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LAKE COUNTY – Communities that want to maintain their public access channels must stay ahead of the curve in becoming familiar with the new law, says franchise consultant John Risk of Communications Support Group in Costa Mesa, who formerly worked in Northern California.
Risk has prepared an advice memo which notes that certain aspects of the statewide law make life more difficult for Local Franchise Authorities (LFA).
Those include definition for gross revenues, an LFA's authority to require that cable/other franchised video providers allow LFAs to access these providers’ systems for the transmission of emergency announcements, an LFA’s authority to negotiate for Institutional Networks (“I-Nets”) in cable franchises, and several aspects of public, educational and government access (“PEG Access”) programming and funding.
He recommends that the LFA evaluate the value of PEG support it gets from the incumbent cable operator and compare that with the amount of support that might arise with a surcharge of 1 percent of gross revenues.
Sue Buske, another nationally-known consultant based in Sacramento, recommends enforcing federally required audits of the cable provider, which is part of the franchise renewal process. Last month she was working in Columbia, Mo., with an access station based at Stephens College.
There, the Columbia Missourian reported on Jan. 4, “Court documents show Mediacom failed to pay $93,105 in franchise fees between Jan. 1, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2004. The debt is even higher now, because city code allows it to charge 10 percent interest per year.
“Most of the time they find something,” Buske said of the audits. “It’s not that uncommon.”
Jeff Rein, deputy county administrator for Lake County, said he had unsuccessfully urged hiring a franchise consultant and getting an audit two or three years ago. He also wanted the county to negotiate for an I-net, connecting all public facilities. “That would have saved us $100,000 a year,” he said.
While the county now is involved in a Joint Public Authority for public access, Rein said previous boards of supervisors have not been interested in public access because they didn't want to be involved in issues of content and control.
Although municipalities are entitled to enact a 1-percent surcharge on gross cable franchise fees to be used specifically for public access operations, local governments have not done so. Another funding solution used by many public access systems is a paid membership program, which often includes training in making videos for broadcast.
PEG Committee member Hiram Dukes said he believes local programming could fill three channels with contributions from students. He noted video training programs exist at both Carlé and Konocti high schools, and said he's had Upper Lake High School students offer programs. “The kids are interested in getting their activities on, football games and so forth.”
It's common in many communities which have both public access and a community college to develop a partnership in which students get training and course credit for video production. Often, the training and use of equipment are open to non-students.
Although Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules prohibit censorship, the local committee has had frequent disputes about what can be shown. The FCC rules say: "Cable operators may not control the content of programming on public access channels with the exception that the cable operator may refuse to transmit a public access program, or a portion of the program, which the cable operator reasonably believes contains obscenity."
Past PEG boards have objected to religious programming and antiwar programming.
For a while, Channel 8 originated “Backroads,” an occasional tour of the city by Frank Cammarata, a former PEG Committee member and David Lane, former Clearlake city administrator.
At one point, the committee decided to institute a $100 fee to show a contributed video; it's common practice among community cable stations to freely trade programs which might be of wide interest.
Raymond, NH, a coastal town with a population of fewer than 3,000, has an active public access channel with production facilities based at the local high school.
During floods last year, a member of the Raymond PEG committee “went out to various roads and checked with the police and fire chiefs to find out information regarding road closings, safety measures, and other flood related coverage. They were then able to post this information on Channel 22,” according to Seacoastonline.com at www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/NEWS/801250382.
Tomorrow: Powerful interests persuade politicians to enact statewide video franchise laws.
E-mail Sophie Annan Jensen at
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LOWER LAKE – When Upper Lake High School's championship Academic Decathlon team journeys to Sacramento for the state competition next month, they'll have some local company.
Lower Lake High School's Academic Decathlon team, which finished second to Upper Lake at last Saturday's county competition, has been invited to the state competition as well, according to Lower Lake Coach Nancy Harby.
Harby reported on Wednesday that Lower Lake received a special invitation to participate at the state-level competition.
“It's because we're the top-scoring No. 2 team in our division, outscoring some other counties' winners,” Harby said.
Upper Lake's overall winning score at the Feb. 2 county Academic Decathlon competition was 34,939 out of a possible 60,000 points to take the win. Lower Lake High School scored 32,205 in their silver-winning performance.
