In this dismal worldwide economy, there are bits of good news, albeit some of them are side effects of the bad. One is a drop in metal thefts, which corresponds directly to a sharp drop in metal prices. For example, the price of recycled copper, which reached $4...

Ending two years of debate, the Legislature on Thursday gave final approval to a bill aimed at stopping metal theft, a growing problem in the valley and elsewhere.

Modesto Junk Co. Inc. has been named one of the top small businesses in California. The scrap metal and household products recycling operation received the 2008 California Small Business Award on May 28 in Sacramento. Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, whose 25th District includes the company, gave the business the award.

A down economy hits small-business owners as hard, if not harder, than a national chain. Customer traffic sometimes dries up, but the bills still have to be paid, personally and for the business.

Nothing is sacred to metal thieves. They'll put their lives at risk to pull a few hundred dollars' worth of copper out of a light fixture, swipe a plaque from a 50-year-old war veterans monument, tear apart equipment at grade schools, even steal cemetery memorials.

After the defeat of a California bill that aimed to curb the copper thefts that have plagued farms and construction sites across the state, a coalition has drafted a version for local governments.

For more than 80 years, the Highiet family and Modesto Junk Co. have provided scrap recycling services to Modesto, Calif., and the surrounding Stanislaus County/San Joaquin Valley region.