As the world watched for news of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also happened to be in town, prepared to steal some of the spotlight by announcing that California would sever ties with companies doing business in Iran.
Schwarzenegger, who like Ahmadinejad went to New York to address the United Nations, told The Times in a written statement that he would sign legislation requiring California's multibillion-dollar state pension funds to divest from the country.
The move, pushed by a diverse coalition of activists who argue that the federal government has not done enough to keep multinational corporations out of Iran, puts California at the forefront of a national movement.
The bill, AB 221, which the governor plans to sign when he returns to California, passed the Legislature with no opposition and follows the state's divestment from Sudan last year.