Harby added, “We were also told that we are being included due to our sportsmanship.”
Instilling respect in her students for their opponents is key, Harby told Lake County News in a weekend interview.
Both Harby and Upper Lake Coach Christina Moore said over the weekend that the county's Academic Decathlon teams have achieved a very high level of competition.
Under Moore's guidance the team enjoyed an eight-year winning streak, including a 2004 state championship in Division 3 and a second-place state finish in 2005. Last year, Harby's team handed Upper Lake it's first loss in nearly a decade, which interrupted Upper Lake's longtime dominance.
In 2006, Lower Lake – which that year also had placed second to Upper Lake in the county competition – was invited to the state competition as part of its new 55-team format and thanks to its high score.
Moore's team already has begun the work of preparing for the state meet, which also will have the Civil War as its theme. Harby's students also will now dive back into the topic.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Sgt. Chris Chwialkowski said the checkpoint will be a joint effort among the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Clearlake Police and the California Highway Patrol.
The checkpoint will be staffed by deputies and officers who are trained in the detection of alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers, said Chwialkowski. Drug Recognition Experts, certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will be on site to provide on the spot assessments of drivers suspected of drug use.
The officers also will be equipped with state-of-the-art, handheld breath devices which provide an accurate measure of blood alcohol concentrations of suspected drunk drivers, Chwialkowski reproted.
Calrans employees will be on site providing traffic control in order to ensure the safety of officers and motorists alike, he reported.
“Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, or unlicensed, can be expected to be arrested,” Chwialkowski said.
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LAKE COUNTY – On Super Tuesday, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton were the winners for their respective parties in California's presidential primary, with the two senators also proving to be the top vote getters among Lake County voters.
When Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley's office had tallied all of the results in the county's 52 precincts Tuesday night, they reported the ballots cast countywide totaled 15,497, a 47.3 -percent turnout.
Of those 15,497 ballots, 8,142 were cast at precincts while 7,355 were absentee, Fridley's office reported.
In party voting, among the 14,116 registered Democrats, 8,862 voted, a 62.8 percent turnout, according to the Elections Office.
Clinton received 4,789 votes in Lake County, or 54.8 percent of the Democratic Party vote, compared to the 3,083 votes – or 35.3 percent – received by her rival for the party nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
Other Democratic vote getters included John Edwards, 624; Dennis Kucinich, 97; Bill Richardson, 42; write-in candidates, 40; Joe Biden, 36; Mike Gravel, 13; and Chris Dodd, 10.
Among Republicans, Elections Office figures showed that McCain received 2,407 votes from local residents, or 46.5 percent of the Republican vote. His nearest competition locally was Mitt Romney, with 1,227 votes, or 23.7 percent.
Bringing up the rest of the Republican field were Mike Huckabee, 791 votes; Ron Paul, 298; Rudy Giuliani, 224; Fred Thompson, 151; write-in candidates, 36; Alan Keyes, 14; Duncan Hunter, 13; Tom Tancredo, six; John H. Cox, five; and Sam Brownback, three.
American Independent Party candidates were led by 88 votes for write-in candidates; Don J. Grundmann, 76; Diane Beall Templin, 71; and Mad Max Riekse, 66. The party had an overall 42.7 percent turnout among its 1,050 registered voters.
Among Green Party candidates, Ralph Nader received the most votes, with 66, followed by Cynthia McKinney, 19; write-in candidates, 14; Elaine Brown, five; Jesse Johnson and Jared Ball, each with two; and Kat Swift and Kent Mesplay with one vote each. The Green Party showed a 30.3 percent voter turnout among its 399 registered local members.
Christine Smith led Libertarian Party candidates with eight votes, followed by Barry Hess, seven; write-in candidates, five; Wayne A. Root, four; Alden Link, three; Dave Hollist, Daniel Imperato, George Phillies, Robert Milnes, Michael P. Jingozian and Steve Kubby, each with two; Bob Jackson, one; and John Finan, zero votes. Overall Libertarian turnout was 28.2 percent of 209 registered voters.
