Call Center Company in Mobile, AL

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - 911 transcripts reveal a woman is claiming self-defense after she stabbed her boyfriend to death.

This all happened on April 3, shortly after midnight on Dyson Boulevard in Semmes.

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office said the woman stabbed her boyfriend, 58-year-old Bryan Maurice Edwards, in the chest during a fight.

MCSO said this isn’t the first time there’s been a domestic incident at this house.

All of that is clear in the 911 transcripts.

Penelope House Executive Director Tonie Ann Torrans said signs of domestic violence aren’t always clear.

“So rarely do you see anything in the early stages, but certainly you notice little things,” Torrans said. “In retrospect, when you’re looking back at those little things, they start becoming a pattern. As far as day-to-day things, the respect, communication. If those things aren’t there, if you’re with a group of friends and you’re proud to introduce your boyfriend, but on the other hand if you’re not proud to introduce your boyfriend, why is that?”

Torrans said oftentimes, people in domestic violence relationships excuse the behavior of their abuser, which can lead to more physical, emotional or verbal abuse and sometimes even worse.

She said if you or someone you know is an abusive relationship, speak up as soon as possible, it could save your life.

“It’s scary because victims know their perpetrator better than anyone else and a lot of times from the outside, if you said “Why don’t you just leave,” that kind of thing. They know their abuser and how dangerous it is if they leave,” she said. “The question to them is how do you leave safely. We always say call our crisis line because you know if you say I’m going to stay with my friend, he knows your friends, he knows where they live. If he shows up there, you’re not just in danger, your friend is now in danger. Come to shelter and be safe and then you can kind of think how do I want to move forward.”

The woman has not been charged at this time. A grand jury will now decide if any charges will be filed.

Torrans urges anyone who might be in a similar situation to call their 24/7 domestic violence hotline.

Copyright 2025 WALA. All rights reserved.

This Eid Al Fitr will forever remain special for Rubel Ahmed Samsad Ali, who won a brand-new car in an event dedicated to honouring the hard work and contributions of workers across the UAE.

The 24-year-old, a painter at Globe Building Contracting LLC, was overjoyed when his name was called. "I rushed to hug the officials on stage; I couldn't believe my luck," Rubel shared with Khaleej Times.

Having lived in the UAE for three years, Rubel plans to sell the white Nissan Sunny he won in the Eid draw held on the second day of the holiday. "I want to build a house and send some money to my mother," said the Bangladeshi expat, who hails from Sylhet division, Sunamganj town. Back home, his mother and the rest of his family members were also thrilled to hear the news.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels

Although Rubel's fixed salary is Dh800, he manages to earn up to Dh1,500 through overtime. He lives in Jebel Ali and plans to continue working with the same company even after his big win. He celebrated with his roommates, spending around Dh200 on his friends. "It was a small gesture to share my happiness," Rubel added.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre), in collaboration with its partners in federal and local governments, organised a series of celebratory events, including social and recreational activities for workers to celebrate Eid Al Fitr, held at 10 different locations across the UAE.

The Eid event celebrated the contributions of over 100,000 workers who have played a crucial role in the country’s development and prosperity. Rubel’s win, a standout moment of the occasion, reflected the UAE's appreciation for its workers' dedication in shaping the nation’s progress.

The celebrations, from 12pm to 6pm, on the first and second days of Eid, featured a variety of sports, entertainment, competitions and giveaways, including e-scooters, mobile phones and airline tickets.

Gifts were also distributed to workers at event locations in Musaffah and Al Mafraq in Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali in Dubai, Al Sajaa in Sharjah, Al Jurf in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, RAKIZ in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hail Industrial in Fujairah, and the Dulsco Labour Village.

These activities were designed to promote happiness, quality of life, and well-being among the workforce, while recognising their crucial role in the nation's sustainable development.

Officials from the Mohre, along with its partners, joined workers in performing the Eid prayers at the event sites across the country, exchanging greetings with them on the occasion.

