MLILY Mattresses in Mobile, AL

Introductory one-way fares start at $29

HOUSTON, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Avelo Airlines announced today three new nonstop routes, extending Avelo's U.S. network to 37 destinations:

Avelo Airlines Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said, "We are excited to introduce South Carolina's Upcountry and Mobile, Alabama to Avelo's low fares, industry-leading reliability, and caring service. Travel is now more convenient than ever with the addition of these two small, fast and easy hometown airports. We look forward to welcoming aboard our new Mobile and Greenville-Spartanburg Customers."

All three routes will operate on Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. Customers can make reservations at AveloAir.com.

America's Affordable and Convenient Airline

Avelo was founded with a vision to help its Customers save money and time. Since taking flight on April 28, 2021, Avelo has flown more than 1.8 million Customers on more than 15,000 flights.

In addition to offering Customers everyday low fares on every route, Avelo Customers can always change or cancel their itineraries with no extra fees. Avelo also offers several unbundled travel-enhancing options that give Customers the flexibility to pay for what they value, including priority boarding, checked bags, carry-on overhead bags, and bringing a pet in the cabin.

Additionally, the American-made Boeing 737 jets Avelo flies offer a more spacious and comfortable experience than the small regional aircraft currently operating at most of the airports Avelo serves. Customers who value an advance seat assignment can choose from several modestly priced seating options, including seats with extra leg room, as well as pre-reserved window and aisle seating. One third of seats on Avelo aircraft are available for Customers who appreciate the comfort of extra legroom.

The airline has unlocked a new era of convenience, choice and competition in air travel by flying unserved routes to primarily underserved communities across the country. At least one airport on every Avelo flight is a small hometown airport – making every Avelo journey easier and more enjoyable.

At Avelo, every flight is also nonstop. This connection-free travel experience not only provides Avelo Customers with a faster and simpler travel experience, but also minimizes delays, cancellations and lost bags. In fact, Avelo has established itself as one of America's most reliable airlines with industry-leading on time, completion factor and checked bag handling performance.

Avelo is distinguished by its Soul of Service culture. The culture is grounded in Avelo's One Crew Value which promotes a welcoming and caring experience. By caring for one another and owning their commitments, Avelo Crewmembers focus on anticipating and understanding Customer needs on the ground and in the air.

About Avelo Airlines

Avelo Airlines was founded with a simple purpose — to Inspire Travel. The airline offers Customers time and money-saving convenience, low everyday fares, and a refreshingly smooth and caring experience through its Soul of Service culture. Operating a fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, Avelo serves 37 popular destinations across the U.S., including its five bases at Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Southern Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN), Orlando International Airport (MCO), the Delaware Valley's Wilmington Airport (ILG) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). For more information visit AveloAir.com or the Avelo Newsroom at AveloAir.com/Newsroom.

Media Contact:Avelo AirlinesCourtney Goffcgoff@aveloair.com

*Very low, one-way fares include government taxes and fees. The introductory fares start at $29 between MCO and BFM and at $49 between GSP and MCO and GSP and HVN for travel completed by September 6, 2023. Fares must be booked by March 17, 2023. Fares are available on a limited number of flights and seats. Additional fees for carry-on and checked bags, assigned seats and other optional services may apply. A $20 charge per seated traveler applies to all bookings or changes made through Avelo's Customer Support Center. For full terms and conditions, please see Avelo's Contract of Carriage.

SOURCE Avelo Airlines

Randy Harper loads up his RV every year before Carnival in Mobile begins and parks underneath Interstate 10 for multiple weeks of food, family gatherings, fellowship, and fun.

It’s a Mobile Mardi Gras tradition with a murky future: Harper and the 100-plus campers underneath the interstate are being told the end is near for RV City.

Mardi Gras concludes with Fat Tuesday today, and RV City officially closes for the year on Saturday.

After a 23-year run, the question now looms: Could this be RV City’s final closure?

