Study: Goochland County — The Overlay, the Lawsuit, and the Template
    SSRN posted with leading 'a' typo — Revise pending release
  9. Case Study: Botetourt County — Project Raspberry, the Water Authority, and the Wave That Crossed the Blue Ridge
  10. Case Study: Culpeper County — The Quiet Successor
  11. Case Study: Prince William County — Governance Capture, the Revolving Door, and the Democratic Correction
    Zenodo v3.0; not on SSRN

Radford and municipal fiscal

  1. Fiscal Crossroads: An Options Analysis of the City of Radford, Virginia
  2. The Quiet Option: How Radford Drifted Into Fiscal Distress
    companion to Fiscal Crossroads
  3. Two Cities, One Machine: Radford and Martinsville
  4. What the Foundry Took
    also published as Cardinal News diptych, June 10–11, 2026
  5. Virginia College-City Fiscal Comparison: Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Williamsburg, Radford
  6. Choice Under Constraint: Enterprise-Fund Transfers and Divergent Fiscal Trajectories Among Virginia's Independent Cities
  7. The Handle: How American Cities Tax the Universities They Can't Tax

AI governance in higher education

  1. Governance Without Readiness: How 53 American Universities Responded to Generative AI
    Same work as SSRN 'The Control Trap' — do not treat as two
  2. Virginia Tech: Comprehensive AI Governance & Activity Inventory
  3. Lehigh University: Comprehensive AI Governance & Activity Inventory
  4. University of Virginia: Comprehensive AI Governance & Activity Inventory
  5. Marymount University: Comprehensive AI Governance & Activity Inventory
  6. William & Mary: Comprehensive AI Governance & Activity Inventory
  7. AI Governance Peer Institutional Benchmark: William and Mary's 23 BOV-Adopted National Peer Institutions
  8. AI in Virginia Higher Education: Public-Source Reference Guide for 30 Four-Year Institutions

James City County governance

  1. The Working Majority Public Dissent and Decision-Making on the James City County Board of Supervisors, 2010–2026
  2. Two Changes on the James City County Board of Supervisors: A Longitudinal Cohort Analysis, 2010–2026
  3. Representative Judgment After Public Opposition
    McGlennon
  4. Public Participation and Representative Judgment in James City County
    Null

Op-eds and guest columns

  1. Virginia growth collides with groundwater limits
    Richmond Times-Dispatch · · Permalink pending
    Lee Enterprises paywall — permalink pending
  2. Williamsburg Watch column on JCSA permit renewal implications
    Williamsburg Watch · · Permalink pending
    Opinion index only — title/URL to be confirmed
  3. Williamsburg Watch column on Virginia SJ 25 DEQ groundwater study
    Williamsburg Watch · · Permalink pending
    Opinion index only — title/URL to be confirmed
  4. Trump's Hormuz toll reversed, but the damage remains
    Richmond Times-Dispatch ·
  5. Radford named its distress. It hasn't named the cure.
    Roanoke Times ·
  6. Researcher: The bill came due
    Cardinal News ·
    Radford diptych, part 2 of 2
  7. Researcher: What the foundry took from Radford
    Cardinal News ·
    Radford diptych, part 1 of 2 — also deposited as Zenodo 20612127
  8. The anniversary America's founders wouldn't believe
    Richmond Times-Dispatch ·
  9. Early warning signs of Radford's fiscal distress
    Roanoke Times ·
  10. The case against Secretary Hegseth asking for $1.5 trillion
    Virginian-Pilot ·
  11. China talks cannot replace a congressional vote on war
    Richmond Times-Dispatch ·
  12. As James City County budget adoption looms, disconnect between supervisors and residents is glaringly apparent
    The Triangle ·
  13. How the numbers add up ahead of the Board of Supervisors decision
    Virginia Gazette ·
  14. Researcher: Spanberger visited Southwest Virginia. The way she visited tells the region what she thinks of it.
    Cardinal News / Roanoke Times ·
  15. Spanberger's data center position is the test of her affordability message
    Virginia Mercury ·
  16. More thoughts about budgeting, taxes — a letter to the James City supervisors
    Williamsburg Watch ·
  17. Letter to JCC Supervisors
    Williamsburg Watch ·
  18. Column on James City tax burden
    Virginia Gazette ·
  19. Jefferson, press freedom and the Pentagon
    Richmond Times-Dispatch ·
  20. Spanberger's first 100 days are flashing a warning Virginia Democrats should not ignore
    Virginia Mercury ·
  21. Why Virginia's data center deal no longer adds up
    Richmond Times-Dispatch ·
  22. A quiet digital fence around the Historic Triangle
    Virginia Gazette / Daily Press ·
  23. Finding patterns in the shift away from democracy
    Virginian-Pilot / Daily Press ·
  24. Virginia should stop subsidizing data centers
    Roanoke Times ·
  25. What Customs taught America about power
    Daily Press ·

Longform

  1. Mounts Bay: A James City County Story, 2012–2026
    Unpublished longform · · Permalink pending
    v3, revision 4
  2. Three Rooms: Williamsburg and James City County and the Joint School System, 1955–2026
    Unpublished longform · · Permalink pending
    v3, revision 6
  3. If the Regime Fits
    Unpublished longform essay · · Permalink pending
    Parent essay to the June 5 RTD column

Policy assessments

  1. Artificial Intelligence Integration Across the National Nuclear Security Administration: A Comprehensive Unclassified Assessment
    Standalone unclassified assessment · · Permalink pending
    Distributed in anonymized form