Los Feliz Ledger: "Thieves are taking the copper wire from streetlights, in some cases, leaving whole blocks in the dark"

Is this an example of job-creation? I've been noticing streetlights out in Los Angeles myself:

Copper wire theft is an ongoing problem in Los Angeles and the nation as a whole. Challenging economic times make the theft of copper wire and heavy metals very lucrative.

Thieves are taking the copper wire from streetlights, in some cases, leaving whole blocks in the dark. My office is receiving a few complaints from the Los Feliz area of the 4th District about streetlights going dark, but the problem is not as prevalent in Los Feliz as in other areas of the city.

There are two dedicated crews from the Bureau of Street Lighting who are responding to all of these outages. But they can only move so fast; and with the city’s budget challenges, replacing stolen copper-wire is an extra cost that we can ill-afford. [...]