Filed by KOSU News in US News.
January 31, 2013

Over the last year, small gnomes started springing up all around Oakland, Calif. The elfin creatures are hand-painted on wooden boards; each is about six inches tall with red hats, brown boots, and white beards. They’re bits of urban folk art from an anonymous painter who surreptitiously screws them onto the base of utility poles.

The local utility — Pacific Gas and Electric — balked, and vowed to remove all of the gnomes. That’s until recently, after a surge of popular gnome support caused PG&E to have a change of heart. Melissa Block, host of All Things Considered, talked to the gnome’s creator about the project. NPR has agreed to preserve his anonymity.

If you’ve spotted one of the gnomes in Oakland, we want to see your photos. Upload your images to Twitter or Tumblr and use the hashtag #nprgnome. [Copyright 2013 NPR]