Baltimore Losing Light Poles to Thieves

AP ^ | 11/25/5

[SmithL]

BALTIMORE -- City streets are getting darker because thieves, some disguised as utility crews, are stealing 30-foot light poles, authorities said.

About 130 aluminum light poles have vanished this fall from locations across the city, despite the difficulty of carting off the 250-pound objects.

The culprits have even dressed up as utility crews, city officials say, and placed orange traffic cones around the poles they are about to take down to avoid making motorists suspicious. Police have no suspects in the thefts, first reported in The (Baltimore) Sun.

Police say the thieves could be stealing the poles, which cost the city $750 each, to sell as scrap metal. For at least a decade, authorities suspect drug addicts have ripped metal pipes, radiators and wires out of vacant houses to pay for their next fix.

[SmithL]

QUICK! Check Sandy Berger's pants.

[Smarti Pants]

Nahhh, I doubt very much "it's that big"

[Publius6961]

It seems to me that it wouldn't be that hard to look over all the scrap metal yards on a regular basis.

This is rocket science?

[Young Werther]

On the other hand it couold be a

Pole_tergeist!

[Bigg Red]

It seems to me that it wouldn't be that hard to look over all the scrap metal yards on a regular basis.
This is rocket science?

&&
Now, now. Don't expect logic; Baltimore is run by Democrats. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this thieves story is just a cover for some kind of scam being run by someone on the City Council using the actual utility workers. The mayor, O'Malley, is a lying, incompetent sack of clinton.

[milagro]

Or pole-ter-heist!

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Right now, aluminum scrap price is about one dollar per pound. So these 250 lb poles are worth about $250 (and the city paid $750 per pole new). That's the story here. Where did the Democrats of Baltimore put the $500 per pole difference?

[calrighty]

California voters are half illegals : )

[SmithL]

grooooooooan

[calrighty]

Gives a whole new meaning to "Pole Tax"

[GovernmentShrinker]

$156,000 for ONE pole/light fixture set?!?!?!? Heck, these thieves may be doing the city a favor, if they make the point that people can get along fine without them.

[mikrofon]

And here we thought the thin Polish folk of Baltimore were just leaving town on their own...

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

Baltimore Losing Light Poles to Thieves

Simple solution: switch to heavy poles.

[coloradan]

That's a great pole-ish joke.

[AuH2ORepublican]

Very punny.

[Rakkasan1]

he's got the whole pole in his pants....sing along now...

[PAR35]

Where did the Democrats of Baltimore put the $500 per pole difference?

Do you pay scrap metal prices when you buy a new car? Go to your car dealer and buy a new fender for your car, and then take the new fender straight to the scrap yard. You aren't going to get 33cents on the dollar.

[GovernmentShrinker]

A longer version of this (also an AP story) said the replacement cost to the city was $156,000 per pole/fixture. I HOPE that was wrong, and this is a corrected version.

[BipolarBob]

California voters are half illegals

A voter is either legal or illegal. You cannot be half illegal. That is like saying someone is just a little pregnant and . . . .wait . . you meant half of the voters . . . . nevermind

[bootless]

This has been going on in the Bay Area for a while - Oakland light poles are stolen and sold to Schnitzer Steel.