According to the U.S. Department of Justice, identity theft will soon replace drug trafficking as the number one crime in America.
If that doesn’t get your attention, how about this D.O.J. stat:
Every minute of every hour of every day, 30 people become a victim of identity theft.
Not listening yet?
The Feds say identity theft costs companies an estimated $56.6 billion annually.
With so many people going wireless and using blue tooth technology, the opportunity for hackers is growing exponentially.
Stephen Chappell is the Director of Student Media at Middle Tennessee State University.
We meet Chappell at a Nashville Coffee house where the air is thick with Wi-Fi and blue tooth technology.
Laptops are open and P.D.A.’s are seemingly on every table.
There are a dozen people writing and talking and emailing and surfing the internet.
The question is; could one of these patrons be a hacker, secretly downloading your sensitive information?
The answer according to Chappell is yes.
Chappell says this is a target rich environment for a computer hacker and he shows us how easy it is tap into unsecure blue tooth networks.
We never break the law, and we never access anyone’s private data, but Chappell shows us unsecured blue tooth connections that he says he could easily access. He shows us unsecured Wi-Fi signals that he says a hacker would have a field day with.
“I do enough travel, and use open networks and wireless networks, in airports and coffee shops, and whenever I pop open my laptop, it surprises me how many personal computers and personal cell phones I can see on my lap top or cell phone that I could access if I want to,” he says.
Chappell says smart phones are perfect for identity thieves.
“My phone is used for email and I pay bills on it. I access a number of financial applications through my phone. If I don’t secure that data, someone snooping around could steal a bank card number, a credit card number, anything transmitted, and if left unsecured, anyone could steal it or access it.”
I approach two women at the coffee shop. Their blackberry’s are on the table.
I ask them if they have protected themselves from hackers.
Their faces go blank.
When Chappell tells them that they might be susceptible to identity theft, they admit they didn’t even read the directions on how to protect their PDA’s.
Chappell opens up his laptop and finds two Mac book users who are on unsecured networks. Chappell says it would not be difficult to get on their computers and begin fishing around for private data.
“When it comes to cell phones. I could see their entire address book and download every single contact to my cell phone if I wanted to.”
Chappell says you want to set your PDA to invisible or hidden, so others have to ask for permission to connect. He says when you are not on your phone; turn your blue tooth off.
Today’s Messed Up Email of the Day comes from a viewer who wonders why the media doesn’t do a fair job on reporting over the many health care town hall meetings.
Andy, It is messed up that your channel never seems to interview anyone who is for the President’s healthcare reform. It is messed up that the christians, or those who claim to be christians don’t want healthcare for everyone. What would Jesus do?? Let his fellow citizens die without healthcare??? It’s messed up that no one seems to be asking for real truthful information about the healthcare plans but only yelling and scaring those who don’t know anything about the real plan. It’s messed up that people here want information but only CNN seems to be giving and so many don’t get CNN. Maybe the meetings wouldn’t be sooo messed up if the news media would do a good fair job telling the real story.
Starting September 1st, citizens with permits to carry handgun can carry their guns into Tennessee State Parks.
Those same handgun owners will have to check which local parks they can legally bring their weapon to.
That’s because a growing number of cities and counties have “opted out” of the controversial law.
Whether you agree with guns in parks or not, one thing is abundantly clear. The passage of the law, the debate leading up to it, and the incessant media coverage has been costly and time consuming!
On Tuesday, August 18th, Nashville became the largest city in Tennessee to opt out of the new state law that allows guns in parks.
By opting out, Metro Nashville joined a growing list of almost 2 dozen municipalities that have also decided the new law is not for them.
Notable cities voting to opt out include: Memphis, Clarksville, Chattanooga, Brentwood, Cookeville, Franklin and Murfreesboro.
So many months of debate! So much controversy! So much media attention!
A new law is created, and then, one by one, municipalities choose to opt out.
