For nearly 25 years, the general standard for whether a state could compel a mail-order or online retailer to collect sales tax from customers was that retailer’s physical presence (or lack thereof) in that state. More recently, some states have tweaked their laws so that total sales — and not physical connection — is the determining factor. Online tech store Newegg is the latest retailer to challenge these new rules, taking issue with Alabama’s determination that the company owes the state more than $185,000 in sales tax. [More]
alabama
Google Fiber Coming To Huntsville In Public-Private Partnership
By 2.22.16
In most of the cities where Google Fiber exists (or is in the process of being built out), the company is starting from nothing — digging trenches, running new fiberoptic cable — but Google announced today that when it launches Fiber service in Huntsville, AL, it will be doing so over Rocket City’s municipal fiber network. [More]
Alabama Restaurant Owners Claim Wells Fargo Won’t Fix Issue That Cost Workers $30K In Tips
By 8.26.15
An Alabama restaurant has plastered signs around a Mobile neighborhood accusing Wells Fargo of being run by liars, after the bank reportedly cost employees of the establishment tens of thousands of dollars in tips and refused to remedy the situation. [More]
Sears Is Hiring For Its Call Centers, Holds Job Fair In Alabama
By 8.11.15
It may surprise you to learn that Sears Holdings, a company that has been shedding jobs as it slims down its retail presence, is giving hope to people who are unemployed, but it’s true. The company is hiring for 100 new positions at its call center in Alabama, explaining that the closure of physical stores means that some of those sales shift online. [More]
Blue Bell’s Alabama Plant Gets State Approval To Distribute Ice Cream
By 8.5.15
Blue Bell ice cream has been off the shelves for some months now due to an outbreak of listeriosis that hospitalized ten people and killed three. Now there’s hope for desperate Blue Bell fans: the company’s production facility in Alabama, which didn’t cause any known illnesses, has been making test batches of ice cream and will now be allowed to distribute them. [More]
Faith V. Greed: The Battle Between Faith-Based Organizations And The Payday Loan Industry
By 3.10.15
“The Bible condemns gaining wealth through usury; and the writers of Scripture warn about gaining wealth through exploiting the poor… [but] The State of Alabama allows Payday lenders to charge an annual interest rate of 456%.” [More]
Story Of The Returned $10,000 Walmart Debit Card May Be Hoax
By 2.25.15
Earlier today, we told you about the odd story of a man in Alabama who claimed to have found a Walmart prepaid debit card containing more than $10,000 on it, and who says he did the right thing by trying to return it to the store. However, the more we learn about this story the more questions come up. [More]
Church Plans Sunday Services Inside Buffalo Wild Wings
By 12.9.14
Do you want to go to church on Sundays but feel like the atmosphere isn’t enough like a sports bar? Then you might want to relocate to Birmingham, AL, where on Methodist church is partnering with a local Buffalo Wild Wings to hold Sunday morning services inside the chain eatery. [More]
Police Hunting For Man Who Stole 9 Lawnmowers From Sears… One Mower At A Time
By 7.29.14
When I first heard about a man wanted in Alabama for allegedly stealing nine lawnmowers from a Sears store, I assumed he’d swiped all the mowers at once with the aid of a truck or moving van. But no, this mower thief had the idiotic bravery to steal the nine mowers one at a time… in the backseat of his sedan. [More]
Stolen Horse Does Not Make A Good Getaway Vehicle For Drunken Shoplifter
By 7.8.14
I have vague memories of old Hollywood westerns and TV shows where bandanna-masked bank robbers would escape on the back of stolen horses. But in today’s decidedly non-equine culture, a shoplifter is probably going to stand out when she ties up a pilfered horse outside the store. [More]
AT&T Announces First Two Locations For Tests Of Internet-Based Landlines
By 2.28.14
In January, the FCC gave landline telecom providers the go-ahead to begin tests of Internet-based phone service intended to replace existing copper-line phone networks. Today, AT&T finally revealed the two locations in which it would like to kick off its testing. [More]
Alabama Post Office Evacuated Due To Personal Lubricant Spill
By 7.11.13
KY Intense Arousal gel is relatively new to the market. It’s billed as a product that can “heighten sensitivity and satisfaction.” Unfortunately, when some of the product spilled in an Alabama post office on Tuesday morning, employees didn’t know what the substance was. All it heightened was a safety alert. The building was evacuated and a hazardous materials team came in to dispose of the mysterious liquid. [More]
Condo Association Taking Heat For Telling Soldier To Take Down American Flag
By 2.27.13
The property manager of a condo complex in Alabama is learning that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to demand that a resident, a Staff Sergeant, take down the American flag hanging outside of his home. [More]
Carnival Triumph Tow Rope Breaks, Prolongs Passengers’ Misery
By 2.14.13
The passengers of the Carnival Triumph (probably) never imagined that they’d get to extend their trip by several days. They certainly didn’t picture themselves living like 19th-century steerage passengers, if 19th-century steerage passengers had cans of Pringles and defecated in plastic bags. [More]
Lawsuit: Walmart Had Me Arrested, Made Me Lose Job, Had Husband Deported… Over $2.90 Worth Of Chicken Necks
By 7.26.11
A former Walmart employee in Alabama has filed a lawsuit against the retail behemoth, alleging that she and her husband were wrongly accused of stealing $2.90 in chicken neck bones, an accusation the plaintiff says led to her losing her job and having her husband deported. [More]
Adult Store Allows Customers To Swap Guns For Sex Toys
By 2.8.11
Remember the adult video and toy shop in Alabama with the drive-thru window? Well, it’s once again making news with its Valentine’s Day promotion that allows customers to turn in their firearms and get sex toys in return. [More]
