SAVE PUBLIC ACCESS

The Public Access TV community is fighting to save public access (aka PEG access) TV. Please Speak Up:

What’s happening:

PEG Access owes its existence to the visionaries in Congress who recognized that the franchising process created an unprecedented opportunity to enable local communities to provide for their unique needs. Millions of dollars have been spent by telephone and cable companies in the past two years on ad campaigns and lobbying to influence state cable franchise laws in 17+ states. The FCC has over-ruled Congress, assigning itself powers that Congress conferred on local communities. This chaos is being used to dismantle PEG support and to damage channel quality and accessibility. We welcome competition. But it cannot be used to gut PEG Access provisions that have provided direct service to the local community.

Many PEG centers have moved into digital technology for production and transmission. PEG centers are fully engaged in migration to an integrated digital environment when allowed. The primary challenge for PEG access is not digital technology, but how cable providers— whether traditional cable operator or a telephone company— provide PEG signal quality, functionality, channel placement and funding support.

Public Access Pioneer DeeDee Halleck writes: write your congresspeople and senators and express support for access TODAY! It is a chance to draw national attention to the loss of this key resource! For More, read this

OOPS—Yesterday, I published a note from a reader suggesting a parallel between the State of the Union speech and Groundhog day. In fact, she suggested that yesterday was Groundhog day. It wasn’t, as one reader, named Michelle Levine pointed out:

“It isn’t Groundhog Day not for a few more says?? just wondering, did I fail to get a joke here (aside from the obvious comparison of GWB to a rodent….”

I have since checked and found out that i wuz wrong–so-into the hole with me.

HORROR IN ECUADOR

Last night I went to see a preview of the film CHICAGO l0 about the Chicago conspiracy trial and the protests at the Democratic Convention in 1968. Some years, later while hanging out with conspirator in chief Abbie Hofffman, he asked me to go with him on a trip to the Galapagos islands. I couldn’t make it but he went. If he was alive today, he would be sad as so many of us must be at reading thisL

QUITO (AFP) - Ecuadoran authorities are investigating the massacre of 53 sea lions that were found with crushed skulls in the Galapagos Islands, the endangered natural reserve’s officials said Monday.

The dead animals were in an advanced stage of decomposition when they were discovered on the island of Pinta, scattered in a one-kilometer (half-mile) radius, said Galapagos National Park official Victor Carrion.

That’s the news that caught my eye ..filed at 10:42: Tuesday Night.

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