Off The Record: The latest rumors and rumblings in Alabama

Drake’s explanation raises more questions than it answers

The court records surrounding Democratic State Senate nominee Rudolph Drake is already ugly: A Florida judge entered a stalking injunction after a former girlfriend accused him of threats, harassment, following her and forcing his way into her home. Behind the scenes, Drake’s explanation of the whole thing has been even messier.

Then comes the relationship drama. Drake reportedly goes into remarkable detail with campaign stakeholders about who the woman was allegedly dating, when she was allegedly cheating, trips to Las Vegas and Orlando, hotel stays, conversations with other men and the fact that he and the woman had once talked about marriage. For a candidate trying to explain away a stalking injunction, it is an awfully strange place to spend so much time.

And it raises the question others are raising: Was she the only woman?

FBI’s Innovation Center: great facility, brutal audit

A new inspector general report on the FBI’s $229 million Innovation Center at Redstone Arsenal found what auditors politely call “flawed management” — wasted time, wasted manpower, wasted tax dollars, and a ribbon cutting that landed a year and a half late, according to Fox 54. The bureau also picked its contractor based on numbers that, in hindsight, weren’t quite right. The 1,300 employees working there now are presumably not complaining. The people who paid for it might be.

Special delivery

With lawmakers expected to revisit Alabama’s online sales tax split next session, counties are making sure nobody forgets just how badly they need their piece of the SSUT pie. Madison County joined the chorus this week, pointing to nearly $1 billion counties spent on law enforcement last year and reminding everyone that those online tax dollars help keep deputies on the street and jails running. Municipalities, meanwhile, have their own list of roads paved, police funded and services provided, and they definitely have a few thoughts about who deserves a bigger slice. At this point, we can at least say Alabama has finally achieved bipartisan/local-government unity on SSUT. Everybody agrees somebody else shouldn’t get their money.

Someone doesn’t want Tuberville signs in their neighborhood

Someone in Shelby County didn’t just disagree with a “Tuberville for Governor” yard sign — they grabbed a can of spray paint and blacked it out. Disagreeing with a candidate is one thing; disagreeing with someone else’s yard is another.

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