Online shoppers should be aware of porch pirates - people stealing packages from unsuspecting homeowners. In fact, package theft is at an all-time high since so many people are using online services. Although certain crimes occur more often around the holidays, the U.S. Postal Service has a few ways you can keep your packages safe from thieves.

Dont leave delivered packages unattended. If possible, dont leave delivered packages unattended for long periods of time.

Take advantage of online tracking services offered by retailers; if the company says it was delivered but its not at the delivered address, report it.

Consider monitoring the front door. If you have a home security camera system, make sure it captures activity at your front door and mailbox. If you catch any mail thieves in the act, save the video and alert your local Postal Inspectors. Video surveillance goes a long way in preventing crimes and catching bad guys.

Customize the delivery. If you know the package is going to be larger than the mailbox, authorize the carrier to leave it in a specified out-of-sight location. You can also request pick-up at their facility.

Secure the shipment. Signature confirmations ensure that the package ends up in the right hands. Register your most valuable packages so special care and documentation are used every step of the way. Ship your packages to where you are, not where you arent.

Talk to employers. See if they'll agree to have packages delivered to the workplace instead of the home address.

Watch for suspicious activity. Some thieves follow delivery trucks waiting for the opportune time to steal packages. If you notice something out of place in your neighborhood, report it to the proper authorities with specific details.

Report it to BBB Scam Tracker to help warn others if you or someone you know has been affected by stolen packages.

For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at http://www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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Take steps to avoid being the victim of porch pirates - HNGnews.com

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. (WSAV) The Effingham County Sheriffs Office says Christmas was saved for a few families after a team of porch pirates was arrested.

According to the sheriffs office, authorities became aware of a video circulating from a doorbell camera on Monday showing a white male with long blonde hair snatching a package from a porch and running back to a car.

The video showed a 2007 Honda Accord driving away from the house.

ECSO says on Tuesday, Deputy John Morris saw the vehicle and pulled the driver over. Mariah Harley, 23, who was driving the car, admitted to being involved in the package theft and was arrested.

Morris also discovered that 22-year-old John Maddox, believed to be the suspect caught on camera, was arrested that same night on an unrelated warrant.

The sheriffs office says a total of four people were involved.

Harley and Maddox will be charged with several counts of theft by taking and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Another person, Angel Standbury, 27, will be charged with party to a crime. The fourth person involved is a juvenile.

According to ECSO, several packages were recovered and returned to their owners, thanks to the investigation.

During this busy time of year, criminals will try to take full advantage, the sheriffs office stated. If youre ordering your gifts online, consider trying to be home when they are slated for delivery or asking a friend or relative to pick your packages up to keep them safe until your return.

Anyone can report suspicious activity to 912-754-3449 or anonymously via text to 847411.

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Several packages recovered after team of porch pirates arrested in Effingham Co. - WSAV-TV

TULSA, Okla. The Tulsa County Sheriffs Office is warning about porch pirates this holiday season.

In a Facebook post, TCSO said deputies arrested Jimmy Stephens and Pamela Sheets for stealing mail and packages from neighborhoods near 86th North and Sheridan. The sheriffs office said more people shopping online this year due to the pandemic creates more opportunities to steal from your porch.

There are ways to prevent that from happening.

Know when your package is being delivered or reroute it to a delivery hub until you are ready for it. It's also a good idea to ask a neighbor to look out for the package. You can also mail it to a P.O. Box, a secure locker or have the retailer hold on to it. Its also a good idea to have a security camera on your porch to watch for your packages.

There are serious consequences for porch piracy.

Just this year, Oklahoma lawmakers created a new law making it possible for someone to be charged with a felony for stealing mail and packages. A first offense is a misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and a $500 fine. If someone commits porch piracy more than three times in 60 days, they can be charged with a felony, serve two to five years in prison and be fined up to $5,000 dollars.

If something is stolen, you can also file a police report.