The Peace and Freedom Party registered 17 votes for its presidential candidates, including nine for Ralph Nader and six for Cynthia McKinney – both of whom also received votes from Green Party voters. There also was one vote each for Stanley Hetz and Gloria E. La Riva. John Crockford, Stewart A. Alexander and Brian Moore received zero votes, and there were no write-in candidates among Peace and Freedom voters. Peace and Freedom's 129 registered voters showed a 14.7-percent turnout.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The majority of Lake County residents voted no on all seven propositions – which included education, transportation, term limits and four propositions to update gaming compacts with four large California tribes.
Lake County's no votes on Proposition 91 (transportation funds), Proposition 92 (community college funding and governance fees) and Proposition 93 (term limits) matched state voting patterns. Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office reported that those three measures failed across the state.
The biggest difference between local and state voting patterns was seen in regards to the four gaming propositions – 94, 96, 95 and 97.
The propositions will ratify new gaming agreements with four Southern California Indian tribes – Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
Under the new compacts, those four tribes could significantly expand slot machine operation, and in return must pay the state part of the resulting increased revenues, estimated at several billion dollars.
While the four gaming propositions failed in Lake County, that was the opposite result from the statewide election, where the measures appeared headed for victory in early morning voting results reported by Bowen's office.
Lake County tribes who voiced support for the measured included Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians (who have Konocti Vista Casino); Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, who are seeking their own casino in Upper Lake; and the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, currently working to secure a casino in Contra Costa County.
The Elem Nation had not formally signed their name to the petition of supporting tribes, but Tribal Chair Ray Brown Sr. told Lake County News that he and his tribe supported the propositions. Elem also hope to open a new casino in the next few years on their lands in Clearlake Oaks.
Local tribes that didn't take a formal public position on the gaming propositions were Robinson Rancheria and Middletown Rancheria, both of which are gaming tribes.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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He called the president's budget “bad news for millions of American.”
In his budget message, President Bush said his $3.1 trillion 2009 budget “I have set clear priorities that will help us meet our Nation's most pressing needs while addressing the long-term challenges ahead.”
Bush said his budget includes both “pro-growth policies and spending discipline.”
Thompson disagreed.
“While American families are struggling with worsening economic conditions, the president’s budget steals billions from critical health care programs in order to finance his war in Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthy,” said Thompson.
Even after cutting tens of billions from important domestic programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, the budget still carries a $410 billion deficit, one of the highest in our nation’s history, Thompson said.
“Once again, the president wants to pay for his misguided foreign and fiscal policies with more foreign-owned debt,” he said. “And unfortunately, our grandchildren will have to pay the tab for the president’s unprecedented fiscal irresponsibility.”
Thompson said California – already dealing with serious economic problems of its own – takes an especially hard hit in the president’s budget.
Bush's budget cuts $17 million from state firefighter grants and $20 million from law enforcement grants, said Thompson.
In addition, another $15 million will be cut from teacher training programs, $127 million will be cut from vocational programs, $42 million will be cut from after-school programs, $14 million will be cut from the state’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, $19 million will be cut from housing assistance and $54 million would be cut from federal highways in the state.
“I’m also extremely worried about how the cuts to Medicare will impact rural areas like those in our district, which typically have a higher rate of Medicare recipients,” said Thompson. “In addition, the president makes cuts to other rural health programs and zeroes out some programs completely. Our rural areas are already having a difficult time retaining doctors and affording expensive medical equipment. Now is not the time to make it even more difficult to access health care in our rural areas.”
Thompson said now is the time to do everything possible possible to help middle- and low-income families grapple with the economic downturn, and that includes maintaining investments in Medicare and Medicaid, which he said helps millions of our most vulnerable citizens.
“We should also be spending our tax dollars on American infrastructure projects that infuse money and jobs into our communities,” Thompson added.
Thompson was also thinking of presidential elections when he issued the statement on Super Tuesday.
“Congress is committed to investing in real American priorities, like job-growth, education and health care,” he said. We need a president who shares that commitment, as well as a commitment to fiscal responsibility. This president brought us the five largest deficits in American history. It’s time for a change.”
Thompson has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president, who was declared the winner in Super Tuesday primaries in California and seven other states.
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