Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 1973)
I ’ortlanii O bM T V iT Cable TV challenges local officials There'» « revolution com •ng In the way people com municate with each other that could have a profound • effect on m in o rity com munitiea. Hut unless local offiriala in those communities act soon, influence over how this new means of communi ration is used could pass out of local hands and into the hands of giant national cor porations. The revolution is called cable television. Very simply, it's a way of sending TV signals through wires, rather than broadcasting them through the airwaves. It ran be used either to improve reception of existing T V sta tions in distant areas, or, more important, it ran be used to transmit programs exclusively on a cable net work. Why is cable important for minority communities? Cable television, a method of dis tributing television signals through wires, has a number of unique features and caps bilities as an information delivery system and as an economic and business de velopment resource. It's potential is particularly great for local urban development. Cable has abundant chan nel rapacity. Systems with 24 channels are now being installed, and there is a potential for up to AO chan nets. Moreover, two way communication will be pos sible from sender to receiver and back, Cable T V can do more than provide clearer pictures of present television programming; it can supply specialized programs to small audiences and shows of special in te re s t to each neighborhood. These locally produred shows ran be es perially lienefirial in counter balancing the stereotyped and c u ltu ra lly d e s tru c tiv e pro Save on your food budget! Meet rising food costs with a General Electric Freezer. Buy meats at wholesale, foods on sale. ISJ Cv.fl lOOKSHElf FREEZER Stores up to 553 lbs frozen foods, five solid shelves for fast freezing, foods easy to see and reach, with upright storage convenience Built-in lock, coil-free bock, Book Shelf door. "Power-on' signal light; only 3 0 Vi wide, 64 high. Ask for Smith's CLOSEOUT __ SMITH'S heme PRICE SH O P « T O » EASY PAYMENTS MON TW«U I t i SAT T il 6 (Oowd Sun ) 30th and S. E. DIVISIO N 234-9351 A little money in the bank always helps. Com e rain or come shine. You never know. \Yi-J like tn O ne day, maybe you're ECt faced w ith an emerger emergency. A big medical bill. O r maybe the sun comes out, and up pops a once-in-a-lifetim e investment opportunity. Hain or shine, a r vinffs i (Count ( ornes in handy J.specially one of ours. At hirst National, we offer a big selection of plans to c hoose from. You c an save as m i l t h . . ft) KTK JW «■>-»« V()U. ' or as little, as you »ant. |X*posit and w ith tlraw »h en you want. • i Karn ,u.. the interest you want. So you'll never have to scrimp and scrape and stretch your budget to save. ( onte l<a»k over all our savings and investment pro- jrams. Pick the one th at’s best or you. T hen, start saving. T h a t wav, you’ll always have money to fall back on. Come rain, or come shine. i F IR S T N A T IO N A L B A N K O F O R EG O N example, a local development group wiring about one fifth of Washington, D.C., or a city about the size of Louis ville, Ky., with about 00,000 homes, would need several hundred thousand dollars of venture capital costs coming from loans and retained earn ings. W ith 25,000 sub acribers the company could generate $150,000 income a month. Cable economics are par ticularly attractive for inner city neighborhoods because of the high population den sities. One mile of cable in the city can pass as many as 350 potential customers, un like the rurrent system aver age of about 100 homes in the more scattered homes of the suburbs. Unlike other business ventures, cable does not need expensive offices, rentals, uncongested streets or plentiful parking. W hat is the role of elected officials? Before a cable sys tem can begin operation, it must receive a permit or franchise from a government authority, generally the city council. The Federal Communica tions Commission sets cer tain m inim um standards which any city's regulations must meet. These cover such matters as public par ticipation in the process of aw a rd in g franchises; con struction schedules; duration of the franchise; rates and rate changes; handling of service complaints; and rea sonableness of fees charged to companies awarded a fran chise. H o w e v e r, local govern ments retain the basic author Should the city have one cable operator or several? In general, minority owners benefit when a city grants more than one franchise, each covering a specific sec tion of the city. This has financial, operational and poll tical advantages, and makes possible some competition. Divising the city into cable zones aides minority appli cants. The segregated hous ing patterns of most cities tend to concentrate minori ties into a few zones. Any operator who proposes to serve this area knows that his success will depend on his service to the minority community. He must pro vide programming, m arket ing, consumer relations, and general public service geared to the minority community. He cannot afford merely to utilize services and staff from rural and suburban systems. Finally, dividing the city co ncentrates the political clout of the minority com munities. Although the mi nority cable company and it's community supporters may not be the strongest group city wide (except in such cases as Washington), gen e ra lly th e y w ill be the strongest in their own area and one of the most in fluential groups throughout the city. Multiple districts also are a benefit from the regulatory sta nd p oin t. C o m p arative costs and services would be available by which to judge requests for rate increases, details on service expansion, and other proposals. This is similar to the practice of federal and stale regulatory ity to decide who will be agencies in using T V A as a granted a franchise