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Protecting your packages from porch pirates during the holidays - kjrh.com

In a mid-November installment to The Front Porchs Save the Music virtual concert series, Joshua Dowell, better known by the stage name Mighty Joshua, delivered fun and inspirational reggae tunes a performance that provided the perfect upbeat yet mellow event to close out the weekend.

Throughout the pandemic, The Front Porch a Charlottesville music school has been hosting a Save the Music concert series via Facebook Live, showcasing local artists performances weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays. Dowell whose soulful work earned him recognition as Virginia Reggae Ambassador and Artist of the Year in years past performed alongside his band, Zion #5, on Sunday. Though the event was free, donations were encouraged to support Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry.

The event was as fun and casual as the laid-back yet energetic music they played. Dowell even broke out dance moves from time to time during the songs. The band all wore masks and baseball hats including one Steelers cap solidifying the event as chill and casual while remaining very much present amidst the era of COVID-19. The band filled a small, homey room decorated with a string of lights and, despite the virtual format, established an experience almost as intimate as that of live music in-person.

A highlight of the night was the rich and soulful vocal performance by Dowell. The immaculate harmonies between Dowell and Zion #5 added an extra layer of mesmerizing depth to the set. A rotating selection of percussion in the background kept the sounds unique and interesting. The slew of instruments including handheld drums and a tambourine melded into unique fusions as they dipped in and out of songs. At all times throughout the show, the layers of instruments and sounds kept the music deeply grounded in rhythm.

Another of the strongest elements of the gig was the catchy beats and repetition featured in the songs. Though repetition is not always a positive in music, in this case it allowed for viewers to learn the lyrics quickly and sing along. One piece in particular included a section of repetition that felt like a wink at a song well-known by kids Believe in Yourself by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, otherwise known as the Arthur theme song. Though the tune was vaguely reminiscent of the childhood classic, the lyrics offered a more subtle yet equally positive message. Whereas Believe in Yourself preaches to do just that, Mighty Joshua reminds listeners to live it up / live it up.

Beyond the infectious beats, Dowell doled out sage inspiration and empowerment through lyrics. The live rendition of Them A Watching taught lessons both metaphorical you reap what you sow and concrete stay away from the junk food. Some of the lyrics throughout the show mentioned religion, while others promoted positivity and peace more generally in lines such as I choose life over death / I choose love over war. The most hard-hitting message of the night came through a song led by Dowells backup singer in Zion #5.

I'm gonna sit down cause this is a love song, she said, and a song of compassion and empathy to all the women of the African diaspora all over this globe. Every word sung had meaning and an empowering message, a welcome and refreshing element rarely found so consistently in a concert.

Mighty Joshua and Zion #5s performance was sure to please hardcore reggae fans and newcomers alike. Their soulful set was not only catchy and fun, but meaningful and uplifting a brilliant way to entertain while raising money for a good cause.

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Mighty Joshua brings relaxing, upbeat fun to The Front Porch - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

The plan was to have a few cocktails and commiserate, Dersch said. Yet grieving for what was lost didnt take up much of this groups time. In their second Zoom session, singer-songwriter Black (best known for his 80s post-punk band Limbo Race) suggested playing songs for each other. By their third meet-up they were planning a series of streaming shows on Facebook Live. Black came up with a name for the monthly project: Back Porch Carousel.

Were revolving songwriters, each taking turns in-the-round, with guitars instead of calliopes, he explained.

The 90-minute shows are free to the viewer, but structured as fund-raisers. Initially, they helped the cash-strapped, unemployed staffs of several music venues; after unemployment checks began arriving for the bartenders and waitresses, the Carousel turned its charitable attentions to mostly local nonprofits. The next show, on Dec. 13, benefits On the Rise, a Cambridge organization helping the homeless. The Carousel crew collects the donations via PayPal and Venmo, and thanks each donor individually.

Dersch is known for his percussive work with Roger Miller, Dana Colley, and the late Mark Sandman. Since Zoom doesnt provide the precise synchronization needed for musicians to play together from separate locations, Dersch hosts the Carousel but doesnt drum.

