Some 25 towns across Alabama will be on display during Saturday mornings in April as part of the Alabama Tourism Department's April Walking Tours.

A variety of community leaders will lead the free tours through the historic districts or courthouse square areas of their hometowns.  The hour-long tours will start at 10 a.m.

The Internal Revenue Service today reminded tax filers who owe taxes and are purposely waiting until the last-minute to file and pay that they can easily postpone paying but are less likely to make mistakes if they file now, before the April rush.

The IRS estimates that nearly 500,000 Alabamians waited until April to file last year, many of them wanting to hold on to their money until the very last minute.

"Taxpayers can e-file right now and authorize a direct-debit payment for the April 17 deadline," said IRS spokesman Dan Boone. "That way they avoid the April rush, keep their money until the last minute, and get the benefits of e-filing."

E-filing benefits include a lower error rate and faster processing than with paper returns, along with confirmation of receipt by the IRS.

The Alabama Department of Public Health encourages persons who were involved in some aspect of the cleanup after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion to enroll in a study that will look at possible health effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study is being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. Many agencies, researchers, outside experts and members of the local community have provided input into how the study should be designed and implemented. The study is designed to find answers to the questions that matter to oil spill cleanup workers and area residents.

Additional volunteers are needed for this large study.