Regional briefs 4/7/06

First Friday Coffee meets today

April's First Friday Coffee event will feature the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast and a Shape Up Cape kickoff. The event, held at the Show Me Center, begins with a continental breakfast at 7 a.m. with the programs starting at 7:40 a.m., according to a news release from the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. For additional information, contact the chamber at 335-3312.

Resurfacing work begins Monday on I-55

Interstate 55 from Scott City to Fruitland is scheduled to undergo resurfacing beginning Monday evening. Northbound lanes on I-55 will be reduced to one lane while new asphalt is laid over existing pavement, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. Work is scheduled to take place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and is anticipated to be completed by September, the release stated. Motorists are encouraged to use caution in and near the work zone. For additional information, contact MoDOT's customer service center at (888) 275-6636.

State targets Web sites selling phone records

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- You're not supposed to have your Social Security number on your driver's license or throw away bank and credit card statements without shredding them to bits -- all to prevent identity theft. But for anywhere from $80 to $110, some Web sites will provide a variety of personal and sensitive information -- including a copy of the previous month's cell phone bill. But the practice has gotten harder over the last three months as federal regulators, privacy groups and politicians have raised identity theft concerns. Congress and more than half the states have considered bills that would criminalize the sale of phone records. Missouri and Illinois are among those states and cell phone companies filing lawsuits alleging violations of existing fraud laws. Missouri lawmakers on Thursday passed separate measures in the House and Senate that would make buying or selling phone records a felony.

-- From staff, wire reports