It made many citizens we spoke to wonder why legislators don’t find out what their constituents want prior to pushing issues down our throat.
In researching this story, Messed Up discovered that all state parks must abide by the law and have no opt out provisions.
That means you can carry a gun at Bicentennial Mall inside Nashville, even though the city the park is in has opted out.
The list is changing rapidly, but as of August 26th here is what we discovered:
Cities that have voted to opted out:
1. Cookeville
2. Williamson county
3. Murfreesboro
4. Franklin
5. Goodlettsville
6. Brentwood
7. Nashville metro
8. Clarksville
9. Blount county
10. Athens
11. Medina
12. Pigeon Forge
13. Gatlinburg
14. Memphis
15. Maryville
16. Alcoa
17. Dyer County
18. Bristol
19. Shelby County
20. Chattanooga
21. Oak Ridge
22. Thompson’s station
Cities that have voted not to opt out:
1. Jackson
2. Anderson County
3. Montgomery County
4. Collierville
5. Mt. Juliet
6. Kingston
7. Dandridge
8. Kingsport
9. Springhill
10. Smith County
Cities that have not voted yet whether to opt out or not:
1. Tullahoma
The guns in park law was a study session topic in Monday night’s meeting, and the law was merely discussed. The next meeting is on September 14th, and a decision might be made then.
2. Knoxville
They are holding a workshop to better understand the law on September 3rd @ 5 p.m. with a presentation followed by a discussion by board members and the public. The city has postponed the vote until September 22nd. At that time the vote will be back on the council’s agenda.
3. Knox County
The agenda has not been set for the next city council meeting on September 28th as of now, but the vote could possibly appear on that agenda and a decision made then.
For more information on your local parks and legislation contact your city hall or mayor’s office!
Today’s Messed Up Email of the Day comes from a viewer that think we need more signs to let people know whether they are in a bar or a restaurant.
No one else is looking at the money side of the issue and I thought you might be the man to do it because it is MESSED UP.
The new law allows THP holders to carry in restaurants that also serve alcohol but not in bars (greater than 50% or more of revenue from alcohol). Many say that there are not bars in TN. According to the legal definitions of bars and restaurnats there are bars. So I assume that there are “bars” operating illegaly under a restaurant license.
Usually when there is this much smoke being generated on a subject it is being fuled by MONEY.
It would be interesting to check the licenses of establishments which serve alcohol and appear not to meet the restaurant requirements, kithcen, seating, cooks , servers number of meals served daily and weekly and food income over 50% of total income… pickled pig’s feet and peanuts don’t count.
Somebody somewhere stands to loose some money somewhere.
Thanks,
Doug
PS: Solution is really simple. Put up accurate signs on the businesses: THIS IS A BAR or THIS IS A RESTAURANT
Every time it rains, an Inglewood family’s driveway turns into a pond.
According to the homeowner, the flooding began in April 2007 after Metro Public Works hired a firm to build a new sidewalk.
According to home owner, Stephen Surrett, the driveway, was never leveled.
Messed Up visits the home and sees the problem. It is barely raining, but all ready there is 4 inches of water pooling at the end of the man’s driveway.
The problem is the driveway dead ends at the sidewalk. Instead of water being able to pass over the sidewalk and into the storm drain, the water collects at the end of the driveway like a swimming pool.
The man’s driveway is several inches under water, and the over flow is all ready ponding in his grass.
Surrett says water is not only aggravating, but dangerous. He says mosquitoes gather, and it is very slippery to walk on, and sometimes difficult to drive through.
Surrett says he has called Public Works to fix the problem. He admits to Messed Up, he has mostly emailed for help. He says after a while of not hearing anything, he gave up.
Then he calls Messed Up.
We call Gwen Hopkins Glascock, PIO, for the Public Works Dept.
Hopkins-Glascock calls me back and says in 2008 an inspector visited the driveway and issued a work order to repair it. That work order went to the Engineering Dept.