I tend to be introverted, he said. But in the livestream, its my job to drive the conversation, and I have no problem with it.

Dersch does the job adroitly. The Back Porch Carousel narrowcasts, which feature a guest artist at each show, evince a conviviality that is a natural product of the groups multi-decade friendships. Yet the spirit isnt clubby.

Behind-the-scene work is old hat to Dersch, whose day-job (now on hold) is master carpenter with the Huntington Theatre Company. On the Carousel, Dersch taps the toggles of the balky, idiosyncratic Zoom and Facebook Live mechanisms, pushing the technology toward a musical role for which is was never intended. Unlike the majority of livestreams, the sound is solid. Dersch handles the soundchecks, and each Carousel member and guest has added an interface gadget and a decent mic to their computer set-up. (Sherman, a voice teacher and former singer of the 80s band Private Lightning, sounded especially sensational at last months show.)

The Carousel gang knows that livestreaming will never equal the nightclub experience. Performing through a digital interface, alone in ones home, cant capture the primal intimacy of playing with other musicians, said Viens, known for such projects as Boston Rock Opera and the current Angeline. But Zoom is a way to connect, to give and receive love.

Following a Carousel show, viewers can reconnect with Zoom and hang with the musicians. We call it the after party. Its like hanging out at the bar, Dersch enthused. People want to get together so frigging much right now. Anything we can do to provide human contact might help keep people sane. Until we can go back to the bars, these substitutes do help. I just love the hang.

Back Porch Carousel, with guest act Tim Sprague and Agent Judy, returns Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. on Facebook Live.

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Back Porch Carousel aims to capture that band-in-a-bar vibe, complete with after-show hangs - The Boston Globe

The expected record numbers of holiday gifts being shipped this year is creating a golden opportunity for porch thefts.

PLAINFIELD, Ind. Christmas, the season of giving, is also the season of taking.

The expected record number of holiday gifts being shipped this year is creating a golden opportunity for porch thefts.

While local homeowners were out of town, a thief helped himself to a package on their front porch. He stole something much more valuable than some inexpensive things McKenna Shutes bought online.

"Kinda your feeling of being safe," Shutes said. "You could be sleeping or hanging out in your house and someone feels like they can step up on your front porch. It just kinda gives you a chilling feeling."

It's something more people are likely to feel this year.

By choice or necessity, record numbers of people are shopping online or shipping presents this holiday season. The pandemic is creating a potential gold mine for thieving porch pirates.

"So law enforcement, we have to adapt," Plainfield Deputy Police Chief Joseph Aldridge said. "It is more important this year than ever before for us to be patrolling the neighborhoods of Plainfield to ensure that our consumers don't get victimized."

Additional holiday patrols have already started. Officers who typically don't work the streets are now required to spend at least an hour of their work day patrolling neighborhoods looking for suspicious activity.

Since the program began two years ago, Aldridge said there's been a dramatic decrease in the number of reported porch thefts.

"Last year we had two. One was solved. That is amazing in a community of 30,0 to 40,000 residents," Aldridge said.

Not every community can afford additional police patrols.

Shutes is already being more careful.

"If it is going to be delivered when I'm not home, I'll just maybe hold off until I know I will be here," Shutes said.

There are other ways to protect your holiday deliveries.

Schedule deliveries to arrive when someone is home. Have alerts sent to your phone. Ask a neighbor to pick up your package if you won't be home or if possible use a delivery "drop off" box.

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The pandemic creates more opportunities for porch thefts - WTHR

The Delachaise (Uptown Messenger photo)

When The Delachaise first opened at 3442 St. Charles Ave. 17 years ago, it had a patch of grass out front where owner Evan Hayes hoped to build an outdoor space.

