I've never heard the hospital story either. Here in the Central Valley the meth heads were stealing wire and copper plumbing out of street lights, partially constructed homes, farming equipment, railroad communication lines (as they were being installed), commercial propane supply systems, abandoned buildings, exterior electrical boxes, etc. Pretty much anything that wasn't supervised 24/7.
I don't like the law and in fact last time I was at the recycler I was told I had to wait 3 days for my $6 aluminum scrap payout. I declined as I didn't think the hassle of driving back out there three days later would be worth it. I must admit however that I have not heard any stories in the news about the farmers getting their equipment stripped lately. For awhile there, it was almost every week one of them was suffering losses in the 10's of thousands of dollars due to damages caused by the metal thieves.
Looks like it was AB 844 that brought about the 3 day waiting period:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_recycle06.3fa1a1f.html
Oh, and I do agree a system as important as a hospital back-up generator should be checked regularly. In fact, I'm surprised the system wasn't self-monitored. I know the generators we have at our newer fire stations will sound an alarm inside the station if there is a fault in the generator's system.
Edit: That reminds me, I have two radiators sitting in my side yard right now, sounds like it would be worth my time to bring them in. I just need to figure out how to cut some tires off some old aluminum wheels so I can bring them in at the same time...