This story was updated to add new information.

VERO BEACH — Breeze Airways is adding two new destinations from Vero Beach Regional Airport to Washington, D.C. and Ogdensburg, New York, beginning Nov. 21.

Flights will be nonstop on Thursdays and Sundays between Vero Beach to Ogdensburg International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.

“After announcing service to New Haven from Vero Beach just a couple weeks ago, we’re back with more,” said David Neeleman, Breeze Airways’ Founder and CEO, in a news release Tuesday evening. “Vero Beach has never seen service to Dulles, and connecting Vero Beach Regional Airport with the nation’s capital will no doubt be a huge addition for the community.”

Washington Dulles International Airport is about 26 miles west of downtown Washington. Ogdensburg International Airport is in northern New York state on the St. Lawrence Seaway connecting the U.S. to Canada’s capital, Ottawa.

Breeze Airways: What to know about fares, routes, refunds and cancellation policies

More: Breeze Airways turn first profit, cites Vero Beach service as key part of its success

Where can Vero go?

Washington and Ogdensburg join Islip, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; White Plains, New York; New Haven Connecticut; and Newburgh, New York, as destinations.

Breeze began flying into Vero Beach in 2023. The Cottonwood Heights, Utah, based airline was founded in 2021 by David Neeleman, who also founded Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines.

In 1932, Eastern Airlines became the first passenger airline serving Vero Beach. In the 1990s, USAir Express and American Eagle Flew through the airport, but cut ties in 1996. In 2015, Elite Airways began service at the airport, but suddenly left in 2022, creating the gap that Breeze now fills.

Nick Slater is TCPalm’s Indian River County Watchdog reporter. You can reach him at Nick.Slater@tcpalm.com and 224-830-2875.

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) – The District Council will meet Tuesday for the first time since the arrest and indictment of councilmember Trayon White.

White was arrested in August and is accused of agreeing to accept $156,000 in bribes in exchange for his influence on city contracts for violence interruption programs. He pleaded not guilty in federal court last week.

DC Councilmember Trayon White addresses criminal accusations of bribery

“I do not have any indication of how much he intends to participate [on Council],” said chairman Phil Mendelson during a press briefing Monday.

Mendelson said the only option for stopping White’s ability to vote and participate on the council is to expel him. That’s not happening yet, but the Council does intend to take some action this week.

“A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” said Mendelson. “So that is the way we have to view our colleague, but we are moving forward with the disciplinary process that the rules provide, that requires due process.”

The Council will vote to dissolve the committee on recreation, library and youth affairs and replace it with two subcommittees under the Committee of the Whole, chaired by Councilmembers Zachary Parker and Matt Frumin.

DC Council to consider next steps regarding Trayon White

Meanwhile, an ad hoc committee charged with investigating White will meet for the first time Tuesday at 9 a.m. Outside counsel will be hired to lead that investigation.

Outside of city government, D.C.’s police union is calling for the District to pause all funding on violence interruption programs until the programs are audited and investigated.

“The Council must freeze wasteful spending on unproven, shady programs now. There is no science-based metric or data that justifies the spending of millions of dollars on these programs,” said D.C. Police Union Chairman Greggory Pemberton.

Pemberton is calling for a study to look into whether violence interruption programs have had any measurable effect on reducing crime and pushing for more funding and staffing for the Metropolitan Police Department.

DC councilmembers react to Trayon White’s arrest

Council meets for the Committee of the Whole meeting at 11 a.m.

Its legislative meeting begins at noon.

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The D.C. Council will vote to effectively take away Council member Trayon White’s committee chairmanship when it returns from summer break Tuesday.

Ward 8 Council member White pleaded not guilty last week to taking a bribe to help steer government contracts.

Now, the D.C. Council will vote on reorganizing the Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs – splitting it into two subcommittees overseen by other council members, leaving White without a committee chairmanship.

“That will be before the Council tomorrow as a resolution, and I’m not expecting that there will be, I don’t see much debate about that,” Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said. “I think the Council members are supportive.”

Mendelson said the Council will hire an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the bribery charge and whether White actually lives in Ward 8 as required by law. White was arrested in Ward 6, where he was living according to prosecutors.

Mendelson said those findings will determine whether the Council votes to remove him or not. That investigation will take months, and any vote to remove White would not come until early next year, Mendelson said, meaning White can continue to vote on legislation in the meantime.

“However one feels about the indictment – and I certainly think the charges are very serious and damning – however one feels, the reality is that the voters elected him,” Mendelson said. “He is an elected member, and the only way to stop that is to expel him.”

“I’m relatively confident that the Council will dispose of this matter no later than the beginning of the new year,” he said.

White also will remain on the general election ballot in November.

On Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she would not be endorsing any candidate in the Ward 8 race.

Tuesday morning will be the first D.C. Council meeting since White was arrested. It’s unknown if White will attend or vote on the fate of his committee chairmanship.

Here’s what federal prosecutors say Trayon White did

Federal prosecutors say White agreed starting in June to accept $156,000 in bribes in exchange for using his position to pressure government employees to extend violence intervention contracts worth $5.2 million.

He’s accused of accepting envelopes full of cash as he was caught on a hidden camera. Here’s how the FBI broke down the payments:

• June 26: $15,000 cash received
• July 17: $5,000 cash received
• July 25: $10,000 cash received
• Aug. 9: $5,000 cash received

Images included in court documents show what prosecutors say is White receiving envelopes stuffed with cash.

An FBI informant who operated businesses that contracted with the D.C. government agreed to cooperate with authorities as part of an agreement to plead guilty to bribery and bank fraud charges. Several conversations between White and the informant were recorded in a parked car wired for video and audio, including outside White’s home, prosecutors say.

At one meeting, White and the informant discussed contracts the informant had with ONSE. The informant asked White if the contracts would be renewed and said he had $15,000 cash.

Initially, White asked, “What you need me to do, man? I don’t, I don’t wanna feel like you gotta gimme something to get something. We better than that.”

Then he tucked the envelope with the cash into his jacket pocket, prosecutors say.

White is due back in court in mid November for a status hearing. A trial isn’t expected to begin until sometime next year.

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