What happened after that is unclear, but the job order fell through the cracks.
By the next day, Hopkins-Glascock says the job is scheduled to be completed.
Surrett is very pleased that Messed Up could get done over night, what he could not accomplish in 2 years.
If you have a Public Works related issue, officials say, the best way to ensure your request or your complaint is recorded is to call customer service. That number is 615-862-8750.
The railroad crossing at Martingale Drive and 9th Street was a serious concern to residents of the Old Hickory community. James Moore contacted That’s Messed Up and showed us how the bushes and trees were so overgrown that you would have to be on the tracks before you actually saw a train coming.
After Messed Up contacted Metro Public Works, someone was sent out within days to cut the debris. The railroad crossing is now much safe for drivers and all the residents of the Old Hickory community.
On August 13th, Metro authorities charge an employee of a pressure washing company with misdemeanor theft.
Police and water company investigators allege Austin McClain opened a Metro fire hydrant without permission and without a permit and allegedly filled the company’s water tanks without paying for the water.
Ed McClain is the owner of the American Wash Company. McClain strongly refutes the allegations, telling me his son did nothing wrong.
Cordan: So you contest every aspect of that report?
McClain: I sure do!
According to the police report:
The complainant states that he observed the suspect arrive at the location and unlock the gate. The suspect then drove his truck to the fire hydrant and take out a tool that turns the water on. Complainant then drove around the block to keep from being seen. When he came back the suspect had the hose connect to the hydrant pumping water into the suspect’s trailer. After the suspect filled up the trailer, he turned the water off and concealed the wrench back in his truck. That is when the complainant approached the suspect, identified himself and detained the suspect. Complainant then explained to the suspect the safety issue associated with the hydrant not having a meter to regulate. Suspect did not have permission from victim to use the hydrant. Misdemeanor citation was issued to suspect and the suspect wrench was seized.
McClain: We feel like we have not done anything dishonest.
Cordan: Who gave you the wrench?
McClain: The fire dept.
According to Ed McClain, despite what investigators allege, his son did not steal a single drop of water from the fire hydrant in front of his race shop on Little Green Street on August 13th, but McClain tells me that he and his company have bled fire hydrants at this location and around Nashville in the past. According to McClain, he has permission from the city to do so.
McClain: We feel like what we have been doing is cleaning out fire hydrants, and the water we take is only 100 or 200 gallons and it’s all crud. We had a letter saying it was ok to bleed hydrants in Davidson County and we bled this one. Most places we go have water hook up. This is not a job we do. This is something if we are in an area of Nashville and there is no water access, if there is a fire hydrant that we can bleed for the city we will.
After lengthy discussions with Ed McClain, he makes it clear that he believes he had permission from the city to do this. McClain says he believes that by bleeding stagnant water out of fire hydrants, his company is actually providing a service to Metro tax payers.
Metro Water supervisor John Kennedy disagrees.
Kennedy: We are not happy about it anytime someone uses water they don’t pay for, that means we all pay for it.
According to Metro Water Services, McClain has no such authorization to bleed fire hydrants in Metro.
Kennedy: There are times when water gets stagnant, and does need to be flushed. We know those times and we take care of them ourselves. We don’t need people helping us maintain our system.
As of this writing, Mr. McClain says he has a letter that allows his company to tap fire hydrants. He tells me that he is tearing apart his home and offices to find the letter, but so far, he has been unable to produce it. Metro Officials say they have no record of such a document and doubt one exists.
McClain said he got the wrench from a fire house on Lebanon Rd. Asst. Chief Kim Lawson says unequivocally that is not true. She says the wrench seized from McClain is not the type used by fire fighters, and no fire fighter would give a hydrant wrench to a private citizen.
Additionally, the Metro Water says it stands by its investigator’s report that the younger McClain stole water and the city says, if possible, the water dept will attempt to charge the McClains for water used and never paid for.
