Fabian Nunez - End of Public Access - Press Conference

California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez in Long Beach March 2007 announces cable TV competition regulations which will allow cable systems to drop public access. Verizon and AT&AT lobbyists - think Pebble Beach, wining, dining, etc.- push this through.

While questioned by a local reporter, local politicians Bonnie Lowenthal, recently elected to the state assembly and Laura Richardson, now in congress, sit stone faced. Nunez ducks questions about destroying local control of cable systems. Lowenthal and Richardson don't move, seemingly backing the demise of access by doing the hands on laps bit while Nunez oozes platitudes.

Reporter digs in for a followup question he knows won't be answered with anything but platitudes. Gives up, not even bringing access question into play as Charter has yet to pull the plug. Then snacks are served.
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Excerpted and edited from the Oct. 7, 2007 Long Beach Beachcomber:

Asked by the Steve Propes of Long Beach paper, Beachcomber, whether he thought California Public Utilities Commission regulation was a better alternative to local control, California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez skirted the issue, stressing the benefits of competition. "Local control is a good thing, but I don't think one can make a blanket statement - it's always a good thing," Nunez replied.
He then drifted into vague references to the small areas cities are able to control. "In some areas, local control has been a good thing, in other areas, it has not been good," Nunez asserted. "We're taking some of that back by the State of California. When it relates to the right-of-way, local communities still have that control," Nunez pointed out, though he did not give examples of how local control "has not been good."

During the presentation, Public Utilities Commission Chairman Michael
Peevey observed in an ironic way he didn't want the authority at first
and had to be convinced by Nunez to accept it.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Fabian Nunez
• Verizon
• Public Access
• Cable systems
• Bonnie Lowenthal
• Laura Richardson
• congress
• Charter Cable
• AT&T lobbyists
• Michael Peevey
• PUC
• lobbyists
• PUC Chairman