For months, copper thefts have plagued Southern California, to the point that some neighborhoods have been left in the dark.
It’s a problem that has vexed local officials, prompting the creation of a Los Angeles Police Department task force to catch the thieves.
But while city officials discuss how to nab the culprits and stop the stealing, Angelenos are saying that’s not enough. They want what’s been broken to be repaired, especially for the site of one of the most prominent thefts.
The 6th Street Bridge made a splash when it opened two years ago and featured a ribbon of light that dazzled many locally and elsewhere, but ever since its copper wiring was stolen, it’s been left in the dark for almost a full year.
As SFGate reports, at least one person thinks that is unacceptable.
“Fix the lights you lazy f—ks,” a graffito wrote in red on the bridge.
Local officials are working toward repairing the lights, but not before ensuring that the wire won’t be easily stolen again, said Pete Brown, spokesperson for Councilman Kevin de León, whose 14th District includes the bridge.
Investigators believe the thefts are performed by organized crews that sometimes don safety vests and make off with the wiring in broad daylight, or alternatively, they’ll outsource the actual thefts to people with substance-abuse issues who will trade the stolen wire for drugs.
In response to that threat, the Bureau of Engineering is working to redesign access panels to make further wire thefts nearly impossible, Brown explained.
Once that redesign is done — ideally by the end of this year — then the lights will be turned back on in short order.
