Off The Record: The latest rumors and rumblings in Alabama
The story vanished 20 minutes after it appeared — no correction, no explanation, no acknowledgment that the SEAL didn’t actually swim to victory. Fox just moved on like it never happened.
Codename season
“Project Marvel.” “Project Red Clay.” Sounds like a Bond villain’s portfolio, and that’s sort of the point. The splashiest deals in the state come to town with codenames and NDAs, and neighbors only learn the terms once the concrete starts getting poured. Columbiana just unanimously torched a multi-year tax abatement for an AI data center, while Bessemer’s “Project Marvel” fight keeps intensifying. Meanwhile, a Gallup poll this spring found 71% of Americans don’t want one humming next door. But we hear that leaders of the proverbially-tech-forward Huntsville & North Alabama regions have been quietly mitigating this sprawl much more efficiently than just about anywhere else in the United States.
SEC Secession
One SEC insider tells OTR the Southeastern Conference may be nearing the point where it sends the NCAA a breakup text. And it’s no longer just barstool talk. Following recent comments from Georgia coach Kirby Smart and growing frustration over NIL, transfer portal chaos and what some see as selective rule enforcement (cough, cough Michigan), whispers of an SEC-led breakaway are getting louder in the hallways where expensive loafers and championship rings tend to gather. Would it happen tomorrow? No. Could it happen if the NCAA continues operating like a homeowners association voting to euthanize flocks of menacing geese?
Maybe. The SEC certainly has the leverage, the money and the brand power to play hardball, and more than one person seems to be wondering whether college football’s biggest conference still needs permission from Indianapolis. For now it’s just a rumble, but unlike some rumors, this one comes with enough smoke that folks are quietly checking where the nearest fire extinguisher might be.
SPACECOM is moving dirt at Redstone like it’s never leaving
You don’t break ground on 700,000 square feet for a tenant you expect to lose. The permanent headquarters takes a 64-acre site near the center of the Arsenal, being built by the Corps of Engineers, expected to open its doors in the coming years. Tab’s $565 million in the FY27 bill, advanced 58-to-0. Two hundred bodies by year’s end, headed for 1,800, and a written order putting half the command on post by October 2028. Resolute Way’s now the Arsenal’s top road priority.
