News

Car rental 'gotcha's'

Submitted by Andy Wise, Chief Consumer Investigator/Andy's Restaurant Scorecard

Friday, November 16th, 2012, 3:36pm

Ahead of Thanksgiving travel, consumer advocate Clark Howard of Atlanta warned consumers to consult their auto insurance policies and credit card protections before falling for these car rental 'gotcha's':

* COLLISION DAMAGE WAIVER. "Be sure to find out if your auto insurer covers you for temporary use of a rental car," said Howard. "That should always be your first line of defense against ...a CDW."

Howard said the CDW is also known by the codes LDW and PDW. He said many credit cards offer this coverage, too, so consult both your insurance policy and your card's benefits summary before a rental agent talks you into buying the waiver.

* PERSONAL EFFECTS COVERAGE. It's intended to cover you in case something's stolen from your rental car. Howard said again, most auto policies and credit cards cover the holder's personal effects.

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Vertical Farming coming to Memphis

Submitted by Lyle Bontrager on Tuesday, November 13th, 8:39 am

A group of food professionals says they are planning a project that will help improve the health of Memphis residents while also fighting urban blight.

Green Girl Produce plans to create the city’s first indoor vertical farm, which will supply residents with microgreens that are organic, cost-effective and available year-round. The company plans to lease an old 1,260-square-foot building on Broad Avenue for their farm.

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Millington residents displaced by severe storm

Submitted by Jamel Major on Friday, October 19th, 6:24 am

MILLINGTON, TN- (WMC-TV) – Dozens of families at a Millington mobile home park were evacuated after Wednesday night's storm. Now, the residents in the hard hit area are assessing the damage.

The Millington Fire Department says roughly five mobile homes were damaged in the storm. The heavy winds and rain also knocked down a fence on Highway 51.

Fortunately, nobody was injured.

Many people Action News 5 spoke to say they had to take cover.

"We heard the tree came down through the ceiling over the phone we heard everything. We tried to get out here as fast as possible," said Carl Kent.

"It's very sad what everybody lost and everybody and their house got tore up because of all the damage and everything," said Ashley Santibanez.

At least two families displaced by the storm damage are being assisted by the Red Cross.

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County creates homeowner repair assistance program

Submitted by John Phelps, Community Blogger

Thursday, October 18th, 2012, 10:32am

County creates homeowner repair assistance program

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell has created a program to help homeowners with home improvement repairs.

Residents of unincorporated Shelby County (which includes Northaven, Waverly Farms, and southeastern areas) can qualify for the grants, which range from $5,000 to $8,000. Applications must be submitted by Oct.. 29 and funds granted may be used for the following repairs:

Heating – repair to existing heat system
Air Conditioning – repair or replacement of window unit(s)
Roofing – repairs, patching, and coating of existing roof
Windows – repair or replacement of windows, and weatherization improvements

Funds may also be used for other approved purposes.

For more information, or to download an application, click here.

Information provided by shelbycountytn.gov

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Severe storms leave behind trail of damage in the Mid-South

Submitted by WMCTV Web Staff

Thursday, October 18th, 2012, 10:18am

MILLINGTON, TN- (WMC-TV) - Storms swept through the Mid-South overnight, and many are left picking up the pieces this morning.

In Millington, dozens of families at the Westside Mobile Home Park have been evacuated and are being assisted by the Red Cross. In the video above, you can see the damage just moments after the storm toppled several trees last night.

We have been told that about six or seven of the mobile homes were damaged. However, no one was injured. Something city leaders credit continuous weather coverage and sirens alerting people in time.

Eric Millington, who lives at Westside Mobile Home Park, says he rode out the storm inside his home with his 3-year-old son.

"It sliced it open like a can, you can see the sky when you go in my kitchen," Millington said. " It was rough."

But people in Millington were not the only ones braving the storms overnight.

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Megabus.com Keeps It Moving Through the Holidays

Submitted by Nichole Cyprian on Friday, October 12th, 2:23 pm

Looking to travel for less this holiday season? Then look no further than megabus.com.

The first city-to-city express bus company has now opened its ticket booking window to accomodate holiday travelers. Fares will start as low as $1 and booking will remain open until Jan. 8.

“The holidays are an expensive time of year and travelers are looking for the best deal,” said VP of marketing and public relations for megabus.com Mike Alvich.

“Megabus.com’s affordable fares make sure our customers have enough money left in their pocket to spend on gifts for their loved ones,” he said.

More than 410,000 passengers used the holiday service in 2011 and the company expects an increase this year.

The express service double-decker buses come equipped with free Wi-Fi and power outlets, and offer service to nearly 90 cities throughout America.

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Voter problem corrected; Tax hike passes in Millington

Submitted by WMCTV Web Staff

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012, 12:02pm

MILLINGTON, TN- (WMC-TV) – The sales tax referendum, which did not pass in Millington August 2, appears to have passed now that ineligible votes were removed from the count.

A number of voters who lived outside of the Millington city limits, who were not eligible to vote on the sales tax referendum, were given ballots to do so.

The referendum, which was voted on August 2, ended up failing in Millington by just two votes.

Because of the number of people in the Lucy community who were given ballots allowing them to vote on the sales tax referendum, the court decided the Millington vote for the tax hike would have passed without the votes from those ineligible voters.

The judgment reveals that after removing the 69 ineligible votes, the sales tax referendum passed with 962 votes in favor of the tax hike and 950 votes against it.

The suburb of Millington was the only one where the sales tax did not appear to pass in August.

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