Just to be clear, Lynn, LADWP is not a business. They are the largest public utility in the United States. They are not going to leave California. It's true they make hundreds of millions off of the Eastern Sierra water and hydropower each year, but they give that money to the City of LA. It's their piggy bank. We're not talking about new laws, just obeying the existing laws and having some basic respect for the people and towns of the Eastern Sierra.

they only have base respect

base
morally low; without estimable personal qualities; dishonorable; meanspirited; selfish; cowardly.

I must not have communicated my point well. All I have to say in response to your reply is that you missed my point which is probably my fault. I will let the rest of you debate this case. Thanks for taking time to read and respond to my posts on this subject.

Lynn. I did not think his comments detracted from your viewpoint at all. It was more of a clarification of terminology-thing. Please don't leave the party.

A couple of comments:

A year or two ago I read an article Benett Kessler of the Sierra Wave in Bishop had written which outlined her reporting on the LADWP over the years. Those who've lived in the Eastern Sierra, like Bob West, might have a longtime perspective on how effective her reporting has been. In the relatively short time I've lived here (7 years) I've found her reporting objective and even-handed. Despite her efforts to call attention to the bad treatment of towns in the Eastern Sierra, it hasn't seemed to make the overlords more benevolent.

I also watched an interview David Freeman gave a couple of years ago to an LA station (an ABC affiliate IIRC) in which he said (and I'm paraphrasing a bit) - "We own the Owens Valley lock, stock and barrel", and a few moments later "We stole it, fair and square!". He had a big smile on his face when he made the second remark, so it took a bit of the sting out, but the message was clear. At that time he was being interviewed because DWP had made a public announcement of their plans to locate a large solar panel array on Owens Lake. I believe those plans have since been abandoned, but at the time I heard many comments from the locals that it was yet the latest attempt by the DWP to avoid ongoing compliance with PM-10 reductions.

If you want to read a David and Goliath story, check out the attempt the DWP made to raise the water rates substantially in one of the little towns (Big Pine, IIRC). Based upon the stories I read, it appears a rate increase was long overdue. However, rather than phase it in over time to make the system once again self-supporting, they chose to implement a large increase which would have created a financial hardship for many. What disgusted me was how DWP refused to cooperate with the citizens in exercising their rights in regards to a rate increase. Eventually the increase was repealed due to citizen efforts, but it was another example of how shabbily DWP handles its image in the Eastern Sierra.