“I don’t know about the revenue flow, and I don’t know how much we bring into the city or what it’s worth for them,” said Harper, 71, of Pensacola, Florida. “But for the enjoyment of us here, it’s well worth it.”

RV City, the 119-space makeshift campsite underneath I-10 and bordered by Water, Canal and Jackson streets, is poised to be a staging ground for construction crews during the forthcoming Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project.

The project’s construction is scheduled to begin early next year, at which time the grounds utilized for RV City are set to be occupied.

If that occurs, the campers will not have the same place to go to during Mardi Gras since RV City first opened in 2000.

Further, the future looks cloudy for a return of RV City once the interstate project is completed. The site of RV City is expected to become green space, or possibly a park, once the new bridge is built. Future plans do not call for the area reopening as an RV park.

For now, the campers enjoying the final days of Mardi Gras are skeptical. They said they have heard about its pending closure before.

RV City’s fate has been in flux for years, even before the I-10 project loomed. Campers were told in 2015, for instance, to prepare for its pending closure.

“Everyone thinks that every year is the last year,” said Kolbi Wright, 36, of Mobile, who has ventured out with her family to camp at RV City during Mardi Gras for the past five years.

James Gordon, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Transportation’s Southwest Region in Mobile, said the state informed Mobile city officials that “this will be the last year for Mardi Gras” in which RV City can operate.

“We expect to break ground around this time next year for the bridge,” Gordon said.

Of course, Gordon noted, plans can change, and they have before on the massive interstate bridge and bayway project. A previous version of the I-10 project was supposed to begin in 2019, but that was halted amid political blowback over a proposed $6 one-way toll, and a public-private partnership arrangement for the project’s ownership and financing.

“We know how projects are and there could be a delay and it might be April (2024),” Gordon said, referring to the possibility that RV City could have another Mardi Gras remaining. “But we do hope to (break ground) in January and February. If for some reason there is a delay, (RV City) can be used again. It’s a year-to-year thing.”

Eliminating RV City is viewed as a necessity as the state prepares to press forward with the newest $2.7 billion I-10 project that features a 210-foot-tall bridge over the Mobile River.

The interstate exit leading motorists to the new bridge will be located south of RV City.

The newest project also includes a 7.5-mile elevated I-10 Bayway connecting downtown Mobile to Daphne.

Tolls will remain on the new project, at $2.50 for a one-way pass if a motorist purchases an ALGO Pass. It’s unclear how much the pass will cost. Without an ALGO Pass, the toll fee is $5.50 for a one-way trip over the new infrastructure. The Wallace Tunnel, Africatown Bridge and the Spanish Fort Causeway will remain free routes.

ALDOT has a goal of finishing the project by 2028.

Omaha-based Kiewit Infrastructure is in negotiations with ALDOT on a joint venture team to oversee the design and construction of the bridge over the Mobile River. A separate design-build contract will be rewarded later this spring on the Bayway portion of the project.

“We’ve given the city a notice that … more than likely, this will be the last year,” Gordon said.

Laura Sullivan, 55, and Beth Phillips, 51, both sisters from Mobile, hope the city is preparing for an alternative if this is – in fact – the final year for RV City. For 20-plus years, family and friends have flocked to their campground during Mardi Gras for social gatherings.

“That’s what I tell my people, come hang out,” said Phillips. “It’s a tradition here.”

While the property is owned by the state, the city helps maintain it and the two government agencies evenly split the revenues from the leases. In prior years, RV City would be jammed with almost 200 vehicles. But in recent years, the spaces have widened – giving campers more room – so now there are 119 available.

The fee to lease a space for the Mardi Gras season is between $400 to $450. Sullivan said she believes the RVs bring in enough revenue to validate the city’s interest in maintaining a site for them. As she said, there is no additional costs for running water or electricity to RV City. Campers also rent their own portable toilets during the Mardi Gras season.

