Beware of Storm-Related Charity and Contracting Scams

Better Business Bureau asks people to be wary of those seeking to make a buck off of Irene.

Your home and wallet may take a serious beating when a big storm like Hurricane Irene hits. The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to be wary of fly-by-night “storm chasers,” as well as fraudulent charities promising to provide relief. Storm chasers and other door-to-door salespeople often peddle dubious deals that may cost homeowners thousands of dollars and create serious headaches. BBB recommends doing your research to avoid getting taken advantage of by untrustworthy home contractors and the like. For those who seek to aid in relief, BBB Wise Give Alliance urges donors to check trustworthy charities before making any donations. Not only do Americans need to be concerned about avoiding fraud, they also need to make sure their …

• Photos (1)

[Photo Gallery] Countering Irene's Lemons with Lemonade

Four kids, two types of lemonade, one dog; mix and you get a good deed.

The summertime lemonade stand: it is about as American as it comes in terms of rites of passage for kids everywhere. And while most pint-sized vendors see this as their chance to stretch their entrepreneurial wings into the business world, four neighbors decided that their stand at the corner of Waverley and Waverley Terrace would go to helping the flood victims of Hurricane Irene in Vermont. So Drew Bates, 10, and her seven-year-old brother and their friends and neighbors, Quinn Manion, 10, and Ana Oteri, 9, created a sign, made two types of semi-sweetened lemonade (regular and pink) priced at 75 cents a glass, a dollar for two, brought out a table and chairs and along with the stand's mascot, Katie the dog, prepared for an afternoon of …

• Photos (10)

PatchCast

PatchCast: Wet and Wild Weather

A video roundup of the area's latest developments for Monday, Aug. 29.

Follow the links below for more on today's featured headlines:

• Videos (1)

[Photo Gallery] Timber! Belmont's Trees, Wires are Irene's Main Casualties

With the storm petering out at 2 p.m., departments were kept busy with calls of lost power and downed trees.

With as many trees as residents, it should be expected that a tropical storm such as Irene even skirting by Belmont would leave a number of the town's arbor population damaged or toppled. And throughout the late morning and into the afternoon, the town reverberated with the loud "crack" of limbs and branches separating from their hosts, falling onto electrical lines, disrupting power for customers to the town's light utility for anywhere between 15 minutes to several hours.  Irene's winds created the most havoc in town as the town's brooks and ponds were well within their banks in the early afternoon.  "Tons of calls," had been coming into the Belmont Police station as of 11:30 a.m., according to the officer on call, with the overwhelming …

• Photos (28)