Apparently, with all of the old copper fixtures stripped from nearly every abandnoned house in Baltimore, folks in search of scrap metal have turned to stealing lamp posts. According to the New York Times:

Thieves are sawing down aluminum light poles. Some 130 have vanished from Baltimore’s streets in the last several weeks, the authorities say, presumably sold for scrap metal. But so far the case of the pilfered poles has stumped the police, and left many local residents wondering just how someone manages to make off with what would seem to be a conspicuous street fixture.

If you have seen HBO’s “The Wire”, then you are famailiar with the fact that drug users (Think Bubs) routinely gut the inside of abandoned homes in Baltimore, looking for any metal they can trade in for enough money to buy their next fix. But this is on a whole new level. Whomever is stealing these lamposts is organized and precise.

The poles, which weigh about 250 pounds apiece, have been snatched during the day and in the middle of the night, from two-lane blacktop roads and from parkways with three lanes on either side of grass median strips, in poor areas and in some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods. Left behind are half-foot stubs of metal, with wires that carry 120 volts neatly tied and wrapped in black electric tape.

A quick story about Martin. I moved to Baltimore not knowing a soul. On my first night in town, I strolled the streets looking for a suitable local watering hole. I settled on an Irish Bar about three blocks from my house.

The bar was packed, but I found a solitary seat at the bar. On the stage was a band, fronted by a man in his late 30s. He was wearing a white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jeans a la The Boss. And he was rocking out on guitar. Impressed, I asked the guy sitting next to me who the band was.

The man leaned over and said, “O’Malley’s March”

“They local?” I asked.

“I guess you could say that…” he smiled.

Then he pointed to the front man and said, “He’s our Mayor.”

I had a moment of sheer terror when I loaded up the Washington Post website and saw a photo of Martin O’Malley and his wife in front of the microphones. I immediately thought to myself, “Damn! Not Martin!” Of course, I assumed O’Malley had been caught cheating.

Martin, for those of you who don’t follow Maryland politics (and who could blame you) is the Mayor of Baltimore. He also happens to be the first politician I have ever really believed in.

As it turns out, allegedly, some guy in Ehrlich’s (the Republican Governor) office had started spreading nasty rumors. So persistent were these rumors that O’Malley, who had originally ignored them, had to go public and denounce them.

The staffer has been fired and Ehrlich claims that his office is investigating how far (deep?) the conspiracy goes.

ps. O’Malley should take the Governship with ease in 2006 and I won’t be surprised if you see O’Malley for President in 2012 or 2016.