It’s too late in the evening for another serious post, so here’s some Florida man and woman for you.
A Florida man and woman were arrested for stealing downed power lines after Hurricane Irma, according to officials.
Deputies were called to an Altamonte Springs neighborhood Sept. 16 after a neighbor said two people were cutting downed power lines on his property.
Deputies said the power lines were down after a pole snapped in half during Hurricane Irma.
The power was out and the neighborhood was dark, deputies said.
Deputies found $5,000 worth of power lines cut up in the back of a truck.
They questioned Charles Mahoy, 41, and Andrea Foster, 45, and found methamphetamine and marijuana in the truck, deputies said.
Mahoy and Foster were arrested on suspicion of larceny during a state of emergency, criminal mischief and drug possession.
Apparently it’s something of a crime epidemic:
Two men were arrested in #Jacksonville for trying to steal a JEA light pole after Hurricane Irma https://t.co/ExNK1bPypp pic.twitter.com/8ekS8XpprC
— ActionNewsJax (@ActionNewsJax) September 14, 2017
Open thread!
BCHS Class of 1980
But they’re not looters or thieves, remember; they’re foragers. H/T The Onion
Steve in the ATL
Florida men attested while shirtless? Color me shocked!
SiubhanDuinne
Not to bring the lighthearted tone down, but please spare a good thought for commenter Betty (not Cracker; the Other Betty), who lives in Dominica. Hurricane Maria, by that time a Category 5, made landfall in Dominica an hour or two ago.
Adam L Silverman
@BCHS Class of 1980: Actually I’m planning on doing a post on that. Just not tonight.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: If you go to the link, the Altamonte Springs couple were also pretty pale.
BlueDWarrior
Since this is an open thread, I’d like to kindly appeal to the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball to just lay down and die already. Seriously. Stop winning.
[ Yes I’m being a whiny Cubs fan right now, but seriously this race is about all I have to root for in terms of Sportsball because the Saints still can’t find their way to a defense and LSU is too young to compete for the SEC in real terms right now ]
Davebo
Their power was out and they thought the lines still had electricity in them!
different-church-lady
@BlueDWarrior: AC0101001
lollipopguild
@BlueDWarrior: LSU is too young? Maybe they should move to the Sunbelt until they get older.
albertZ
@Steve in the ATL: Looks like one of their shirts is on the end of the pole – so they thought of that. Safety Third!
Mike in NC
Wife spoke on the phone to friends in Tampa last week. Irma was scary shit but they made it through OK. They invited people they knew in Naples to come up, and they brought their dog and cat to ride out the hurricane.
Mnemosyne
@Mike in NC:
Although my nieces’ mother is a devil woman, she has enough of a sense of self-preservation to evacuate all of them from Naples to your neck of the woods well ahead of time. I should see if they’re back in Florida yet.
Omnes Omnibus
@BlueDWarrior: No.
boatboy_srq
This is a different class of theft than petty/grand larceny? IANAL, and FL is what/where it is, so the idea of this kind of legal granularity is… interesting.
As is the idea that the entire state is up for grabs just because bits of it are upended, also too.
NotMax
There’s a (tortured) joke in there somewhere about a neighborhood rumored to be frequented by British tourists and “the wireless,” but still partially unawake from a power nap.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@SiubhanDuinne: That’s just terrifying. I hope she comes through it okay.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
This is, I believe, the guy who said trump would die in prison, which I still think would be too much to hope for, but… still I hope
NotMax
Emboldened Golden State.
efgoldman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
He may, but given his age, health, and stress, I think he’s just as likely to leave the WH on a gurney.
Another Scott
Meth eats brains.
:-(
In other news, GovExec:
Fun, fun, fun.
:-/
I assume the Democrats will stay strong, but they need our help and encouragement.
WHTFTESD.
Cheers,
Scott.
NJDave
You know, I think these stories are terribly sad. How desperate, and addled, must you be to try to steal a light poll? Yes the stupidity is amusing, but the circumstances that led to these crazy measures are usually pretty awful.
Yeah, I’m a liberal.
Frankensteinbeck
People dig up the ground to steal power lines for the copper. It’s a thing.
Adam L Silverman
@Another Scott: Yep, without a waiver things will get ugly come mid December even if they pass a proper appropriation for the rest of the fiscal year.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@efgoldman: a grabber on the crapper a la Elvis is not out of the question
Adam L Silverman
This is interesting:
efgoldman
@NJDave:
Not the poles; the copper wires. Copper has pretty good scrap value. It goes for $1.00 to as high as $2.50/lb.
