L.A. is Boycotting Arizona, Except for When It's Not

Hey, they were going to boycott the state of Arizona on account of its crackdown on illegal immigrants, which L.A. considers heavy-handed, potentially onerous to law-abiding citizens, and Big-Brother-ish, until the city realized it needed an Arizona company to help it run its red-light cameras. Hm.

On Tuesday, the City Council is scheduled to consider — and appears likely to approve — an exception to the boycott allowing a 10-month extension of a multimillion-dollar agreement with Scottsdale-based American Traffic Solutions.

The firm operates cameras at 32 city intersections that catch tens of thousands of red light violators each year. The council's Public Safety Committee says the exception is justified because red light cameras provide a "significant benefit to public safety."