Then 10 years ago, Entergy tore up that section of the avenue to install a new gas line, and Hayes used the opportunity to pave the area and create a patio. That doubled our business, he said. And ultimately, this helped us during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hayes, the owner of The Delachaise and Chais Delachaise, further uptown at 7708 Maple St., loves to tell people about his restaurants. And fortunately for him and his customers both places have ample outdoor spaces in the time of social distanced outdoor dining.

Hayes had worked in the restaurant business for years when, in the late 1990s, he began working in the wine industry. He got to know vendors and wines and felt that he had the background to open The Delachaise.

One thing I learned in the wine business is to let people have a taste of the wine they want to try, Hayes said. This is a way to build relationships, and a good way to interact with people. The selection of wines at The Delachaise is staggering, and there are also substantial beer and spirit selections.

It is named for its location in Faubourg Delachaise between Delachaise and Aline streets, both named in 1855 by the widow Marie Antonine Foucher Delachaise. Given the task of naming the streets in the newly subdivided property, she named Delachaise Street in memory of her late husband, Philippe Auguste Delachaise, and Aline Street for her daughter Aline. She probably never imagined that, a 165 years later, a lively wine bar would occupy the space on St. Charles Avenue where the two streets come together.

The building, which Hayes calls Mission Metro for its resemblance to Paris metro stations, was built in 1904 as a flower shop. Considered a mix of Spanish Mission style and Art Nouveau architecture, it originally housed the Avenue Flower Company. In the interim between the flower shop and the wine bar, there have been a dress shop and an Italian restaurant, among others, in the building. And since 2003, The Delachaise wine bar bistro has been in the distinctive building.

The Delachaise has a 30-foot bar, or as Hayes calls it le grand comptoir the large bar. Madame Delachaise would approve. The place is cozy, the kind of place people go on first dates. Women and men feel comfortable going there alone. Birthdays and anniversaries are celebrated there.

The cheese and charcuterie plate is a popular menu option. (courtesy of The Delachaise)

The most popular food items are their goose fat French fries, the flank steak bruschetta and the cheese and charcuterie plate. And now chef Patrick Nolan is branching out with New Orleans beloved barbecue shrimp, for example.

All customers who sit outside in the patio sooner or later are serenaded by Mike, a self-taught saxophone player. He showed up after Hurricane Katrina and has been a fixture on that section of St. Charles Avenue ever since. When his playing gets to be too much, the staff gently directs him to move away and play softly. That usually works for a while before the process repeats itself.

Playing off the success of The Delachaise, Hayes opened another restaurant, Chais Delachaise, 13 years later, in 2016. It is in an old house on Maple Street, in the university section. The building is set back from the street, creating a space and a front porch that spans its width.

(Courtesy of Chais Delachaise)

Chais Delachaise caters to the neighborhood, to families and students. Its name, of course, includes that of the wine bar bistro on St. Charles Avenue and adds a word play as well. Chais refers to an above-ground wine cellar in French.

Like The Delachaise, the second has ample outdoor seating. And like the first restaurant, Chais Delachaise has those popular goose fat fries on the menu, and its new chef, Barry Credeur, is adding dishes like homemade pts and pastas.

In mid-March, both restaurants had to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Employees filed for unemployment, and then the company made a successful application to the Paycheck Protection Program, known as PPP. The employees then had a choice: stay home and collect unemployment, or come back to work and use the shuttered time to renovate and do repairs that had been on hold for a time. They came to work.

The Delachaise space was renovated, chairs and banquettes were re-upholstered, and two rundown upstairs storage spaces were converted to offices and a storage space, all with air conditioning. Now wine could be stored there it became a chais. Our then-new chef, Patrick Nolan, only a few months on the job, took the kitchen apart, cleaning and restoring every bit of it, Hayes said. And I made the lunch every day.

Chais Delachaise also got its share of sprucing up. The configuration was changed and the walls were repainted. The floors and the bar also got a makeover.

Employees whose jobs had disappeared in the pandemic did most of the work. And the PPP made it possible to pay their salaries.

I feel that I had a different experience from many other restaurants in that regard. Most other restaurants employees opted for unemployment payments, Hayes said.

