WELCOME TO MIDLAND TEXAS GOP

Across the nation, the Arizona immigration law is a personal insult to many people of Hispanic descent. The Los Angeles City Council, in order to make a political statement, voted to boycott the state of Arizona and Arizona-based business. In response to the Los Angeles boycott, the commissioner of Arizona’s electric and water utilities threatened to cut off the electricity supplied to the Los Angeles power grid by Arizona power plants.

Article Resource: Will Arizona cut power to L.A. over immigration law boycott?

Boycott Arizona spreads nationwide

The Arizona immigration law has encouraged other cities with large Hispanic populations to deprive the state of cash now, including San Francisco, San Diego and Oakland. In Seattle, not known as a center of Hispanic culture, the city council approved a similar boycott May 18. Many organizations across the nation have also canceled conventions in Arizona. Type “boycott Arizona” in Google and you get The National Council of La Raza homepage, inviting institutions nationwide to join the NCLR in their boycott of Arizona. The Los Angeles boycott, however, is the first so far to result in a game of tit for tat over a law that many believe encourages racial profiling and violates civil rights.

Depriving the Los Angeles power grid

Following the Los Angeles boycott, the Arizona Corporation Commission, which administrates the state’s electric and water utilities, raised the idea of pulling the plug on Los Angeles. CNNMoney.com reports that Arizona’s power plants supply electricity to 25 percent of the Los Angeles power grid. Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce wrote in a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa that “If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona’s utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands.”

Los Angeles boycott adds up to millions

The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-1 to bar the city from conducting business with Arizona unless the Arizona immigration law, which will take effect in July, is repealed. The vote was followed an emotional council, as reported by MSNBC, during which numerous members stressed how their ancestors were U.S. immigrants. The stake isn’t exactly among small potatoes. Los Angeles has as much as $ 58 million in investments and contracts with Arizona. Most of the that money involves airport, port and energy service that lawfully cannot be influenced by the boycott. About $ 7.7 million remains in city contracts that could most likely be put into play. Among those contracts include helicopter services, waste management, taser guns, and engineering and surveillance equipment.

Arizona – will they really cut power to Los Angeles?

Will Arizona really cut power to Los Angeles? John LeSueur, a spokesman for Pierce, downplayed the threatening nature of the letter. He said the commission itself does not have the authority for Arizona to cut power to Los Angeles. “It’s not a threat,” he explained to CNNMoney.com. “It’s just pointing out the ramification of what L.A.’s threat would be on the boycott. If they carry out their threat to boycott Arizona, that includes 25 percent of their power.” Los Angeles, as noted by LeSueur, has partial ownership in two of Arizona’s power plants, which includes a 5.7 percent stake in the Palo Verde nuclear power plant and a 21 percent stake in the Navajo Generation Station on a Navajo reservation.

Hispanics could get the whip’s tip with the Arizona boycott

The economic impact of the Arizona immigration law could be substantial. Fox News reports that Phoenix officials say their city could lose up to $ 90 million in the next five years over the protests. The figure represents not just lost convention and hotel fees but other money tourists would otherwise spend in the city. In a twist of irony, a major portion of Arizona’s hospitality and service workforce is made up of Hispanics. State officials point out that Hispanic workers have the most to lose, with city governments and organizations pulling the plug on travel and conventions in Arizona.