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Central Ohio Real Estate and Development Summit discusses MLS future and regional growth needs. Columbus REALTORS hosted the Central Ohio Real Estate and Development Summit at the Hilton Columbus at Easton on Aug. 18, bringing together industry leaders to discuss workforce development, infrastructure, and the evolving real estate landscape. The event began with Kristin Easterday of defense contractor Anduril presenting a virtual tour of Arsenal One, a $900 million self-funded manufacturing campus in Pickaway County. The project is expected to create over 4,000 jobs in the next decade and utilizes digitally driven production systems based on drone defense technology. Easterday said this initiative is changing how the region approaches workforce planning, infrastructure investments, and overall growth. Later sessions shifted focus to real estate industry models. Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales joined Columbus REALTORS CEO Brent Swander to discuss their company's three-decade relationship with the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) and multiple listing service (MLS) systems. Eales said these structures have kept agents central to transactions while offering consumers transparency that is uncommon internationally. He also argued that the United States' cooperative MLS model outperforms less collaborative markets in Europe and Australia. A panel discussion followed with Dan Troup, CEO of Broker Public Portal; Jessica Edgerton, CEO of CMLS; Molly Morgan, Chair of MLS Board of Directors; and NAR First Vice President Colin Mullane in conversation with Columbus REALTORS President Gloria Alonso Cannon. Panelists each made arguments supporting an open MLS system as beneficial for both agents and consumers. Matt McCollister from The Montrose Group spoke about regional development trends alongside Columbus REALTORS Treasurer Kristy Daniel. They addressed Central Ohio's rapid expansion in data centers, logistics operations, and advanced manufacturing sectors - and highlighted challenges related to infrastructure capacity and public sentiment. McCollister noted that approximately 20,000 new housing units are needed annually for Central Ohio's population growth, but current construction rates fall short. The summit concluded with a keynote debate between Rob Hahn (Industry Relations Podcast co-host) and Michael Wurzer (CEO of FBS/Flexmls), moderated by Jeremy Pape. Their discussion covered topics such as fragmentation within MLSs nationwide, private listings issues, technological changes ahead for listing services - and whether or not "the MLS is doomed." "We didn't build this program to give our members easy answers," said Gloria Alonso Cannon. "We built it to make sure they're in the room when the hard questions get asked because the future of this industry is being shaped right now."

Anduril demonstrates missile-defense battle manager during Valiant Shield 2026. Anduril has demonstrated a prototype battle-management system designed to coordinate U.S. air and missile defenses in the Western Pacific. The company showcased the capability during Valiant Shield 2026, a multinational exercise involving U.S. forces across multiple domains. Anduril said the demonstration came less than six months after the U.S. Army awarded it a contract to develop the system for the Guam Defense System. Integrating a regional defense network. During the 11-day exercise, Anduril integrated air-defense assets from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Missile Defense Agency into its battle manager. The system uses Anduril's Lattice software to combine data from those systems into a common operational picture. It also tracked weapons status and interceptor inventories across air, land and sea-based defenses. The battle manager then assessed available missile-defense capacity and recommended which system should engage a simulated threat. According to Anduril, the software used real-time optimization to help prioritize engagements while conserving interceptor stocks. The company described the exercise as the first delivery to the U.S. Department of War of a system combining a common operating picture, weapons availability and automated engagement recommendations. Testing with operators. Anduril personnel trained operators throughout the exercise while testing the system against simulated threats. The tests used operational command-and-control, sensor and interceptor systems already protecting the region. Engineers worked directly with operators to make daily changes to the prototype. Anduril said Verity Integrated Systems also supported the development effort. The company said the prototype will undergo further testing and refinement following the exercise. Anduril's earlier contract announcement provides additional background on the Western Pacific battle-management programme. Anduril's contract announcement