Major Major Major Major
I’m extremely pleased that this post is in the “energy policy” category.
Another Scott
@efgoldman: The pole on the car probably had very little copper wire inside. I assume the pole was aluminum. It looks like aluminum scrap prices are around $0.50/pound, so they might get enough for it to fill the gas tank and get a 6 pack of MD 20/20.
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
@efgoldman:
the poles are made of copper?
Genuinely curious. I don’t get the thievery of the light pole
JCJ
@BlueDWarrior:
Tell ya what – just have the Colorado Rockies throw in the towel, then we will both be happy!
I am very glad that the Cubs beat down St Louis last weekend.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: It’s the attention to the little details that make each post here at Balloon Juice special.
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: I thought it was the commenters.
NotMax
Add in no doubt at least similarly increased funding for black budget items and also peripheral related costs and we’ve shot far past the trillion dollar mark.
From the same link, anyone care to hazard a guess on which lobbies have been buttering McCain’s toast?
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: They aren’t. It’s Florida. People do really strange things here 24/7/365. Rain, shine, natural and/or man made disaster.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: The commenters make the commentary to each post here at Balloon Juice special. Everyone and everything in its proper place.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I didn’t see this, but I’m very glad it happened
NJDave
@efgoldman: The post says pole. The two shirtless guys on the ground look pathetic. Two guys with little clothing try to steal a light pole. Maybe it’s my upbringing but I see this as terribly sad.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: That would be a terrible idea given the cost to the taxpayer.
Bess
They weren’t stealing. They were foraging.
It’s a white thang….
Omnes Omnibus
@Major Major Major Major: No, it’s the fanatical devotion to the Pope.
Adam L Silverman
@NJDave: Here’s the reporting on the two guys in Jacksonville:
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/two-men-appear-in-police-custody-with-power-pole-on-suv-in-jacksonville/608658246
Another Scott
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks.
I assume the “value” was the cost to replace it, not what they would get for it at a scrap yard.
E.g. 40-foot, 10″ diameter, 1/4″ thick aluminum, hurricane resistant light pole for $2787
Cheers,
Scott.
efgoldman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: “
One of my guys, and a really good one.
Also, he knows what he’s talking about. Former state attorney general and US attorney.
Adam L Silverman
@Another Scott: I do not know as I am neither in the licit or illicit scrap metal business. They may be doing this because they’re desperate. They may also be doing this because they’re criminals. Or both.
LunarG
You know, in some states, fiber optic cable for high speed internet is also hung on power lines. And you really don’t want to mess around that stuff; it splinters, and fragments can works their way into your eye, or circulatory system, or other places you don’t want tiny, razor-edged bits of glass. There are strict protocols for handling broken fiber for a reason! Husband’s job involves maintaining fiber across MI, & I’ve heard horror stories.
Err, hi! I mostly lurk.
NotMax
@Another Scott
It wasn’t much more than a century ago that aluminum was one of the most expensive metals around, so dear that a small pyramid of it is what was chosen to embellish the top of the Washington Monument as an honor.
Funny ol’ world, innit?
BlueDWarrior
@Adam L Silverman: I kinda want to go with both, myself.
Major Major Major Major
@Omnes Omnibus: Damn it, I was saving up for that joke.
Adam L Silverman
@LunarG: Hello.
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: It was just laying there. I had to pick it up and run with it. It’s what rugby players do. Even old ones.
s herl
Dammit, give em break. They probably needed a 20 foot light pole and it was just laying there. If it was a tree limb they would be lauded as good neighbors for helping with the cleanup. I mean who doesn’t need a light pole for the backyard…or something.
Major Major Major Major
@LunarG:
Hi! How are you?
ETA: I am fine. I am drawing a ghost.
Ruckus
@Another Scott:
Scrap value probably around $175.
Now here in CA that would be a problem. You have to show a DL to get paid for the scrap, they take a photo copy. Then they call the cops because they otherwise the scrapyard gets in trouble, as the local cops check on things like light poles, guard rail, etc. I believe the limit for grand theft is still $2000 and it’s the value of the item not the scrap value. I had a very expensive piece of special copper stolen once. The scrap value was $33.00 but the valuation was $5000.00 because of the actual material and the work that had been done. The cops intervened because of the scrapyard and I got my material back and someone had a grand theft warrant issued.
NotMax
An idiosyncratic high cost of aging in Japan.
