Thread by @skepticaliblog

*South Africa vibes intensify*

California has now arrived at the "infrastructure is being cannibalized" junction

Copper thefts have escalated at an alarming rate from ~500 cases five years ago to a staggering 6,842 cases—costing LA well over $20 million
dailynews.com/2024/02/14/la-…

“Train signals are being shut down because of metal theft, putting at risk a train full of people, all for the benefit of $20 to $30 worth of copper”

The cost to taxpayers will be $2.5 million to repair Sixth Street Bridge and bring the lights back on
dailynews.com/2024/02/14/la-…

The soaring rate of copper thefts has—along with a shortage of electricians—created a huge backlog of requests for streetlight repairs

Getting a city crew to repair a streetlight once took a few days, but now it takes months—and in some cases up to a year
dailynews.com/2024/03/01/la-…

Here is another collapsing state which was initially built on a 19th century gold rush—but is now plagued by power blackouts, infrastructure cannibalization, political corruption, homelessness, poverty and crime:

https://x.com/skepticaliblog/status/1684398149111259137

"I don't understand...society must be at its lowest point right now for people to want to vandalize a cemetery"

Thieves stripped 100 bronze plaques from the mausoleum, including a plaque donated by boxer Joe Louis honoring African American WWII soldiers.
abc7.com/la-county-ceme…

'The historic bronze streetlight poles are more than 100 years old

... Authorities believe the suspects are using a vehicle to ram the streetlights before using the chain and the vehicle to forcibly pull the poles from their foundations'
ktla.com/news/local-new…

Oakland has removed all the traffic lights from one intersection and replaced them with 4-way stop signs—after months of people stealing copper wires and tampering with the city electrical boxes

"It's just telling us that the city is giving up on us"
cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/n…

California's ongoing South Africanization continues apace

The cannibalization of extant infrastructure now includes fire hydrants—with at least 302 stolen in Los Angeles County since the start of 2023
latimes.com/california/sto…

"The neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights and El Sereno saw their streetlights stripped of copper wire, leaving multiple blocks in the dark."

Copper thieves cut phone service to seniors in South L.A.
latimes.com/california/sto…

An attempted copper theft in Van Nuys caused a widespread internet outage affecting swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties

Spectrum said that the severing of wires has become “an issue affecting the entire telecommunications industry.”
latimes.com/california/sto…

Welcome to late-stage South Africanization: stealing cemetery headstones for copper

"a dozen headstones were taken and several dozens more were damaged or moved. She thinks the thieves are stealing them for the bronze or copper plaques."
abc7.com/post/dozen-hea…

“The city’s most expensive bridge project to date, costing an estimated $588 million

... the thieves who stripped the bridge’s copper wiring probably netted about $11,000.

But it will cost the city $2.5 million to assess and repair the damage”
latimes.com/california/sto…

“If it’s happening across the city, then it’s an endemic problem”

Copper wire thefts have been turning streets across L.A. dark, with the Hollywood Hills becoming the latest affected area
ktla.com/news/local-new…

“Thieves are targeting electric vehicle charging stations for copper wire -- cutting cords and even breaking into chargers using hacksaws. It's a costly fix to repair the vandalized stations”
abc7.com/post/copper-wi…

There is an ongoing dark comedy of delusional California Democrats pursuing quixotic boondoggles like HSR and mandating EVs—while in reality the state has already shifted onto to the civilizational downslope of South African infrastructure cannibalization

https://x.com/MattSeedorff/status/2010970680440066269

> 40% of outages are a result of copper wire theft
> Theft is up by over 50,000% (!) from 2006 to 2021
> Los Angeles' DSA Councilmember: clearly, the solution is higher taxes to pay for “street light fortification”

“The thieves have been ripping off Little League parks’ electrical boxes and lines for stadium lights, which is threatening teams planning night games and practices”
nypost.com/2026/02/05/us-…

Four or five months without service

32,000 (!) active streetlight repair requests across Los Angeles
foxla.com/news/copper-wi…