Mayor Paul Soglin says there continues to be a problem with the homeless people using the City County and Madison Municipal buildings as shelters. The problem has increased this winter with the usual locations, the basement of the state Capitol building and downtown public library, closed to the public.

Soglin says many of the individuals have been found to be highly intoxicated and threatening to those working there. There have also been reports of people sleeping on benches and relieving themselves in public areas.

AUDIO: Mayor Paul Soglin (:09)

Soglin sent an e-mail to all city employees this week, saying it’s a high priority to halt unsafe or unpleasant conditions in city buildings. He’s asking employees to stop encouraging the practice by bringing in food or blankets.

John Colbert, WIBA

Sergeant Bill Beth, with the Kenosha Sheriff’s office, says some men driving behind the older gentleman, stopped and two got onto the roof of the nearly submerged car. They needed a hammer from a toolbox in one of their cars, and broke the sunroof to get Weiss out. Weiss suffered only minor injuries.

Tom Karkow-WRJN

Of the nearly 1,700 cases reported, Division of Consumer Protection administrator Sandy Chalmers says robo-calls were the worst offenders. Chalmers says many of those reported were tied to criminal activity, which is made possible by technology that allows scammers to make thousands of calls each minute.

Consumers are urged to hang up and report those calls to the state.

Second on the list was telecommunications complaints, followed by landlord-tenant disputes and home improvement scams.

For the first time last year, complaints about identity theft made their way into the top ten. Chalmers says it’s an old crime, but the way thieves are going after that information continues to expand.

Aside from shredding sensitive documents with personal information on them, she says consumers should make sure computers, smartphones, and online accounts have strong password protections. Regular checks for computer viruses and spyware are also recommended.

Other top complaints for 2011 included gas pump accuracy, vehicle sales, and problems with satellite dish providers.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:18)

The epicenter was about 11-miles west of Kenosha, near George Lake in the Town of Bristol. There have been no reports of any damage or injuries, with a lot of folks waking up to the news for the first time this morning.

UDPATE: Officials with the USGS have shifted the location of the epicenter of the quake to McHenry, IL.

Tom Karkow - WRJN

Bach says the letter looks really official, “like it’s a bill from the U.S. Government for a copy of your property deed, but it’s not. It’s actually a solicitation,” she says, “they’re trying to sell homeowners a copy of their deed for $87, which you can actually get for yourself for a lot cheaper.”

It’s a solution without a problem. Bach says homeowners probably already have a copy of their property deed filed with all the paperwork after purchasing the house. You don’t need to be scammed into paying 30 times the price of your deed for a new one.

If you need one, Bach says you can get a copy for about $3 from your local county clerk or register of deed’s office. If you already paid the $87, you probably can’t get that money back because the solicitation wasn’t illegal. “What they’re doing isn’t illegal, but it’s not the most ethical sales practices.”

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:17

Icy roads caused a semi carrying a hot cargo to roll over in the median. The 30,000 pounds of jalapeño peppers the truck was carrying needed to be cleaned up. Nehls said if the towing company doesn’t have enough labor for the clean-up, he’d offer inmates do the work for a “set fee.” 

“We could serve jalapenos for many years in our jail.”

Bob Nelson-KFIZ

AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (:50) 

Getting on the list can take as little as thirty seconds on the web. Chalmers says the list in intended to reduce annoying sales pitches — but also to protect consumers from fraud. “If you’re on the no call list and you receive a telemarketing sales pitch, that should ring some alarm bells,” she explains. “That means the person who’s called you is working outside the parameters of the law.” That’s why you should contact DATCP if you get calls once you’re on the list. Chalmers says the agency pursues many companies in court for no call violations.

We Energies spokesperson Brian Manthey says if you wait too long for that maintenance check, you’ll be competing with everyone else while sitting in the cold. At a cost of about 75 bucks, a qualified technician will check for efficiency, change the filter, look for failing parts, and clean up blockages. “If it’s plugged … it takes more natural gas to then try to get your house up to the temperature you want it. So, you’re really not running your heating system as efficiently as you could.”

Also, Manthey says, We Energies has some general money-saving tips on their website. “You can kind of do an almost mini energy audit of your own if you take about 15 minutes.”

Check with your local utility for energy-saving ideas. Manthey says customers seeking a thorough energy audit can go through Focus on Energy.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:19

Former Dane County Sheriff Rick Raemisch says those who are planning to carry should make sure they are well educated about firearm safety. He says there’s a lot of liability to carrying a firearm, and even more problems can occur if you decide to draw one on a person.

Raemisch currently serves as the dean of Protective Services at Madison College, which will be offering handgun safety courses before the law takes effect. He hopes anyone planning to obtain a permit will take the time to find proper training.

Raemisch says it’s important for them to also understand that they should always try to avoid danger, only pulling a firearm as a last resort.

Raemisch expects there will be a rush for permits in November. However, he believes the desire for people to actually carry a concealed weapon will decline quickly when people realize how much of a hassle it can be from a day-to-day perspective.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:07)

Contributed by WIBA’s Robin Colbert

The incident was part of a busy weekend in the area for first responders. A two-vehicle traffic crash at a Kenosha County intersection put a 69-year old Grayslake-Illinois woman in extremely critical condition. Her two grandchildren, also in the vehicle, were slightly hurt.

A 55-year old motorcyclist died from burns after colliding with a car on a busy state highway in the Village of Mount Pleasant. 

Tom Karkow-WRJN