Watching the temperature and Cal-ISO’s pleas for conservation rise, I felt compelled to call Downtown Plaza’s management company, Westfield, to ask if they were asking retailers to get a clue and shut their doors in the open air shopping mall.

The very polite manager I spoke with said that, while there is a policy and, she implied, a contract provision, requiring common-sense energy conservation by Westfield tenants, they made sure to issue a memo just this morning to retailers reminding them to keep the doors closed, turn off unnecessary decorative lighting, and turn up thermostats to the Cal-ISO suggest 78-degree range. She also reported that she found about 98% of Downtown Plaza stores complying with the edict as of an hour or so ago and of the stores with doors still open, at least a few were experiencing their own AC issues.

So, if that’s the case, bravo Westfield for being good community citizens. But I urge readers to keep them and other retailers on their best behavior. Apparently, other shopping centers are as ill-behaved as Downtown Plaza was last week.