The McClains say they have retained an attorney and plan to vigorously fight this matter in court.
For months, a Rutherford County Highway Commissioner has been asking officials at the Middle Point Sanitary Landfill on Jefferson Pike to be more responsible.
He says the problem is muck, mud, rocks and debris that truck tires fling all over the road!
The Commissioner tells me that the landfill muck is damaging vehicles and property.
According to Commissioner Keith Bratcher, his constituents have been complaining to him to get something done. Bratcher says he has contacted Landfill Officials and so far, nothing has been done.
So Bratcher decides to take the issue public with That’s Messed Up.
Bratcher shows me numerous examples of fence damage at the Heartland Baptist Church he blames on the landfill.
Bratcher shows me a recently paved bridge a 1/4 mile from the landfill entrance that he says is filthy because of muck stuck to truck tires.
Bratcher even points out the road discoloration. He shows me that lanes leaving the landfill are an orange color, while the other lanes are much cleaner.
We go to the landfill where we are immediately met by officials who have no comment.
They tell me to talk to the County about the road. I tell them, I did that and more, bringing Highway Commissioner Bratcher to them.
The landfill officials tell me they will not discuss the matter on camera or in public, and suggest we speak to a corporate spokesperson in Arizona.
I contact Will Flower who immediately demonstrates a can do attitude to be a good Rutherford County Neighbor:
This landfill is well run, one of the best in the state. We do operate in full compliance. And part of that is making sure that things are neat and clean and present no type of concerns for neighbors or residents in the community. In this case, we have equipment to make sure roads are clean and swept. We use them on a regular basis. We use water trucks and a sweeper. Sometimes, the people delivering materials are in a rush to get back to their next stop and they don’t always take the time to clean off their tires in a truck wash, but we do have that equipment available, so we are going to make sure it is used more frequently to make sure no dirt is tracked onto the road. We are in the biz of protecting the environment. We take care of garbage. It is not the most glamorous job, but one we take seriously, and we want to be a good neighbor to the communities we serve, and if there is dirt on the street and around our facility we will do everything possible to clean it up to make sure we cause no issues.
The next day, Commissioner Bratcher calls me to thank us for getting involved.
He says he had a very constructive chat with the G.M. at the landfill. Bratcher says the next day the landfill had a clean up crew on that bridge cleaning off the muck and debris. Bratcher says the landfill has a machine that washes off the truck tires and they plan to use that on a much more regular basis to reduce the road grime.
Bratcher also says the landfill has speed bumps, a line of them, 30 or 40 feet long that would bump residual residue off truck tires. He says the landfill is going to implement that cleansing mechanism as well!
Residents of the Tusculum Community in South Nashville were upset and frustrated about a large sinkhole in the middle of Whispering Hills Drive.
Messed Up reported on the situation and talked to Metro Public Works about the issue. You can link to our story here.
Metro Public Works recently made us aware of the construction that is now underway on Whispering Hills Drive. Hayward Baker Geotechnical Construction is working on filling in the large sinkhole in the middle of the street.
Below are pictures from Metro Public Works of the construction underway now!
James Moore has lived in Old Hickory for most of his 77 years.
Moore takes me to the corner of Martingale Drive and 9th Street and shows me what has him concerned.
It’s a rail road crossing where the bushes are so “bushy” you have to literally pull onto the tracks to get a clear sight line down the tracks.
Moore says he has called his councilman and his state legislator and the rail road and nobody responds! That is why he has summoned me.
In short, Moore is fearful that someone is going to be killed.
I call Metro Public Works, and officials there tell me this intersection is owned and maintained by the Nashville and Eastern Rail Road Company and it is the rail road’s responsibility to maintain it.
Messed Up has done stories involving NERR crossings in the past.
Back in February, viewers began complaining that a crossing at Old Hickory Blvd. and Lebanon Rd. in Hermitage was unsafe and was blowing out their tires.
