www.yourmoney.com – Blog: Don’t accidentally invalidate your home insurance – by Adam Powell, May 23^rd, 2014:

Few of us think we'll ever fall victim to burglary yet it's an issue that a surprisingly high number of people have faced.

According to recent research, one in 10 of us has had our home burgled. More alarmingly perhaps is that one in three people admit to leaving doors unlocked when they leave the house and six per cent hide spare keys near their front door.

While some may think leaving doors unlocked is a trivial action, by not securing your property efficiently, you'll not only risk burglary, you'll also risk invalidating your home insurance.

If there is no evidence of a forced entry and it appears a burglar strolled in through an unlocked door, your home insurer may refuse to meet your claim. They might say you failed to take appropriate measures to properly secure the property and therefore deem your policy invalid.

Associated Press – "Donor, ex-boyfriend: GOP Senate hopeful stalked me" - May 18th, 2014:

PORTLAND, OREGON (AP) — A millionaire former boyfriend who’s now bankrolling ads against her opponent called the police last year on Monica Wehby, the leading Republican candidate in Oregon’s U.S. Senate race, and accused her of stalking him as their relationship broke up.

Timber company executive Andrew Miller told a Portland police officer on April 4, 2013, that Wehby “had been ‘harassing’ his employees and ‘stalking’ him,” according to a report the officer filed.

Wehby did not address the issue in a debate with Conger in Portland on Friday, and she ignored questions from reporters as she and her staff left out a side door.

Wehby has excited Republicans in Washington, who are impressed by her resume and are hopeful she can raise enough money to make her competitive against Democratic incumbent Jeff Merkley, despite Republicans’ longstanding struggles to win statewide races in Oregon.

Authorities got involved when Miller called police to say Wehby wouldn’t leave his house, according to the report. An officer spotted Wehby’s Mercedes leaving Miller’s neighborhood and pulled her over.

She told the officer she’d been in a relationship with Miller for two years but that something changed over the weekend and he’d stopped talking to her or returning her calls, according to the police report. She said she’d visited his house, and when he didn’t answer, entered through an unlocked back door. The officer told her to go home and not to return to Miller’s home unless she was invited.

Miller said he and Wehby remain friends, but their relationship is over.

 

The Daily Breeze (Torrance, California) – “Burglars creep into two Manhattan Beach homes while residents sleep” – May 5^th, 2014:

Burglars slithered into two Manhattan Beach homes as their residents slept in the middle of the night over the weekend, prompting police on Monday to encourage potential victims to lock their doors and windows at night.

Residents in neither of the homes knew a crime had occurred in the neighboring rooms until they awakened in the morning, Manhattan Beach police Officer Stephanie Martin said.

“The scary part is that you are home asleep and you have no idea somebody is wandering around inside your house,” Martin said. “Unnerving is an understatement when you think of that. And completely terrifying when you wake up and find someone in your home. It’s very scary and very concerning.”

The first crime occurred sometime between 2:45 and 8:45 a.m. Saturday in the 4400 Block of The Strand. Police determined the burglars entered through an unlocked sliding glass door. The residents said the thieves took an iPhone, a wallet and car keys.

The second crime occurred sometime between 5:30 and 10:15 a.m. the same day at a home in the 200 block of Shell Street. Police believe the burglars entered through an unlocked door and took an iPhone, a computer, keys and other personal items.

Police don’t know if the bold burglars targeted the houses or hit them by chance because they were unsecured.

Police throughout the South Bay have cautioned residents for years that they can reduce crime by simply locking their homes and automobiles.