Top Headlines: Birmingham water start-up, Future USS Mobile christened

Birmingham smart water company dips into market in 2020
A Birmingham start-up is aiming to deliver a water purification system next year that will allow users to create flavored, enhanced water in their own homes. Purilan has raised just under a million dollars and is currently using crowdfunding to market their system, which they hope to deliver to users by the end of 2020. – AL.com

Future USS Mobile christened amid fanfare in namesake city
Amid high fanfare, the Littoral Combat Ship that will enter service as the USS Mobile was christened Saturday morning at the Austal USA shipyard on the Mobile waterfront. Over the years, the milestones of a ship’s progress – the first cutsthe keel-layings, the christenings and so on – have become somewhat routine at the facility. Not this one: Hundreds of spectators and dignitaries were on hand, and many of them were seated underneath the massive arch formed by one wing of the aluminum trimaran hull. – AL.com

Alabama brewery opens new Huntsville location
He hasn’t trimmed his beard since the buildout began in April. With Rocket Republic Brewing’s Huntsville location finally opening, Mark Hogan plans to tidy his now ZZ Top worthy facial-hair. “I told myself I wouldn’t trim it until we open,” Hogan says. Hogan, who does creative, marketing and sales for Rocket Republic, has overseen buildout of the Madison founded brewery’s 617 Meridian St. N. facility. It’s located next door to longtime Huntsville watering hole Furniture Factory. – AL.com

ACHE recommends $121M higher ed budget to Legislature
Alabama Commission on Higher Education commissioners have approved a $121 million budget recommendation for higher education for FY 2020-21.  The amount represents a 6.8% increase over the FY 2019-20 appropriation. “This recommendation will bring Alabama’s public colleges and universities closer to their pre-recession (2008) level of support from the Education Trust Fund,” said ACHE Executive Director Jim Purcell.  “The proposal provides for a minimum increase of five percent for all institutions and provides additional funding for particular campus activities or needs.” – AL Political Reporter

Redstone expected to grow to 50,000 workers by 2025
A U.S. Army installation in Alabama will grow from 44,000 employees to more than 50,000 by 2025, its commander said. About $2 billion in infrastructure projects in the next five years will keep Redstone growing, said Lt. Gen. Edward Daly, the senior commander of Redstone Arsenal. Daly made the comments at a recent meeting of the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce. – AP

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Honda embracing auto shows as other carmakers back away
Like a beacon of light, Honda’s new show stand offered a contrast with the darker displays of some of its peers during last month’s expo here. That’s on purpose. Honda wants to create a vibrant, enthusiastic atmosphere for visitors to its stand. Not so much for the auto writers who blow in for a couple days, but for the real audience: future car buyers who attend the dozens of shows across the country and use them to add vehicles and brands to their shopping lists, or to scratch them off. – AutoNews

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