Another Scott
@NotMax: Yup. Napoleon had aluminum utensils, etc.
Cheers,
Scott.
Kelly
Last year a fellow around here died trying to steal wire from a dormant sawmill. Cut a fat wire that was still hot 440 volt.
Omnes Omnibus
@Major Major Major Major: It was just laying there. I had to pick it up and run with it. It’s what rugby players do. Even old ones.
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: Bad hit on the reply button.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman:
I’m going with desperate criminals.
Timurid
@s herl:
Maybe they were going to go full Mad Max… speaking of “RAMMING SPEED”…
NotMax
@Kelly
Now that’s extra crispy.
@LunarG
Howdy! Once the ice is broken, the swimming is quite invigorating.
Amir Khalid
@NotMax:
What will USAF and USN and USMC do with the extra planes? Will they have to recruit and organise new squadrons at an extra cost of billions for people, equipment, premises, and such? Or will these not-exactly-cheap planes be left to rot in a hangar?
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
This is not the first time that congress has done this, bought more than the Pentagon wants. Especially very expensive things the Pentagon doesn’t want. This is what you get when lobbing congress is free speech and a lot of people are invested in that lobbing. The only people that want to spend money on this is congress and the plane mfg. There will be some very lucrative jobs in the lobbing industry/airplane mfg for a few congressmen over this.
ETA To answer your question, yes, for the simple reason that congress will not authorize the money that it takes to operate them. There is no one to lobby for operational money.
LunarG
Perhaps the Florida men were just trying to organize a spot of caber tossing? Fine neighborhood activity?
@NotMax
I’ve heard that polar plunges–New Year’s Day dips into Lake Michigan are invigorating, too! I have learned to distrust that word!
But thanks all & sundry for the greetings!
rikyrah
@LunarG:
Hi?
Post again soon ?
NotMax
@Ruckus
Yes, and also a bargaining chip for the conference committee.
“Okay, we’ll put back in your funding for [fill in the blank] and make the supreme sacrifice of budgeting for only 20 more planes than the Pentagon says it wants, not 24.”
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: Unless you drown.
I put up the map today btw, with your suggestions on it :)
gene108
@rikyrah:
It’s a light pole. How cool is it to have one in your backyard? Pretty fucking cool. ❄️??
John Revolta
@Ruckus: So, did the coppers collar the cons that copped your copper?
Mary G
I wonder what the guy on the right has on his left arm. It looks like a black opera glove, but that seems unlikely. A really dark sleeve tattoo?
Mary G
@Major Major Major Major: What’s the name of the architectural font labelling the rooms and floors? I love fonts.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Mary G:
It looks like one of the innumerable variants of Tekton.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@John Revolta: Oh gawd, don’t give up the day job.
Steeplejack (phone)
@John Revolta:
Obligatory.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Just had a minor shaker here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@?BillinGlendaleCA: USGS says 3.6 magnitude centered in Westwood.
Major Major Major Major
@Mary G: @Steeplejack (phone): Just something I found on the innertubes called ‘Drafter’. I get most of my fonts from Blambot but that one I just googled for.
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
But – but – the Shakers are celibate.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: You’re on the list.
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
I used to work in the Altamonte Springs area as a FL Dept of Corrections Probation Officer. Oh the memories this news story evokes. Apparently nothing has changed in the last 20 years.
Mary G
@Steeplejack (phone): @Major Major Major Major: Thanks, gentlemen. I also found one called Graphite.
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
A longtime favorite font site. (For Amir, in the original Deutsch.)
NotMax
@NotMax
While on the subject, a couple more links.
A pretty darn decent comic book style free font.
And another very nice font site.
John Revolta
@Steeplejack (phone): Clever.
SectionH
@SiubhanDuinne: The weather news looked really grim. Friend in Canada paying attention:
buildings being trashed (i.e. Barbuda) doesn’t = people dying. I really really hope she’s right.
bluesqueezebox
they were going to use them to lasso alligators. Stupid Floridians don’t know it’s much easier to do it with water moccasins once you train them to hold each other’s tails in their mouths.
sm*t cl*de
@Another Scott:
That “etc.” could cover a multitude of sins. What else did Napolean have made in aluminium? Inquiring minds are inquiring.
sm*t cl*de
@boatboy_srq:
It’s not “stealing an election” when you’re white. It’s just “picking up a few votes that were lying around”. Salvaging, is all.
Ruckus
@John Revolta:
Probably not, I was never called to testify about the copper value. Now he could have been caught and copped a plea……..