Readers sounded off loud and long on our story about the lack of teeth in the L.A. City Council's boycott of Arizona because of its controversial state immigration law, SB1070 ("Toothless Boycott," by Gene Maddaus, Aug. 12).
Los Angeles has not enforced the boycott in any meaningful way. But it now has a chance. The city could refuse to award a $90 million contract to Honeywell to upgrade computer systems at the Hyperion sewage treatment plant in El Segundo (if indeed Honeywell is headquartered in Arizona, a claim the company denies).
Bess Byers writes: "What part of illegal do people not understand? Can someone show me any other country that gets chastised for enforcing its immigration and border laws?
"I spent 10 months in China. I sure didn't illegally enter, demand services, expect amnesty, then bitch when I get deported.
"As an L.A. resident, I support Arizona's immigration law. If our elected officials enforced the laws, maybe we wouldn't have overflowing jails, sky-high crime rates and debt deeper than a black hole. Just saying ...
"Enforcing our border laws isn't racist, it's right."
Danicalifornia writes: "I'm so ashamed to be an L.A. County resident right now. The stupid L.A. City Council talks a big bad game but can't back up its mouth."
Icecld writes: "California is the epicenter of computer technology. Can't L.A. find a company there to program the computer for the sewage? Excuses, excuses. Look into the person hiring Honeywell and notice the new bulge in their pocket. It's a roll of cash — not their genitals."
Chad Krystals writes: "I live in Arizona. Nothing changed because of SB1070. Hispanics and all races of people here still get along, though this law has put a divide in a lot of the community. However, the sewage problem of L.A. is more of an issue and they shouldn't be bickering who should fix it. It should just be taken care of and not have all the extra baggage."
Finally, Rickabrams writes: "The attempt to deny the contract to Honeywell is simply bigotry. No one has shown that Honeywell financed the anti-immigrant law like AEG's chief Phil Anschutz, famous homophobe, backs anti-gay legislation. The city council is only all too glad to do business with his company despite his well-publicized prejudice.
"Honeywell is being attacked not because it did anything wrong, but because it belongs to a group that the City Council does not like. It is not clear what group that may be. ... For all this council knows, the Arizonans who fought most vigorously against the anti-immigrant legislation may work for Honeywell. This law is like firing a rifle into a moving train and when you kill a pregnant woman, you claim that you thought there was a bad person on the train."
Rickabrams doesn't stop there. In fact, our favorite commenter of the year is just getting warmed up.
"L.A. is such a corrupt 'Pay to Play' city that it is a disgrace that this council would even think of dictating how other people should live," he continues. "Let's look at the need to sanitize our City Hall.
"(1) Where's the missing $1.4 million from the Cesspool on Vine?
"(2) Who's getting what with the 49- and 55-story high-rise Garcetti Towers around the Capitol building?
"(3) What happened to the missing $454 million from Hollywood & Highland. $625 M to construct and then sold to CIM Group for $201 M and then Garcetti et alia gave CIM Group another $30 M to rehab the newly built Kodak Theater. That's close to one-half billion dollars and no one wants to know where it went, or maybe they all know and don't want the public to find out.
"(4) Who OK'd CRA's agreeing to pay CIM Group $17.3 M to destroy the tax-paying properties and N. Western and evict people from the St. Francis Hotel?
"(5) How does CIM Group end up with the Spaghetti Factory project on Sunset at Gordon? Does someone know someone in the biblical sense? I don't know but something smells.
"(6) Why is the city giving billionaire Eli Broad $52 M for his 'gold-plated' parking structure while denying the kids in Hollywood a community park?
"(7) Now that AB 26 killed off the CRA, which had sucked over $3 billion in tax dollars out of the property taxes, the city council is reformulating a new CRA to perpetuate the transfer of billions of tax dollars from the city and schools to real estate speculators like CIM Group? Gee, where did we hear that name before?
"The stench of corruption and incompetence arising from the City Council makes regular sewage smell like roses."
Oh, Rickabrams, won't you run for mayor?
You Write, We Read
Please send comments to Comments, L.A. Weekly, 3861 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230, or to ReadersWrite@laweekly.com.
The LA. city council stinks more than the crap flowing through our pipelines.Instead of scolding Arizona, we should follow their example.The city council is worthless and should be done away with.They, like Brown and Obama don't have a clue as to what is right.If you don't agree, how else would you explain the downward spiral this state and country are in?Oh yeah, It's Bush's fault.Even though the unemployment rate under Bush was only 5%.
Hello,
I'm the president of the Architecture Club at El Camino College. The club is made up of a group of highly motivated students that works hard to improve their surroundings. I want to let you know about a project that several of these El Camino architecture students are currently working on. It's a one-night art show on the night of Sept. 17 at the [new] Tiny Stage Gallery @ 12120 Washington Blvd. They will be working with local artists and musicians for the experience of showing their work. It's free and open for all ages.
Although the club's primary interest is helping others, this event is for them. The El Camino Architecture Dept. loses a lot of early in prereq. drafting courses, and I believe this event can help to see a close relationship between art and architecture before moving on to the Arch. Dept's more creative design courses.
There is a lot of really great work and I'd love to send you samples if you are interested. I am hoping Daily Breeze could help spread the word about this show, as it would mean so much more to the student artists if people are there to see their work.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at theelcaminoarchitectureclub@gmail.com or by phone. My number is (310) 245-1580.
Kind Regards,Kyle Yamada
Sorry for posting this in a comment to your article. I was unable to find a better way to send you this information.
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