Oregonian

Copper-wire thieves are knocking out streetlights across Portland, leaving highways – and police – in the dark

There’s a stretch of Interstate 84 in Portland, near where it connects to Interstate 205, that for weeks last year was unnervingly dark at night. The reason: many of the streetlights weren’t working.
Los Angeles Times

Copper thieves cut phone service to seniors in South L.A.

South Los Angeles resident Shonte Dudley could not get a hold of her mother, Mable Bush, using the 92-year-old’s usual phone for several months. Bush, who lives in South L.A. near the Inglewood border ...
Los Angeles Times

Copper thieves cut off this SoCal suburb’s phones for months and the bills kept coming

For six months, Hacienda Heights resident Michael Weiner could not get a dial tone on his landline. He tried to get an answer from his phone company, Frontier Communications, but was told that it was ...
Oregonian

Portland police arrest alleged copper thieves amid a ‘sharp rise’ in wire theft

Police on Monday arrested two people and cited another for allegedly masterminding a copper-wire theft operation that wreaked thousands of dollars in damage on telecommunications lines in Portland.
Star Tribune

As copper wire thefts continue, Twin Cities officials scrounge for solutions

From silent alarms, welding, retail screws to even duct tape, Twin Cities officials have tried more than a dozen solutions to prevent copper wire thefts this year. Some fixes have shut down criminal ...
Kitsap Sun

Port Orchard wire theft part of trend that's growing as copper prices rise

A Port Orchard man with electrical experience was arrested for allegedly stealing copper wire from phone lines. Copper wire theft is increasing nationwide, driven by rising copper prices. Washington ...