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UID:Indybay-18595223
SEQUENCE:18643968
CREATED:20090516T045800Z
DESCRIPTION:The Ordinance was first discussed and voted on by the Full Board during its 
 May 5th meeting.  After some debate, Supervisor Bevan Dufty moved that the 
 Ordinance be continued for two weeks until May 19th.  His motion\nwas 
 supported by seven other Supervisors with only four Supervisors(Mirkarimi, 
 Daly, Mar and Campos) voting against the continuance.  Dufty said he wanted 
 four City Department including the Department of Technology (DT), the City 
 Attorney, the Controller and the Budget Analyst to report back to the Board 
 on how the funds will be spent (for capital/equipment) and whether any of 
 the funds can be used for operations.\n\n\n\nComcast Cable had six lobbyist 
 (the largest cable operator lobbying effort ever seen at City Hall) working 
 the Supervisors’ offices on May 5th in an attempt to defeat the 
 Ordinance.  They planted the seed of doubt by telling Supervisors that none 
 of the funding could be used for operations, which may be contrary to the 
 intent of the State Legislature\nwhen it passed the AT&T inspired statewide 
 video franchise law know as the Digital Infrastructure and Video 
 Competition Act (DIVCA).  The Legislature said it did not want DIVCA to do 
 any harm to PEG and at least one person who was involved in writing the 
 language has said DIVCA does allow funds to be used for operations.  The 
 Comcast lobbyists also told\nthe Supervisors that they will pass through to 
 subscribers any costs that the funds require which could be up to $2.35 per 
 month, per subscriber or $28.20 per year.  The pass through was the biggest 
 issue for the Supervisors.\n\n\n\nThe question is whether PEG access is 
 worth $2.35 per subscriber per month?  That’s less than the price of a 
 latte or a pizza or a bag of chips.  It’s less than the price of a movie 
 or three iTune downloads. For a year, it’s about the price of a movie for 
 two with popcorn.  Most subscribers get hundreds of channels that they 
 don’t watch or care about and get nothing but mindless programming in 
 return.  With PEG they get\naccess to television training and production 
 facilities; 2,500 hours of relevant local, community-based, grassroots 
 programming; gavel-to-gavel coverage of government meeting and distance 
 learning courses.\n\n\n\nThe vote on Tuesday will determine if the cable 
 industry will continue to rule at City Hall; diminish the return to San 
 Franciscans for their use of our public-rights-of-way and continue to 
 collect nearly $2,000,000 per\nyear from San Francisco cable subscribers 
 without returning anything substantial in the public interest.  We can make 
 a difference, but not without your help.  Here’s what you can 
 do.\n\n\n\nCall and email the following Supervisors:\n\n\n\nBevan 
 Dufty\n\n415-554-6968\n\nbevan.dufty@sfgov.org\n\n\n\nDavid 
 Chiu\n\n514-554-7450\n\ndavid.chiu@sfgov.org\n\n\n\nSophie 
 Maxwell\n\n415-554-7670\n\nsophie.maxwell@sfgov.org\n\n\n\nTell them PEG 
 access is worth $2.35 per month and, if you’re a cable\nsubscriber, tell 
 them you’re willing to pay this fee and urge them to\nsupport the State 
 Video Franchise Holder Ordinance at 3%.\n\n\n\nAlso, if you’re available, 
 come to the meeting of the Supervisors on Tuesday, May 19th with an object 
 worth at least $2.35 and hold it up with a sign supporting PEG.  No food or 
 drink are allowed in the Chamber.\n\n\n\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/05/15/18595223.php
SUMMARY:Access SF supporters:Will Comcast Rule at City Hall?
LOCATION:On Tuesday, May 19th, the Full Board of Supervisors will again 
 consider\nRoss Mirkarimi’s State Video Franchise Holder Ordinance.  This 
 Ordinance\nwill set the level of public, education and government cable 
 access\ncapital and perhaps operations funding after January, 2010.  
 The\nOrdinance is item 5 on their agenda which is the 1st item on the 
 regular\nagenda.  It should come up shortly after the meeting starts at 
 2PM.  The\nmeeting will be in the Legislative Chamber, 2nd Floor, City 
 Hall, at the\ntop of the main staircase.
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/05/15/18595223.php
DTSTART:20090519T210000Z
DTEND:20090519T220000Z
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