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To: isopatch who wrote (84848)	1/21/2001 8:10:36 AM
From: ron peterson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Neighbors' anger surges over border as Calif. loses power By HANNAH WOLFSON Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY -- Even in the best of times, California's neighbors think of the state as the obnoxious guy down the street. And with the state's electricity troubles rippling though the region, these aren't the best of times. Resentment is mounting as Westerners worry that California's poor energy planning will mean higher bills and less reliable power supplies across the region. "I think everybody in the West kind of feels that California is the big pig in the sty," said Pat Bagley, who drew an editorial cartoon in Wednesday's edition of the Salt Lake Tribune showing California borrowing an electrical outlet from snowbound Utah to run a hot tub. "They get all the electoral votes and they've got all the influence," Bagley said. "Now they're coming to the Western states with hat in hand and saying, `Help us out.' " The West's other states don't need many reasons to make fun of California. The state and transplants from it are often blamed -- sometimes unfairly -- for traffic, housing prices, environmentalists and tofu. But as California began rolling blackouts and the keeper of the state's grid accused out-of-state suppliers of withholding power, some Western policymakers were on edge. "Certainly, we're nervous," said Arizona Rep. Jeff Hatch-Miller, chairman of that state's House Energy committee. "They have a huge population and they have a huge political presence. And you get a little nervous because you're a neighbor and you realize they may look toward you." With that in mind, the governors of Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Utah and Wyoming wrote a letter last week to California Gov. Gray Davis, telling the state to put its house in order. On Tuesday, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt pointed a finger at California's "disastrous deregulation scheme." "California consumers cannot be shielded from the true cost of power while major utilities are allowed to perish in bankruptcy and consumers in other Western states are left to pick up the tab," Leavitt said. Tim Hay, Nevada's consumer advocate, said no one begrudges California its power -- especially since much of the West's economy depends on the Golden State's business -- but their concern is that the cost of powering California will fall on the rest of the West. "You don't necessarily want to have our air quality degraded or our water consumed just to sell power outside the state," he said. Already, some Western businesses have shut down operations because of the power crunch, and that could cause layoffs or other economic problems, said John Maddox, president of the Denver-based Center for the New West. If that trend continues, California cursing could spread. "I don't think that it's just a Western phenomenon," Maddox said. "Anytime a state that claims a trend-setting cultural leadership is struggling, all this pent-up resentment will come out." Click url for Cartoon sltrib.com