“This is good revenue for the city,” Sullivan said.

Jason Johnson, a spokesman with the city of Mobile, said that city officials have not identified an alternative location for RV City, but added “we are open to ideas and suggestions on ways we could help accommodate RVs during Mardi Gras in the future.”

There are no RV parks in the immediate vicinity of downtown Mobile. Campers can be spotted parked at lots spread through the downtown area during Carnival season.

Wright said she anticipates the city offering more public parking through downtown to accommodate the vehicles.

“We hope so,” she said. “It’s easier with kids. There is somewhere for them to nap and somewhere to go eat.”

Harper said he hopes to be back to RV City again next year. If not, he will be return to Mobile for Mardi Gras, even it means parking somewhere else.

“I would like to think they are looking (for an alternative RV location) already,” Harper said. “As long as I am able to come down here, and (they have a lot), I’ll use it and I’ll be here.”

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MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Mayors of Alabama’s largest cities want to open up the hood on the state’s online sales tax program, amid worries that cities that impose high sales tax rates may be losing out on revenue.

AL.com reports mayors of the state’s 10 largest cities want state lawmakers this year to mandate more data be provided about online sales taxes.

While the combined city, county and state sales tax rate in most Alabama cities is higher than 9%, the state’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax collects only 8%.

Whether traditional sales tax or online tax is collected, the state gets a 4% cut. Cities get 60% of the other half of the 8% online rate, while counties get 40%, with individual amounts determined by population.

That’s a good deal for counties, because Alabama cities often reap a larger share of local sales tax revenue. Cities and counties fought over how the money was divided in 2018 and 2019. The program generated $634 million in the budget year ended Sept. 30, up 65% over two years.

Mayors aren’t yet proposing a re-division. Instead they say they want figures on where purchases are coming from, so they can compare that to their current shares of online sales tax.

“With transparency, we can ensure that our schools, police departments and road networks are receiving the investments they have earned,” Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said.

No bill to require more data has yet been filed.

Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said he believes mayors want a larger share of the pie.

He said that to meet mayors’ demands, the state would have to repeal confidentiality laws that bar disclosure of how much any one taxpayer pays.

“No city in Alabama can disclose the amount of sales tax paid by an individual business inside its jurisdiction,” Brasfield said. “That information is private and essential to a business’ success.”

The mayors say they need to know the total online sales tax activity originating in their cities, not how much any one business pays. They also argue that the 8% rate is unfair to businesses that must charge higher rates for purchases made at their stores.

“We think that cities, counties, school systems, and Alabama taxpayers ought to be able to get a clear picture of our how online sales tax system works in order to have certainty and plan for the future and know that our local small businesses are being treated fairly,” said Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson.

Frank Miles, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Revenue, said state law currently precludes the type of disclosures the mayors might be seeking, because Alabama only collects statewide online sales figures and is barred from collecting local level data.

Lucky fans might have caught a treat thrown by none other than rising rap and R&B star Bleu as the Krewe de Secondline followed the Crewe of Columbus through downtown Mobile Friday evening.

The rapper, who skyrocketed to national and international notice in the last few years, had a spot at the tail end of the Krewe de Secondline parade, on the very last float of the night. No particular signage or fanfare drew attention to the fact that a star was on board, but Bleu wasn’t wearing a mask as he tossed throws to the crowd.

The whole thing began on Jan. 25 when Bleu posted on Facebook, “I’m tryna be on a float this year I’m celebrating Mardi Gras in my city this year.” A couple of days later he followed that up with, “I want my own float somebody help” and a moneybag emoji.

After a few suggestions and offers, Bleu apparently made the contacts he needed and the conversation moved out of the public view. But as Feb. 17 approached, Bleu began letting fans know that was going to be his night. He also asked for some suggestions on where to get throws, and joked that he might try to bring along one of the many high-profile collaborators he’s found: “I’m fenna get Ashanti to get on the float Friday lol she ain’t gone tell me no,” he posted.

