About Knoxville's Kodak

Yep, that's right, beginning yesterday Knoxville, Tennessee is playing host to over 16,000 motorcycles and their rider(s).

The annual Honda Hoot is underway. the Hoot is an annual party for motorcycle enthusiasts from all over.

However lest that many bikers in one place conjure up visions of Hell's Angels, wheelies, and reckless driving you need to take another look.

The Honda Hoot crowd is more the "born to be mild" set. Their first event of the Hoot last night was an ice cream social instead of a beer bust.

This year's Hoot is from June 18 through the 21st and features lots of events centered around riding your motorcycle somewhere from the nearby Smoky Mountains to the finale, a concert by country music star Wynonna Judd.

Honda Hoot features planned rides every day for all registered attendees. Familiar rides include tours to Cumberland Gap and the "Cherohala Skyway Ride" that climbs over a mile high and snakes through the legendary Deals Gap. New in 2008, the "Bikes and Boats at the Lake" ride will allow attendees to visit Lenoir City for water activities and lunch and the "Capes and Cavern Ride" will provide a day of exploring caves for attendees.

The Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation estimates this year’s entire event will have an economic impact of $23.1 million so Knoxville business owners like the Honda Hoot as does most everyone else in Knoxville.

The “Hoot” was originally for Honda owners but it became very popular very quickly and expanded to include all types of motorcycles. Now you can see Ducatis, Kawasakis, Triumphs, Vespas, and most every other brand of bike ridden today at the Hoot.

That could be because copper theft has reached epidemic proportions in many states including Tennessee.

I personally have been witness to two instances.

One was a house I was showing and when we walked around back, the basement door had been kicked open, the copper water pipes cut loose with the water still on. Not surprisingly water was all over the basement and flowing out the door into the yard.

In my second instance I sold a house in a somewhat remote location. It was a foreclosure so naturally it was vacant. Before the closing thieves again kicked in the door but this time they went up, into the attic and cut all the electrical wiring loose. $8,000 dollars in damages for about 50 bucks worth of scrap copper.

Thankfully my Tennessee Association of Realtors is doing something about it along with homebuilders, law enforcement, and industry representatives.

Very soon state Senate Bill 2400 and House Bill 2344 will hopefully be passed in Tennessee.

It will require:

• Registration of scrap metal dealers
• Persons selling scrap metal must provide a valid photo ID along with a thumbprint.
• Scrap metal dealers will be required to keep records of each transaction including name, license plate number, and vehicle information for each seller of scrap metal
• Require scrap metal dealers to pay with a voucher instead of cash in an effort to create a paper trail and break the link between metal thefts and the illegal drug trade.

This bill has already passed the Tennessee Senate and is heading for the House floor soon where it is expected to pass with little or no opposition.