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July 2025 | Volume 18 | Issue 9
Turn that old jewelry into CASH.
Sell us your GOLD.
Cummings JEWELRY DESIGN
SERVING THE 280 CORRIDOR, HOMEWOOD, HOOVER, MOUNTAIN BROOK, TRUSSVILLE AND VESTAVIA HILLS
THE 280 CORRIDOR’S COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE 280LIVING.COM | STARNESMEDIA.COM
The Dads Are Back
3166 Heights Village Cahaba Heights
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SPECIAL REPORT
Where the heck am I?
Hoover Dad Brigade is back to clean up Hoover’s 280-corridor schools.
See page A8
All-South Metro
Hoover
Inverness
How annexation and urban sprawl turned US 280 into a bureaucratic maze
Birmingham
Cahaba Heights
By TAYLOR BRIGHT and TIM STEPHENS
I
t wasn’t the grease fire that shut down Hamburger Heaven on a rainy June Saturday afternoon. That had happened the week before — the Hoover Fire Department showed up for that one. But this time, it was an electrical issue, and the flashing red lights belonged to Cahaba Valley Fire & Rescue. Same restaurant. Different day. Different departments. That wouldn’t surprise owner Pete Flach, who opened this location in 1997. “It’s very confusing,” Flach said. “I’m still not sure who I call if we have a fire.” Welcome to the U.S. 280 corridor. No single city governs the congested stretch that extends from Interstate 459 in Jefferson County east to Chelsea. What was once farmland and country stores has become a sprawl of big-box retail and gated subdivisions. And none of it happened by accident.
See which U.S. 280 corridor athletes made the Starnes Media All-South Metro baseball and softball teams.
See pages B6-8
INSIDE Sponsors.......... A4 City.....................A6 Schoolhouse.... A8 Business.......... A10
RECORD HIGH PRICES!
Cahaba Valley Greystone Chelsea
See MAZE | page A16
Real Estate..... A14 Events................B4 Sports................B6 Community..... B10
INSIDE
► Mapping the maze: How decades of annexations and sprawl created a confusing corridor. ► Jurisdictional roulette: On U.S. 280, even 911 calls depend on which lane you’re driving. ► Maze of consequences: Your ZIP code, taxes, trash pickup and voting precinct might not match, and that’s just the start.
Former local prep stars like Briarwood’s Christopher Vizzina have navigated the new, professionalized world of college sports in real time
THE NEW PLAYBOOK facebook.com/280living
By KYLE PARMLEY For Christopher Vizzina, the college football dream started early — and required an early maturity to match. The former Briarwood Christian School quarterback was a nationally sought-after recruit with more than 30 offers, making cross-country visits to some of the nation’s top programs. He
ultimately chose Clemson, a decision rooted not just in prestige, but in identity. “I committed to Clemson because it fit who I was as a person and as a player,” Vizzina said. “Coach [Dabo] Swinney is an elite recruiter as well as an elite coach. He recruited me very hard.”
Former Briarwood quarterback Christopher Vizzina, now at Clemson University, is learning to navigate a collegiate landscape turned on its head by rapid changes and preparing for universities to directly pay athletes for the first time. Photo courtesy of Todd Kwarcinski.
See THE NEW PLAYBOOK | page A18
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