Ajanta Paul is a Senior Editor on the Digital team. A natural leader and newshound, she thrives in b...More

MoHRE hosts sports, entertainment events to recognise workers, pulse of our achievements

3 MIN READ

MoHRE/X

Dubai: This Eid Al Fitr has turned lucky for some workers in the UAE as they have won a car, e-scooter, smartphone, shopping vouchers and more during special Eid celebrations arranged for them.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), in collaboration with its partners in federal and local governments, has organised a series of celebratory events, including social and recreational activities for workers to celebrate Eid Al Fitr.

"In recognition of the workers’ efforts and valuable contributions to the UAE’s journey of development and prosperity, In collaboration with our government partners and with the participation of over 100,000 workers across the country, a special draw for valuable prizes was organised as part of Eid Al Fitr celebrations, including a car that was awarded to Rubel Ahmed Samsad Ali within an atmosphere of warmth and joy," the ministry said in a post on X.

"This initiative is part of our commitment to bring happiness to our workers, highlighting their pivotal role in building our nation’s developmental journey," it pointed out. Videos posted on X by the ministry showed workers actively participating in sports and games and witnessing a variety of entertainment events organised for them. The videos also showed ministry officials giving away the exciting prizes to the winners.

10 locations

Held at 10 different locations across the country, the initiative was launched under the slogan ‘Our Workers Are the Pulse of Our Achievements.’

“The agenda of the events featured raffles with valuable prizes, including a car giveaway, folkloric performances, competitions, and the distribution of gifts to workers at event locations in Mussafah and Al Mafraq in Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali in Dubai, Al Sajaa in Sharjah, Al Jurf in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, RAKIZ in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hail Industrial in Fujairah, and the Dulsco Labour Village,” the ministry said in press release.

Also In This Package

How Dubai spreads Eid cheer with gifts for thousands

Video: Did you get this special Eid stamp in Dubai?

“The agenda of the events featured raffles with valuable prizes, including a car giveaway, folkloric performances, competitions, and the distribution of gifts to workers at event locations in Mussafah and Al Mafraq in Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali in Dubai, Al Sajaa in Sharjah, Al Jurf in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, RAKIZ in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hail Industrial in Fujairah, and the Dulsco Labour Village,” the ministry said in press release.

A video posted on X by the ministry showed workers actively participating in sports and games and witnessing a variety of entertainment events organised for them. The video also showed ministry officials giving away the exciting prizes to winners.

In another tweet, the ministry had carried the image of a car as the mega prize.

Special Eidgahs

Earlier, employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, along with its partners, joined workers in performing the Eid prayers at the event sites across the country, exchanging greetings with them on this joyous occasion.

In another post, the ministry said arrangements for workers to offer Eid prayers were made closer to their accommodation clusters.

“The celebratory activities form part of the sustainable strategy that the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has established in collaboration with its partners, which aims to include workers in all national celebrations, events, and holidays in the UAE, in an effort to enhance their social integration. This, in turn, aligns with the Ministry’s vision to ensure workers’ happiness, quality of life, and wellbeing, while also shedding light on the vital role they play in the country’s sustainable development,” the ministry added.

Related Topics:

Eid

Mobile city officials approved the largest financial package ever for a city project on Tuesday by locking down the contract and financing to build a new downtown arena that will serve as the future home for Mardi Gras balls, concerts, and minor league hockey.

With a unanimous vote, the Mobile City Council approved a 20-year, $250 million bonding arrangement to pay for the approximately $300 million arena project. In addition, the council also unanimously OK’d a $237.4 million contract with Birmingham-based B.L. Harbert International, the low-bidder that will construct the new venue.

The approvals marked the end of a long journey, spanning multiple mayoral administrations over 20 years, to find a replacement for the former Civic Center complex. The 60-year-old arena and theater were recently demolished, and Expo Hall, currently housing two large mosaics destined for the new arena, will be torn down within the next two years.

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson called the council’s decisions “monumental,” and said he anticipated construction beginning sometime by mid-March.

No timetable has been given on a groundbreaking ceremony.

“We have a well-designed arena, a great contractor and at the price we anticipate we hoped it would come in at,” Stimpson said.

