5 Alabama news stories you missed this week: April 18th - April 24th

Here's what happened in Alabama news: The Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering just opened a brand-new $12.5 million facility called the Sentinel Center. The school also announced $3 million donation from philanthropist Hank Isenberg to launch the Isenberg Institute. Later this month, the U.S. Space Command will open its first operational building at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville—a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. Command leaders say construction on the full headquarters could start in 2027 and wrap up by 2031. A Jefferson County judge ruled that Central Alabama Water can move forward with its plan to stop adding fluoride, despite Birmingham suing to block the decision. The judge said he personally supports fluoride for dental health but made it clear he doesn’t have the legal power to force the utility to keep using it. He also ruled that while the water utility messed up its notification process, it wasn’t done maliciously—just a clumsy mistake. A massive $14.5 billion data center project in Bessemer just got the green light after the city council approved rezoning nearly 900 acres for the site. In all, the site has grown from the initial 677 acres to roughly 1,600. City leaders and the developer say this could end up being one of the largest private investments in Alabama history. Many residents who live closest to the site are not as excited and have expressed concerns over noise, electricity and water usage, environmental protection and other issues. There’s still no deployment date yet for the SS United States in Mobile. The ocean liner is on hold until two federal agencies have finished their reviews before the massive ship is sunk about 22 miles offshore near Pensacola, turning it into "the world’s largest artificial reef." For more on the stories covered here, head over to AL.com #alabama #localnews #datacenter #utilities #whatyoumissed #stemeducation #birminghamalabama #huntsvillealabama #bessemer #news #updates #updatesnews