[September 17, 2011] The Fresno Bee, Calif., Bill McEwen column Tweet Sep 18, 2011 (The Fresno Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Think you've had a rough week? Chances are it wasn't as rough as Fresno City Council Member Oliver Baines' week. He got robbed twice: once the old-fashioned way, by burglars, and once by Internet hackers. The electronic thieves hijacked two email accounts and his contacts list. The burglars ran off with stuff that easily can be replaced and something that can't be -- his family's sense of security. This is life in the technology-driven 21st century. This is life in the recession, as short-staffed police departments are hard-pressed to catch thieves who, if caught, will be cut loose from short-staffed jails, anyway. I learned of Baines' email trouble Monday morning when I received a message stating that he had been mugged in Madrid while on vacation and had a "problem settling the hotel bills." The email asked me to send money. When I called Baines to find out if any of his friends had fallen for the scam and wired money to the crooks, he told me that his home was broken into Tuesday evening. "Very few people believed I was in Madrid," Baines says. "The more troubling aspect is, all of my contacts are gone and someone is privy to my email." The burglars were in the house when Baines' daughter came home. Fortunately for her, they fled out the back when they heard the door open. "It's hard to take because it leaves you feeling that you're not safe in your own home," Baines says. "I'm a former police officer, my wife is a block captain for Neighborhood Watch and it still happened to us." There's more to this story. Baines' street in a southwest Fresno neighborhood is dark at night because thieves stole copper wire from the streetlights. He filed a report and his street went on the repair list -- just like many others in Fresno. "Because it was all dark, it created a perfect environment for the burglar," Baines says. Even before the burglary, Baines had been pushing Public Works and Utilities Director Patrick Wiemiller to speed up residential street light repairs. But a bleak city budget and the soaring price of copper wire have left Wiemiller with no people-pleasing options. "Copper-wire theft is an immense problem," Wiemiller says. "It's costing us $50,000 a month." City Hall has only 11 electricians. They are responsible for 40,000 streetlights and 488 intersections with traffic signals. Of late, thieves have even been ripping wire from the devices controlling the signals. "You can't have a nonfunctioning intersection, so that is the first priority," Wiemiller says. Next on the repair list are lights at intersections and along major traffic/business corridors. Last are residential lights. The consequence: It's five months before neighborhood lights go back on. Wiemiller adds that while repairs are prioritized, he sifts through special situations and does what he thinks is best. "But whatever system you have in place, the thieves are outpacing us 5-to-1," he says. The best way to protect against burglaries is to take matters into your own hands. Fresno police Lt. Dan Gross recommends that you install security lights and deadbolts and keep shrubs trimmed. You can find other suggestions at fblinks.com/prevent. "Anything an individual can do for themselves is better than what we can do," Gross says. "Prevention isn't very exciting, but it can keep you from losing that sense of security in your own home." The columnist can be reached at [email protected] or (559) 441-6632. ___ (c)2011 The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.) Visit The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.) at www.fresnobee.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]