WATCH: Have YOU Ever Stolen a Gym Towel?

The issue of is back on the forefront of local conversation after the Wall Street Journal included the CA’s $500,000-a-year costs to replace and maintain towels in a national story about "terry-cloth bandits."

It costs between $50,000 and $60,000 to replace the towels, which are provided at CA-operated gyms, CA officials said. The rest of the towel maintenance money is spent on washing, drying, folding and bleaching them, officials said.