After we got involved, NERR reluctantly agreed to compensate victims, and the president of the company told me that he would fix the crossing.
Messed Up spent 3 days making multiple calls to NERR, and we have yet to hear back from anyone in the company!
In the meantime; Metro Public Works tells Messed Up, even though it is not the city’s property, Public Works plans to cut the growth.
Sadly, that is your tax payer dollars!
I spoke at length with Councilman Darren Jernigan who represents this district. Jernigan tells me:
I have had more complaints about this. We are trying to get a hold of the rail road company and hold them responsible. They never return my phone calls. I am frustrated with it. I would love to send the bill to the railroad. The citizens of Old Hickory Village are frankly sick and tired of beating our head against the wall trying to communicate with this rail road company. At this point, we will have public works complete the job, even though, it is not their responsibility. And we will send NERR a bill and we will continue to send them a bill because it is more important to have a clear view and a safe street where kids can cross than it is not to have one.
Finally, BJ Doughty at TDOT says NERR only repaired half of the job they were supposed to fix at Old Hickory Blvd. and Lebanon Rd. According to TDOT, the matter has been turned over to the state’s legal department. In the meantime, state workers have been to the location multiple times to patch rail road property.
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According to the U.S. Department of Justice, identity theft will soon replace drug trafficking as the number one crime in America.
Chappell says this is a target rich environment for a computer hacker and he shows us how easy it is tap into unsecure blue tooth networks.
Their faces go blank.
Starting September 1st, citizens with permits to carry handgun can carry their guns into Tennessee State Parks. 
On Tuesday, August 18th, Nashville became the largest city in Tennessee to opt out of the new state law that allows guns in parks.
That means you can carry a gun at Bicentennial Mall inside Nashville, even though the city the park is in has opted out.
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Every time it rains, an Inglewood family’s driveway turns into a pond.
Messed Up visits the home and sees the problem. It is barely raining, but all ready there is 4 inches of water pooling at the end of the man’s driveway.
Surrett says he has called Public Works to fix the problem. He admits to Messed Up, he has mostly emailed for help. He says after a while of not hearing anything, he gave up.
Surrett is very pleased that Messed Up could get done over night, what he could not accomplish in 2 years.
Ed McClain is the owner of the American Wash Company. McClain strongly refutes the allegations, telling me his son did nothing wrong.
According to Ed McClain, despite what investigators allege, his son did not steal a single drop of water from the fire hydrant in front of his race shop on Little Green Street on August 13th, but McClain tells me that he and his company have bled fire hydrants at this location and around Nashville in the past. According to McClain, he has permission from the city to do so.
McClain said he got the wrench from a fire house on Lebanon Rd. Asst. Chief Kim Lawson says unequivocally that is not true. She says the wrench seized from McClain is not the type used by fire fighters, and no fire fighter would give a hydrant wrench to a private citizen.
For months, a Rutherford County Highway Commissioner has been asking officials at the Middle Point Sanitary Landfill on Jefferson Pike to be more responsible. 
According to Commissioner Keith Bratcher, his constituents have been complaining to him to get something done. Bratcher says he has contacted Landfill Officials and so far, nothing has been done. 
They tell me to talk to the County about the road. I tell them, I did that and more, bringing Highway Commissioner Bratcher to them.
He says he had a very constructive chat with the G.M. at the landfill. Bratcher says the next day the landfill had a clean up crew on that bridge cleaning off the muck and debris. Bratcher says the landfill has a machine that washes off the truck tires and they plan to use that on a much more regular basis to reduce the road grime.
James Moore has lived in Old Hickory for most of his 77 years.
I call Metro Public Works, and officials there tell me this intersection is owned and maintained by the Nashville and Eastern Rail Road Company and it is the rail road’s responsibility to maintain it. 
In the meantime; Metro Public Works tells Messed Up, even though it is not the city’s property, Public Works plans to cut the growth.