Contract, timeline

Stimpson acknowledged the arena, which will seat over 10,000 people and will be managed by the OVG Group, represents the most expensive project in the city’s history in today’s dollars. But he said the risks would have remained if the former arena continued to stand without any significant renovations, costing taxpayers approximately $2 million in annual operation costs.

“Maybe 10 years from now, there will be a $1 billion in investment going into that footprint,” Stimpson said. “My speculation is (the new arena) will not lose $2 million a year. It’s a huge transformation.”

The project’s overall price includes not only the arena, but also the construction of an adjacent parking deck, the demolition of the existing facilities, the relocation and eventual reinstallation of the two large mosaics and their temporary storage inside Expo Hall, a new sprinkler system, among other things.

Eight additional project add-ons were also included in B.L. Harbert’s bid including color lighting on the arena’s roof. Each one of the add-ons could have been removed from the project if the overall bids would have driven the price tag above $300 million. Other add-ons included streetscape improvements, two balconies, a locker room, a team store, and additional sports lighting.

The project is on a tight timeline, with an expected completion occurring in January 2027. But with Mardi Gras Day coming early that year on Feb. 9, there could be a scramble to get the arena completed so the project doesn’t upend three Carnival seasons.

The former Civic Center complex was, through last year, a major venue hosting some of the largest balls of the Carnival season. This year’s season has led to additional balls at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center, while other mystic societies have outright cancelled their balls or trimmed them down to smaller gatherings.

Stimpson is confident that B.L. Harbert can hit the early 2027 targeted opening for the new venue. He also credited Volkert Inc., the firm hired to provide consultancy to the city on the Civic Center project, for its accuracy on pricing and timelines.

“Thus far, we’ve been able to hit the hurdles, milestones and they’ve been dead on,” Stimpson said. “The contractor doing this is keenly aware of (Mardi Gras). There is pressure to bring this in on time. There are a lot of people with Mardi Gras paying attention to the schedule now that we have the costs, and the contractor nailed down.”

Unresolved issues

A few issues, particularly with generating revenue to pay down the building’s debt, remain unresolved. The biggest issue is a 2-percentage point increase in the city’s lodging tax and the approval of the state’s first Tourism Improvement District (TID), which will generate an additional 2 percentage points by 2026.

The increases will represent the first lodging tax rate increase in Mobile in 21 years.

The overall 4 percentage point increase is targeted to generate revenue to support marketing efforts by Visit Mobile, the city’s convention and visitor’s bureau. The money is also expected provide funding to the Mobile Airport Authority to help incentivize new commercial air service from a new $381 million terminal under construction at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. The city is planning a complete swap of commercial airline service by moving all its legacy carriers from Mobile Regional Airport in west Mobile to the Mobile International Airport at Brookley.

The lodging tax increases are also expected to raise additional revenues that will go toward paying the arena’s debt over the next 20 years. After the debt is retired, 100% of the revenue from the tax revenue will be designated to the city’s General Fund.

A hiccup occurred in recent weeks over the allocation that is going to Visit Mobile. Under a previous plan, 37.5% of the city’s portion of its existing lodging tax – 8 percent – would have gone to Visit Mobile, up from 33.5%.

Visit Mobile officials said hoteliers approved them receiving 37.5% of the full 10% lodging tax. The support from hoteliers is contingent on a five-year approval of TID, which assessing the additional money for marketing Visit Mobile.

Councilman Josh Woods said he would like to see more of the lodging tax increase go toward funding the new airport. Under the current arrangement, the Mobile Airport Authority will receive $1 million this year, $2 million in 2026, $2.5 million by 2027, and $3 million in 2028. Initially, the city had hoped to provide $3 million this year and in every subsequent year to incentivize new flights from the new airport terminal.

James Barber, the chief of staff to Stimpson, said there will not be any additional revenues to offset the arena’s debt for four years. The agreement calls that any revenues above the $3 million going to the airport, will be diverted to the arena’s debt payments.

“My hang up is that with the additional lodging tax, the best intentions on that will not be experienced (until the fourth year),” Woods said.