Late in the week, he posted a photo showing a trailer loaded with dozens of cases of throwable snacks. “We going crazy tomar y’all gone have diabetes when I’m done,” he said.

After the parade, however, he apologized for underestimating, and indicated that he’ll do better when he participates in another parade on Monday. “Man we ran outta S--- the first block I thought we had more than enough,” he said on Facebook. “(W)e coming way harder skinny Monday I got trucks of s--- coming.”

On his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/OfficialYungBleu, Bleu posted several video clips from the parade.

Bleu, born Jeremy Biddle, started his career in Mobile as Yung Bleu with a prolific catalog of releases, including a series of “Investments” mixtapes and R&B-oriented “Bleu Vandross” material. He broke through to national notice thanks in part to a high-profile endorsement by superstar Drake on a 2020 remix of the single “You’re Mines Still,” followed by the release of the album “Moon Boy” in 2021.

Bleu has remained an independent artist whose strength has been the streaming success of his songs. While he doesn’t boast a list of Top 10 singles in the conventional arena of radio play, he has won some significant industry recognition in the form of awards: In 2021 he won “Best New Artist” at the BET Awards, as well as the same honor at the Soul Train Awards.

He recently released “Tantra,” a follow-up album to “Moon Boy.” One of his newest ventures has been the construction of a studio facility he calls “Moon Boy University.”

Brandon Miller’s homecoming was a successful one. After Alabama won the second Southeastern Conference tournament championship in the Nate Oats era, Miller was named the most outstanding player of all the competitors who rolled through Bridgestone Arena.

Miller, playing about 12 miles from his hometown of Antioch, Tenn., posted a combined 61 points, 33 rebounds, 13 assists and five steals in three games.

“Just really excited for the guys. They’ve pushed me since May 28th to be the guy who I am today,” Miller said postgame.

It was the latest accolade for the star freshman. On Saturday, he was retroactively added to the Wooden Award watchlist, the third national honor he’s deemed a finalist. Miller broke Collin Sexton’s single-season points record (632 in 2017-18) for a freshman later in the day against Missouri. He took over the second half, rallying from a four-point deficit.

“He’s going to have a great NBA career. So want to congratulate Brandon on (the record). It’s a big deal. He’s played really well for us,” Oats said on Saturday.

Miller and the Tide have been the subject of national attention this week. A group of Vanderbilt fans chanted “Bran-don kill-ler” at him during warmups yesterday. Two Alabama fans also wore shirts that read ‘killin’ our way through the SEC,’ an apparent reference to the Jan. 15 shooting involving former Tide player Darius Miles.

Missouri’s D’Moi Hodge, Vanderbilt’s Ezra Manjon, Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV, Alabama’s Charles Bediako, Jahvon Quinerly and Miller were named to the All-SEC tournament first team.

RELATED: Everything Nate Oats said after winning SEC championship

Brandon Miller comes home to SEC tournament with spotlight and controversy

ALABAMA MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON AWARDS

Brandon Miller: Sporting News first-team All-America; Naismith Award semifinalist; Wooden Award final 15; USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy late-season watch list; Julius Erving Award final five; SEC player of the year (coaches vote); SEC player of the year (Associated Press vote); SEC freshman of the year (coaches vote); SEC newcomer of the year (Associated Press vote); All-SEC first team (coaches vote); All-SEC first team (Associated Press vote); SEC all-freshman team (coaches vote); SEC tournament first team; SEC tournament MVP

Jahvon Quinerly: SEC co-sixth man of the year (coaches vote); SEC tournament first team

Charles Bediako: SEC all-defensive team (coaches vote); SEC tournament first team

Mark Sears: All-SEC second team (coaches vote)

Noah Clowney: SEC all-freshman team (coaches vote)

Jaden Bradley: SEC all-freshman team (coaches vote)

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com.