SPARKS,
WASHOE, CARSON AND DOUGLAS CABLE CUSTOMERS URGED TO CONTACT LOCAL OFFICIALS
ReSurge.TV may broaden legal action to
include ratepayers and program producers outside of Reno
RENO,
Aug. 25, 2008 – A
consumer organization is urging northwestern Nevada cable TV ratepayers
and program producers to ask their local governments to defend them against
Charter Communications' attempt to destroy community television stations.
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UPDATES 8-28-2008 Carson City was supposed to go dark on its access channel on Tuesday, Aug. 26, with its government channel temporarily remaining simulcast on analog and digital. Apparently, our pressure here caused Charter to also relent in Carson. LATE WORD FROM DOUGLAS COUNTY: So far, Charter has left us on our Channel 16 (Carson Valley) & 19 (Tahoe) spots, only commenting to the County Manager that they will “probably move us sometime in the future." So
far, so good. We're batting 1.000. No feedback as yet from Tuesday's Washoe County Commission meeting. (They have split from SNCAT and gone to a subcontractor. Their 8/26 meeting had no audio on channels 17/217.) |
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Unscripted
Ending
The picture gets blurry for public access television. Governing Magazine, Feb. 2008 |
Late Friday, the Reno City
Council agreed to delay legal action against Charter in exchange for the
cable monopoly's commitment not to banish public, educational and government
(PEG) television channels to the high-cost, low-audience digital tier.
ReSurge.TV also announced that it would refrain from legal action to see
if Charter is dealing in good faith.
"I was informed that once this issue goes to court, all local flexibility
disappears," stated Andrew
Barbano, a Sierra Nevada Community
Access Television (SNCAT) program host and producer.
"We are continuing our legal research and will be prepared to go
to court if we see no progress," he added. The transition had been
scheduled regionwide for Aug. 26.
Barbano urges cable consumers in Sparks, Carson City, Washoe and Douglas
counties to use the public comment agenda at upcoming meetings to embolden
local officials to join Reno and ReSurge.TV in taking action against Charter's
attempt to skim a multi-million dollar windfall by a strong-armed takeover
of the public bandwidth.
Charter meets with Access Carson at
10:00 a.m. today. It remains uncertain whether the 90-day moratorium extended
to Reno will be expanded to Carson and Douglas, or even Sparks and Washoe.
ReSurge.TV is prepared to include Sparks, Washoe, Carson and Douglas ratepayers
in its legal filings if individuals and programmers in each jurisdiction
request it.
"We will act if the governments refuse," Barbano said.
The Sparks City Council meets
today (Aug. 25) at 3:00 p.m. The Washoe County Commission meets Tuesday,
Aug. 26, at 2:00 p.m. The Carson City Board of Supervisors meets on Sept.
4 at 8:00 a.m. The Douglas County Commission meets on Sept. 4 at 1:00
p.m. (The Reno City Council has agendized an update at its meeting beginning
at 10:00 a.m. this Wednesday, Aug. 27, item J.12.)
Links to the respective local government websites with
meeting addresses and contact information will be posted with this bulletin
at ReSurge.TV.
The website also features the Reno
citizens cable committee archive going back to 2002 and Barbano's
last four Sunday Sparks Tribune columns detailing this issue.
Late last week, Nevada State Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, ordered a bill draft from the Legislative Counsel Bureau in Carson City, purportedly to modify the vaguely-worded 2007 law which Charter is using to justify its channel shuffle. (BDR [Bill Draft Request] No. 278, Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor; Revises provisions governing PEG access channels; 8/20/2008)
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Correcting a misconception Many
ratepayers are mistakenly blaming the Reno City Council, when it
was 2007 legislative action which resulted in a new law which Charter
is abusing to justify this maneuver. |
A Reno native raised in Fallon
and now North Las Vegas assistant fire chief, Oceguera acted at the behest
of his colleagues Bernie Anderson and Debbie Smith, both
D-Sparks, and David Bobzien and Sheila Leslie, both D-Reno.
Oceguera's commerce committee counterpart in the upper house, Sen.
Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, personally contacted Charter executives.
Charter has tried the same maneuver in Wisconsin and been stymied thus
far, as has Comcast in Michigan.
Contributions to the cable ratepayer legal defense fund may be made by
credit or debit card through ReSurge.TV,
the organization website. Checks may be mailed to ReSurge.TV, P.O. Box
10034, Reno, NV 89510.
Former Nevada Public Utilities
Commission attorney Neil Grad and paralegal Tom Hudson have
volunteered their services, but assistance is needed to cover costs and
expenses.
Barbano's live-call/chat-crawl/talk-rock show is cablecast Monday through
Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Reno-Sparks-Washoe SNCAT/Charter channels
16 and 216. It is also simulcast online at Barbwire.TV,
part of SNCAT's community radio station KJIV.org
(developmental KJIV-fm).
Barbano has invited Charter executives onto his live program to take phone
calls from their customers.
Charter has not responded.
Hope springs eternal.
Stay tuned.