David Clark, president & CEO with Visit Mobile, said it would take too long to re-petition 62 different hotel properties to scale back on the funding formula to Visit Mobile while providing additional funding to incentivize the airport and pay down the arena’s debt. The TID expires by late May, so any approval on extending the program and raising the lodging tax will need to be completed in the coming weeks.

Clark said the TID extension, lasting until 2030, would allow the city to be competitive in tourism funding and marketing. Other Southern cities, like Birmingham and Charleston, South Carolina, fund their tourism marketing at a much higher level, Clark said.

Stimpson said he is confident an approval will come in the next two weeks.

But another unknown also looms – how much will the Mobile County Commission provide toward the project?

Commissioners could vote next month on an appropriation that is likely not to exceed $10 million. Some discussions suggest a lower amount, though commissioners declined to comment on their considerations.

“I’d like it to be more than $10 million, but we’ll just see what they do,” Stimpson said. “In the past, we’ve collaborated and supported each other’s projects. This is the biggest thing we’ve ever done. For them not to participate in this would raise a lot of questions.”

Mobile Civic Center

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The SS United States has made it through the first leg of its final journey on Monday.

The ship made it to Mobile, Alabama, Monday, where it will undergo preparations to become the world's largest artificial reef.

Crews will spend about six months cleaning and preparing the ship before it is eventually sunk off Florida's Gulf coast.

"There will be teams of upwards of 30 people on board pulling out all of those hazardous materials, the leftover fuel oil that's still on board, wiring plastics, glass - all of those things that we can't deploy will be removed," said Alex Fogg, the natural resources chief for Destin Beach, Florida.

"The last thing we want to do is harm the environment we're trying to help," Fogg continued.

The 1,800-mile journey from Philadelphia to Alabama is the ship's 401st voyage.

The voyage started February 19, when the ocean liner departed South Philadelphia.

It left about four months after a years-old rent dispute was resolved between the conservancy that oversees the ship and its landlord. Plans to move the vessel last November were delayed over U.S. Coast Guard concerns about whether the ship was stable enough to make the trip.

Large crowds gathered to say goodbye to the iconic ship after being docked along the Delaware River for nearly 30 years.

SS United States enthusiasts were able to track the ship's journey on the Destin-Fort Walton Beach website.

Monday's arrival is two days ahead of schedule.

"In the spirit of her record-breaking history, America's Flagship concluded her journey from Philadelphia to Mobile faster than anticipated. As she moved through the waves for the first time in 28 years, countless onlookers and admirers along the country's eastern seaboard were inspired by her majesty and beauty," said SS United States Conservancy President Susan Gibbs.

The tugboat crew sped up that process as severe storms are expected in the Mobile area Monday night.

RELATED: SS United States met with rough seas, high winds as it voyages to its new home

The 1,000-foot (305-meter) vessel will next be towed into the port of Mobile Ship Yards, which is an all-day process.

In fall 2024, Florida's Okaloosa County bought the ship after approving a $10.1 million plan to relocate the ocean liner, sink it and build a $1 million seaside museum chronicling its history.

The ship will be the first artificial reef to be paired with a unique shoreside museum and visitor's center.

RELATED: Ship sinking expert explains how the SS United States will be prepped for its underwater grave

The ship's final home will be under about 180 feet (55 meters) of water 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast of Destin, Florida.

Okaloosa County hopes the ship will become a destination for scuba divers and attract fish and other wildlife as a reef. It won't be the only shipwreck habitat they have.

Christened in 1952, the SS United States was once considered a beacon of American engineering, doubling as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops. On its maiden voyage from New York to France in 1952, it shattered the transatlantic speed record in both directions, when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph (66 kph).

On that voyage, the ship crossed the Atlantic in three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, besting the RMS Queen Mary's time by 10 hours. To this day, the SS United States -- which is nearly as large as the Chrysler Building -- holds the transatlantic speed record for an ocean liner.

It was originally designed to transport troops and was then reimagined into an ocean liner with passengers who included four U.S. presidents and celebrities.

It became a reserve ship in 1969 and later bounced to various private owners who hoped to redevelop it but eventually found their plans to be too expensive or poorly timed.

Report a correction or typo

Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.