Evan Hayes also took advantage of the lockdown to expand the outdoor seating area of The Delachaise along Aline Street. It was able to open in the summer with limited outdoor seating. It closed again when employees had been exposed to the virus, but was open at the end of August.

At Chais Delachaise some employees had left town to volunteer in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, curtailing its reopening. But by mid-October, both had reopened.

But opening two restaurants during the pandemic has had its challenges. The prices of meat, especially beef and pork, shot up 40% over the summer but went back down in the fall. Mussels and oysters have not been reliably available. And then there were the safety protocols, the regulations, and changing state and city mandates.

But at least, because both places had outdoor spaces, things could move forward. The Delachaise is operating at about 50% capacity; Chais Delachaise at a quarter or less. But both current operations are fully staffed.

I look forward to full houses, Hayes said, and bringing back Oysters Delachaise, in absinthe cream sauce, when the oyster supply is on track. Customers agree.

The Delachaise3442 St. Charles Avenue504-895-0858www.thedelachaise.com

Chais Delachaise7708 Maple Street504-510-4509www.chaisdelachaise.com

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Patios, a porch and the PPP offered lifeline to Delachaise bistros - UptownMessenger.com

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) The holiday season is here and as if things werent hectic enough, they are about to go up a notch.

Cities already tend to see an uptick in package thefts during the holiday season, but with the coronavirus pandemic causing online shopping and food ordering to skyrocket, it may be even worse this year.

People say theyre not just worried about porch pirates stealing their packages, but also their meals. Richmond native, Marquis Whitted, said he ordered food from a restaurant through Grub Hub on Wednesday. When he went to get his food from his front door it wasnt there.

I received the notification that my food arrived, Whitted said. And to my surprise when I walked outside to get it, nothing was there.

Whitted says he feels blessed to have a job and a roof over his head in the middle of a pandemic. But he wants to know what happens when someone is expecting to feed their family with that order.

I ordered another meal from somewhere else but can everyone do that?, he said. People work hard every day to provide for their families. Its not right for someone to take that away from them, especially around right around the holidays.

Ashley Garlick, a part-owner of The Lily Pad off Brook Road in Henrico County, deals with all the food delivery businesses like GrubHub, Door Dash and UberEats everyday.

She said the pandemic has turned life upside down for so many people across central Virginia but she says that doesnt make it okay to steal.

So much is going on in the world right now, Garlick said. But someone is expecting that food, someone has paid for that food.

She said if a situation like Whitteds happened to a customer at her business, she would ensure the customer that they would help fix the issue.

Ive had to call corporate for other reasons and Im not oppose to doing it again if I had to, said Garlick.

Richmond Police told 8News that package theft has increased from the same period last year.

Theyre concerned thefts will likely continue to rise at a rate higher than in previous years due to the pandemic.

However, RPD is hoping the public can help them in stopping the criminals.

What were hoping is that neighbors talk to their neighbors and community groups and get out the word to people, Richmond Police Department Lt. David Naoroz said. If you can have your packages delivered to a lockbox some of the delivery services offer lockbox services.

Lt. Naoroz said doorbell cameras are also an option in keeping an eye on your package and the porch pirates.

That will certainly notify you if somebodys up on the porch, but then it doesnt necessarily secure your package, Lt. Naoroz said. If any of that stuff is kind of witnessed or people see any of those suspicious activities, we really ask them to give us a call.

And as for Whitted, he said although getting his food stolen wasnt anything life or death, he wants the community to be aware that its happening.

Look, there are more important things going on in the world right now, he said. But I just want people to pay attention and stay vigilant when they are ordering anything to their homes.

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Porch pirates are snatching more than your Christmas gifts this year - 8News

As far as odd and strangely entertaining crashes go, this one is completely unhinged (sorry not sorry for going there). An Audi crashed into a porch and drove off with the front door.

