National heavyweights weigh in on KOCE-TV sale...

National heavyweights weigh in on KOCE-TV sale

I am writing on behalf of Citizens for Independent Public

Broadcasting.

Ours is an organization of national membership dedicated to

putting the public interest back into public broadcasting.

Nationally, our group contributes research and analysis to inform

government policy. This includes Federal Communication Commission

filings in support of, or opposition to, rulings and applications. We

also support chapter initiatives to democratize governance and

programming at local public broadcasting stations. The group has

chapters in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

We have been following closely the prospective sale of public TV

station KOCE in Huntington Beach. We are committed to preserving as

much spectrum as possible for public broadcasters to serve the public

interest in localism and diversity. This mission is critical to the

democratic process, especially in view of the increasing

concentration of commercial media.

Accordingly, our group has opposed license transfer applications

in Pittsburgh and Buffalo. In both cases, we recruited attorneys and

solicited thousands of letters from groups and individuals. In 1996,

we influenced the commission to reject WQED’s application for

de-reservation of sister station WQEX, also known as Channel 16. From

1998-2000, we opposed the transfer of Channel 16 to a conservative

religious broadcaster, causing the commission to elaborate new

educational guidelines for public broadcasters. After seven years,

WQED still has not been able to sell its second station.

We sympathize with the financial problems of the Coast College

District. The problem is widespread. Fortunately, the KOCE Foundation

is in a position to help you to do both well and good. We consider

their offer most generous and sincerely hope that your board will

approve it. This also would be in keeping with the considerable

financial assistance rendered to you over the years by the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

If, on the other hand, you should choose to reject the KOCE

Foundation’s bid in favor of one of the televangelist stations

featuring syndicated programming that is not educational for the

diverse population of Orange County, we would feel compelled to

actively oppose your license transfer application to the commission.

Given the current climate in Congress, we feel confident that such

decision would be given considerable scrutiny. And, given the timing

of the presidential election, the composition of the commission that

finally would rule is very much in doubt.

As educators, we both hope and expect that your board will come to

agreement with the KOCE Foundation, keeping the good name of your

college and public broadcasting in the region intact. Thank you for

your consideration.

JEROLD M. STARR

Pittsburgh

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Starr is the director of the Citizens for

Independent Public Broadcasting.

Let’s not jump to conclusions over recreation discussions

In the Saturday story, “Planners mull bringing fun into city” by

Lolita Harper, comments attributed to Parks Commissioner Wendy Leece

suggest that our joint study session focused on policy that would

“force people to open a specific business on their property” and went

on to say “Leece instead suggested a ‘friendly’ policy that makes it

well known that Costa Mesa welcomes recreation-based businesses”.

Whether intended or not, the context of these statements suggests

we, the Planning Commission, were setting out to pursue an

“unfriendly” policy that would dictate land use. Such was not the

case. In fact, I commented early during the meeting that rezoning

property to exclusive “commercial recreation” use was not my

intention nor the intention of any other planning commissioner. Going

through my notes of the meeting just now, I see that I had written

the words “Commercial Rec Zone” inside a circle with a diagonal line

drawn through it.

In reality, the joint session of the two commissions was, I

believe, objective and productive. Ideas, concerns, discussions of

process and a consensus on just what council authorized us to pursue

dominated the hourlong meeting. City staff members were also asked to

bring back additional information for a follow-up joint session in

January with a goal of conducting public hearings in time for the

City Council to consider a general plan policy update by June.

Topics to be addressed in January include a review of a the

responses from a “recreational needs” survey that was developed to

support the recently adopted Open Space Master Plan. Also,

information on the successes and problems of neighboring cities in

implementing commercial recreation programs and preliminary location

criteria and potential sites for various commercial recreational uses

based on existing land use designations. These study sessions are

publicly noticed and open to all.

As Harper’s article correctly stated, this idea of encouraging

commercial recreation in Costa Mesa via general plan policy and

objectives grew out of public testimony during the Kohl’s department

store hearings, in which many residents lamented the loss of Kona

Lanes and the Ice Chalet.

How this idea will play out remains to be seen. In the meantime, I

hope we can carry out this public process without the idea being

torpedoed at the outset.

BRUCE GARLICH

Costa Mesa

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Garlich is the chairman of the Costa Mesa

Planning Commission.

Redevelopment hurts, and it hasn’t even started

I have lived on Whittier Avenue in Costa Mesa for 48 years.

My husband and I had a gardening business in the city for about 25

years. We love this area, especially the weather and the

relationships we’ve developed with our neighbors. We didn’t have

family close, so this was very important to us.

My husband passed away in January, and I decided to sell my home

and move close to my grandson up north.

It is difficult being alone, and I need to be with my family

because I do not want to burden my friends and neighbors.

I listed my home for sale about 60 days ago and have received

three offers. When the buyers learned about the redevelopment project

in the works for parts of the Westside, the offers were withdrawn.

Redevelopment deprives me of the comfort of family and causes me

undue stress and heartache.

Does redevelopment hurt? You bet it does.

ORA HOLMES

Costa Mesa

Kudos to Chuck Cassitty the clairvoyant letter writer

This is regarding the letter by Chuck Cassitty in Friday’s forum.

Cassitty, you have expressed views from a great number of people

in our area and I suspect the entire state of California and you have

done it so very well. You certainly must have been reading my mind,

except you expressed it far better than I ever could.

ALAN SILCOCK

Newport Beach

Liberal media is alive and well at local level as well

Is the Daily Pilot a lot more like their parent company the Los

Angeles Times than it confesses? Once again, the Pilot seems to be

promoting Cristi Cristich’s campaign for state assembly, in the

portion of the Political Calendar titled “A fax that was really

certain of victory.”

Why else would the Pilot continually give positive print to

Cristich, whose political past resembles Arianna Huffington’s?

Cristich, like Huffington, is an opportunist who flits from one

political party to another depending on which offers her the best

advantage at the time.

Like Huffington, she seems to love the cameras and publicity and

takes advantage of any opportunity to get her face or name in the

paper -- and that was even before she ran for office.

LINDA DAVIS

Costa Mesa

Who’s the genius who agreed to print that letter?

I would like to comment on a letter you published in the Readers

Respond section by Randolph Weldon. Whom does he think he is that he

needs to apologize to the world about governor-elect Arnold

Schwarzenegger?

And saying he has an IQ of 90, how does he know that? And if IQ is

an issue what is Weldon’s? Why would the Pilot chose to publish that

letter of all the letters that are written? Are you going down the

course of the Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition, which all of

us are threatening to cancel? Do you want to be canceled, too?

The only reason I continue on with the Times, despite the fact

that I do not like their news coverage, is that I like their feature

articles. I also sell real estate in this area and need to be

current.

But why you would publish Weldon’s letter is a mystery. You must

have received something that made more sense. His letter didn’t.

JOANN KENTON

Corona del Mar