Save Access

Note: an email received at saveaccess.org. Florida is
reeling with cuts to PEG as a result of the recently passed
state video franchise. While community members will likely
strike back at their municipalities, we want to remind
everyone to reserve a good dose of anger for the phone
companies who were the cause of this situation in the
first place.

Help Save Public Access TV

from: LI Biz Blog

Cablevision cries foul

Sep 18th, 2007 by David Reich-Hale

handcables.gifFascinating Viewpoint page in Crain’s New York Business. It’s a must read for anyone as infatuated with the Verizon-Cablevision battle as we are.

The New York business publication writes an editorial demanding that New York City grant Verizon a video franchise so the FiOS provider can start to roll out its TV services in the Big Apple. Crain’s takes a shot at Cablevision and Time Warner, the two cable companies that do business in NYC, by saying “New Yorkers want a choice. A Charney Associates Poll commissioned by Crain’s New York Business found that 51 percent of cable subscribers in the city would switch if they had that option - a startling percentage.”

from: Eureka Reporter

Pending FCC ruling could affect cable franchises nationwide

by Steve Spain, The Eureka Reporter, 9/17/2007

An imminent ruling by the Federal Communications Commission may toss municipal cable franchise agreements out the window. According to sources in Washington, D.C., the FCC is expected to rule next week on the ability of local governments to negotiate franchise contracts with cable and telecom operators.

from: TPM Muckraker

Bush Announces New Acting AG Pick
By Paul Kiel - September 17, 2007, 12:31PM

Bush threw an unexpected change-up in his announcement this morning. Towards the end of his remarks about his nomination of Michael Mukasey as attorney general, he also said that outgoing Justice Department official Peter Keisler would serve as the acting attorney general until Mukasey is confirmed.

from: The Next Hurrah
The United States of AT&T

September 17, 2007

Back in June, the Bush Administration invited one of AT&T's key lobbyists, Ed Gillespie, to serve as White House counselor. A few weeks after that, BushCo expanded AT&T's resident lobbyist's role to include most of Karl Rove's portfolio. Just days after Gillespie took over that role, the DOJ made an unusual intervention into the FCC's request for comments on Net Neutrality, weighing against Net Neutrality.

from: Oregan Live

Qwest on cusp of city cable
Television - The telephone company could compete with Comcast, and some Portlanders could see lower rates

Monday, September 17, 2007
MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian

Cable TV competition may finally be coming to Portland.

from: St Petersburg Times

Shoving Democracy Farther from View

September 15, 2007
By Howard Troxler

A bit of ancient history, please.

Our society didn’t always have cable television.

I remember my family getting it for the first time. There were 13 channels. One of them showed nothing but a clock, thermometer and wind meter. It was fascinating.

from: MultiChannel news

Calif. City: TWC’s Illegal
Carlsbad Files Suit Over Lapsed Cable Franchise

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 9/17/2007

A San Diego County, Calif., municipality is suing Time Warner Cable, alleging the operator is illegally occupying city rights of way without a franchise.

from: MultiChannel News

Bill Stalls in Wisconsin
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 9/10/2007

While most state legislatures have concluded action on cable-franchising bills, the one in Wisconsin is stuck, awaiting the outcome of a fight over the state budget.

from: Newsday.com

Your loss of privacy is a package deal

David Lazarus
Consumer Confidential
September 12, 2007

The all-you-can-eat packages of voice, video and Internet services offered by phone and cable companies may be convenient, but they represent a potentially significant threat to people's privacy.