Welcome To The Go Zone

I’ve learned something today. Apparently Tuscaloosa County is a part of the “Gulf Opportunity Zone”, which includes parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana that were hit the hardest from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. What seems to be grabing the most attention is the fact that many developers (local and national) are building luxury condominiums and taking advantage of the tax breaks given to them by the federal government.

First, we need to actually take a look at the “GO Zone”. From Gozoneguide.com:

The Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (H.R. 4440 passed by Congress on Dec. 16, 2005, and signed by President Bush on Dec. 21, 2005) establishes tax incentives and bond provisions to rebuild the local and regional economies devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The act is commonly referred to as the “GO Zone Act.”

…The GO Zone (also called the “Core Disaster Area”) covers a portion of the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Area determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be eligible for individual and/or public assistance from the federal government.

If you would like a further explanation, you need to check out the AP story linked above.

So what parts of the Southeast are considered part of the GO Zone? Let’s take a look at the map from GetGOZoneInfo.com (For a closer look at Alabama, CLICK HERE):

So why was Tuscaloosa included in the GO Zone? Well, the article states it is because of the hundreds of evacuees who remained here for weeks after the hurricane. Tuscaloosa only received minor damage compared to the rest of the Katrina disaster areas. Tuscaloosa held a larger number of Katrina evacuees after the natural disaster. But,the area was apparently deemed a disaster area before the GO Zone was developed. Still, I’m left wondering if Tuscaloosa really needs all of the tax help given to areas that suffered greatly from Katrina. Please note that The tax break is not available to people who buy a home for their own use in Tuscaloosa.

Many are wondering if Senator Richard Shelby (a Tuscaloosa native) was the main reason for Tuscaloosa County being included in the GO Zone. Shelby has a long history of bringing money to West Alabama, as well as the state of Alabama as a whole. He does have a seat on the Appropriations Committee, which brought this bill to life.

People all across the nation and the state seem to be getting in on the act as well. From the AP story linked above:

Dave Toombs, a real estate investor from Irvine, Calif., with no connection to Alabama, bought two new, upscale townhouses at The Traditions, just minutes from campus, as investment properties. He said he hopes to use GO Zone tax benefits when he files his taxes.

“If we qualify for the GO Zone it will be icing on the cake,” said Toombs, who is consulting with an accountant because the rules are complicated. “It’s another plus check to put in the column.”

Tuscaloosa real estate broker Richard Ellis said an investor from Birmingham contacted him about GO Zone property and wound up buying 30 condo units for about $180,000 each.

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Offensive Juggernaut or Defensive Woes?

So, the team recently held a scrimmage that was closed to the public and the media. How did the team do? Well, it appeared to be mixed results since the offense had their way with the defense. From Paul Gattis of the Huntsville Times:

In the 92-play scrimmage closed to reporters and the public, the offense piled up 596 yards and eight touchdowns, according to statistics provided by the UA media relations department.

That breaks down to 6.5 yards per play and one touchdown per 11.5 plays

Some of the offensive standouts included Nikita Stover, Mike McCoy, Terry Grant, and Jimmy Johns.

The worst thing about scrimmaging is the emotional confusion fans go through after hearing the stats. On one hand, we want to be amazed and extremely happy about our powerful offense. On the other hand, we’re all starting to feel pretty nervous about what the defense might look like come game time. It’s a mixed bag for most schools, even UGA.

For now, it is probably wise for the fans to just sit back and wait until the first few games to see what we have. I’m as excited as the next person; but, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

We’ll see some improvements, I have no doubt about that. But, it probably won’t be enough to take down every single tough team we face. I just hope we can actually improve as the season progresses, unlike the last few years. Maybe by the time we take on Tennessee, LSU, or Auburn, we’ll be good enough to pull out a win or two.

LOL BAMA

Yes, I too have fallen for the craze of the lolcats. So, I decided to try a test run of what I like to call LOLBama. It’s mostly of Bama coaches and administrators, but there will be a few “outsiders” included as well. I hope this post isn’t a HUGE failure.

Yes, there are more to see.