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
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