31 ex-lawmakers, staffers joined military firms in past 10 years. One former official is now working as a defense lobbyist even as he serves on a major Navy commission, according to a new report Aug 24, 2026 In the last decade, 31 former members of Congress and top staff have left Capitol Hill and joined the military-industrial complex as lobbyists or contractors, according to a new report from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The 21 lawmakers named in the report served on either the House or Senate Armed Services Committee, the legislative bodies that set the Pentagon's annual policies through the annual National Defense Authorization Act. In addition, the report names 10 former senior committee staffers who transitioned to working as weapons industry government liaisons or lobbyists. These 31 former officials represent a snapshot of the military-industrial complex's "revolving door," through which ex-policymakers transition from setting the Pentagon's agenda in Congress to cashing in on those same policies in the private sector. "That report we published is the most direct explanation we've ever seen of why the defense budget always goes up," said John Mecklin, the author of the report and former editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The report highlighted a variety of potential ethics conflicts, focusing in particular on the growing path between Congress and Silicon Valley defense tech startups. Chris Vieson, the former staff director of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), was appointed earlier this year to the National Commission on the Future of the Navy, established to advise Congress on everything "from shipbuilding and acquisition to maintenance and repair, workforce, training, and modernization." Vieson is also an active registered lobbyist for two defense startups: Saronic Inc., a manufacturer of unmanned maritime vehicles; and watercraft builder Whiskey Project Group. Previously, Vieson worked as a lobbyist for Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm gaining influence in the Pentagon and pushing AI integration. According to its executive director, the National Commission on the Future of the Navy aims to modernize the Navy to prepare for conflict with China and Iran. As part of this goal, the Commission will "test emerging ideas such as a hybrid fleet and expanded use of unmanned systems." Vieson's lobbying client, Saronic Inc., is one manufacturer of such unmanned systems. While the revolving-door phenomenon is not new, the report captures the increasing influence of a new generation of Silicon Valley military firms. Former HASC member Mike Gallagher and staffer Jeff Miller have taken up jobs as an executive and a lobbyist, respectively, for Palantir. Former Republican staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Christian D. Brose is now the Chief Strategy Officer for Anduril, an autonomous weapons startup valued at $61 billion in its latest round of fundraising. Subscribe now to its weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy. According to Mecklin, Congress is eager to let Silicon Valley officials into their bureaucracy. "It takes the Pentagon many, many years to acquire a new defense system like a fighter plane. With a high-tech system, you just can't wait that long," he said. "So they found a way around the complicated acquisition processes of the Defense Department." Likewise, Silicon Valley weapons startups that wish to challenge prime contractors like Boeing and Lockheed Martin are desperate to hire former politicians. "If you're a company that wants to get into defense contracting, it's highly beneficial to hire people that understand the process of federal appropriations in the defense sector," Mecklin explained. The Bulletin's revolving-door report also details a who's-who of top congressional stock traders. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who has served on HASC since 2015, has been trading GE Aerospace stock via his spouse since 2023. Scott's trades this year violated the STOCK Act, a bill passed in 2012 to curb insider trading. That makes Scott one of seven Armed Services Committee members to violate the STOCK Act this year, generally for failing to disclose trades within 45 days, as the law mandates. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) is another HASC member who has benefited from military contractor stocks. In December 2025, she disclosed her husband's $100,000-$250,000 purchase of stock in Elon Musk's xAI, which merged with SpaceX soon after in February. McClain's husband's xAI shares were converted into SpaceX shares months before the company's historic IPO in June. McClain previously violated the STOCK Act for her delayed disclosure of a trade worth up to $450,000 in Palantir stock. The report also makes note of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) trading stock for prime defense contractor Lockheed Martin and aerospace manufacturer Honeywell. Tuberville, one of the most active stock traders in Congress, has served on SASC since 2021. When President Donald Trump faced criticism this spring for his own portfolio of weapons stocks, Tuberville told a reporter for MeidasTouch, "I do the same thing." Mecklin believes that laws like the STOCK Act are insufficient to curb members of Congress cashing in on defense spending. "The way you really stem this kind of behavior is to have inspectors general and law enforcement agencies that are on the lookout for them. Occasionally, take up one of these egregious cases and just prosecute it," said Mecklin. "Unless you have a system that actually scares these people so they cut it out, it's going to continue." Julian Cooper is a Chicago-based journalist, an editorial intern for The Progressive, and a research intern for the Quincy Institute's Democratizing Foreign Policy program. The views expressed by authors on Responsible Statecraft do not necessarily reflect those of the Quincy Institute or its associates. Top image credit: Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) walks through the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA) via REUTERS Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) walks through the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA) via REUTERS From Your Site Articles