As the tweet below, from the WYP Roads Policing Unit, reveals, the Audi first crashed into another vehicle and then into somebodys porch. The impact was severe enough to unhinge the front door and ram it into the windshield of the Audi, but the driver still drove like this for a while longer before stopping. Even though hed clearly been hit not to mention that he was no longer able to see anything through the windshield.

Driver collided with a vehicle, then the front porch of a house - before then continuing to drive for several meters with front door attached to car. Driver arrested suspected unfit through drink/drugs, the tweet says. Its been tagged #Fatal4, a nationwide campaign meant to raise awareness on the most common motoring offenses, including speeding and DUI.

The 18-year-old male driver of an Audi suffered head injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment for the injuries which are not thought to be serious, a West Yorkshire Police spokesman revealed some time later. Inquiries remain ongoing.

Apparently, the driver of the Audi was the only one to be injured in the incident, and even his injuries are minor. All things considered, this could have ended so much worse than it did.

This means its ok to laugh at the mishap, which is exactly what Twitter is doing. Completely innocent. Looks like hes been framed, one user says. All those doors but still struggled to get out, adds another, while more ask the police if they knocked on the door when they arrived at the scene to arrest the irresponsible driver. Was a two door, now a 3 door car, says one user, while another declares this to be an open and shut case.

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An Unhinged Tale: Audi Crashes Into Porch, Drives Off With the Front Door - autoevolution

Outdoor seating has provided some much-needed help for restaurants during the pandemic. Social distancing guidelines have forced businesses to find ways to seat customers outside of the building so they can be more spread out. Now, the challenge is the colder weather. The Porch Kitchen and Cantina in Winston-Salem recently rolled out their new dining bubbles to provide an enclosed area for guests to eat. I saw in other cities and in Northern Europe they use these bubbles and it will be snowing outside youll be cozy in your bubble! The Porch owner, Claire Calvin, said. The dining bubbles are now open to guests at the porch and Calvin said some people werent sure about the idea at first. Some people were like, that just seems as dangerous as anything else, she said. Calvin explained her thought process, that you can be in the bubble with your own group of people and not be exposed to others.Theres two sides that open so you can kind of air it out and then we obviously sanitize in between, she said. Calvin said the health department doesnt have an issue with the bubbles and more customers are now requesting them specifically when they come to the restaurant. A lot of people really like them, she said. She said its been a tough road for her business and thinks it could get harder during winter, but shes hopeful things will get back to normal eventually.I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if we shut down, theres a light at the end of the tunnel, she said. The bubbles arent the only modification to The Porch, they also opened a separate part of the building that allows for more space while customers are eating.

Outdoor seating has provided some much-needed help for restaurants during the pandemic. Social distancing guidelines have forced businesses to find ways to seat customers outside of the building so they can be more spread out.

Now, the challenge is the colder weather.

The Porch Kitchen and Cantina in Winston-Salem recently rolled out their new dining bubbles to provide an enclosed area for guests to eat.

I saw in other cities and in Northern Europe they use these bubbles and it will be snowing outside youll be cozy in your bubble! The Porch owner, Claire Calvin, said.

The dining bubbles are now open to guests at the porch and Calvin said some people werent sure about the idea at first.

Some people were like, that just seems as dangerous as anything else, she said.

Calvin explained her thought process, that you can be in the bubble with your own group of people and not be exposed to others.

Theres two sides that open so you can kind of air it out and then we obviously sanitize in between, she said.

Calvin said the health department doesnt have an issue with the bubbles and more customers are now requesting them specifically when they come to the restaurant.

A lot of people really like them, she said.

She said its been a tough road for her business and thinks it could get harder during winter, but shes hopeful things will get back to normal eventually.

I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if we shut down, theres a light at the end of the tunnel, she said.

The bubbles arent the only modification to The Porch, they also opened a separate part of the building that allows for more space while customers are eating.

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The Porch Kitchen and Cantina in Winston-Salem introduces dining bubbles - WXII12 Winston-Salem