Los Angeles citizens voted on a citywide solar energy plan on March 3, but the very narrow results didn’t become official until yesterday: It lost (by about 1 percent).
That doesn’t mean the city’s electric utility won’t proceed with rapidly expanding its solar voltaic energy portfolio — it still has the authority to do so. Nor does it mean citizens don’t want solar investment. The lead opponents of “Measure B” said they want to see more solar panels in the city, just not through this plan that gave the utility’s employees a monopoly on the installation work.
The defeat does mean a financial setback for reelected Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who spent $145,000 of his campaign cash to support the measure.