and what yardstick by which to mea standards must be m et. sure rate requests of private S p ec ifica lly, local govern companies. The city's regu ments are responsible for latory body would have a delineating franchise areas; stronger position from which selecting and sup ervising to enforce the rules if it were study committees which may not dealing with one con be formed to examine re glomerate. With multiple quests for franchises; inviting ownership, there would be franchise applications; draft less danger that a single firm ing an ordinance regulating would overwhelm it's under cable operations; selecting a staffed regulators, as A T & T cable system operator or does to the Federal Com operators; passing on the munications Commission. adequacy and feasibility of W hat other standards to construction arrangements; insure full minority participa setting the length of the tion should be; The city franchise; ap p ro vin g sub should ask each applicant for scriber rates, and setting the firm's plans in the fol franchise fees (within FCC lowing areas: guidelines!. 1. Use of local minority F e d e ra l ju ris d ic tio n is construction contractors; based on the FCC's power to 2. R e c ru itm e n t, tra in in g re g u la te transm ission of and employment of minority broadcast signals. Ixx-al persons in system construc jurisdiction comes from the tion and system operation; right to regulate use of 3. Purchase of goods and public stre e ts and ways services from minority busi through which cable lines are nesses; strung or laid. 4. Deposit of co rp o rate This local authority must funds in minority banks; be exercised with care and 5. Methods of determining planned to insure that the the com m unications needs city and minority interests and program preferences of are well provided for. Spe Black, brown and poor com cial attention must be given munities; and to certain key decisions. 6. M ethods of deciding Local o w n ersh ip means which information services that funds created by the that can be provided to cable system will stay in the m in o rity com m unities via community. Funds will go one-way and two-way cable into local banks, buy local delivery systems. services, and be reinvested Acceptable plans should be in the local system. It's made a part of franchise profits will be shared by applications and agreements. local residents. There is a In February, 1973, the greater possibility that job Urban Mass Transit Author opportunities and other busi ity placed similar require ness services will be pur ments into effect for the chased from community resi development of urban mass dents. Resident owners will tra n s it system s. C ities have a greater knowledge of should follow this precedent community needs and will be in planning and developing more accountable to the com local cable television systems. munity. Black, brown and poor Though most large cable communities comprise a sub companies p ro vid e some stantial portion of the urban ownership participation for cable market. Millions of local residents, it is usually dollars in subscriber fees and on the basis of 20 percent for special service and program local individuals and 80 per ming fees will be paid to cent for m u ltip le system cable systems by these com operators (MSO). These munities. Cities would do nationwide firms, such as well to channel these pay TeleProm pTer, are involved ments into self help economic in practically all the cable development resources that systems installed so far. The flow back into these com local citizens provide the munities. community knowledge and political influence necessary This article was prepared to gain the franchise. The by Charles Tate, executive MSO supplies the capital and director of the Cablecom technical expertise, and main munications Resource Cen tains full operating control ter. 1900 L Street N .W ., once the franchise is granted. Washington, D.C. 20036. This typical pattern pro vides virtually no ongoing local invq^fement except in the bank accounts of a few prominent individuals. The Black labor force con The MSO, whose major tinued to expand in the 1972 responsibility is to it's over reaching 9.6 million on an all balance sheet and public annual average basis, accord stockholders, may use the ing to the U.S. Department rash flow to expand it's oper of Idibor. ation in other cities. g ram m in g th a t broadcast television now offers Black and brown communities. As an information tech nology it offers an efficient delivery system for public services. Present federal rules require at least one channel each for educational and government use. How ever, the potential to deliver education, health and em ployment information, traffic and police communications and other services, especially w ith tw o way in te ra c tiv e cable, is nearly boundless. ('able also has a very at tractive economic develop ment potential, especially for underdeveloped urban com munities. It attracts sub stantial outside capital, in duces local investment, in creases local money supply with it's large rash flow, and provides new jobs, contracts and a variety of spinoff business opportunities. For T I i u i m I. i v . Juh 12. I9 i . Guyana elects new government Voters will go to the polls to select a new government for Guyana, the second since it's independence from Bri tain in 1966, on Monday. July 16. Guyana, the former B ritis h Colony of B ritish Guiana attained it's mdepen dence in May 1966 and be came a Republic on February 23, 1970. The last election was held in 1968. Guyana is the only English speaking co u n try on the mainland of South America. The last national elections were held in 1968 when Forbes Burnham (the cur rent Prime Minister) and the People's National Congress (P N C ) d efeated P re m ie r Cheddi Jagan of the People's P ro g res sive P a rty (P P P ). The two are expected to be opponents again next month. Burnham is a Socialist and Jagan is a Marxist. Burnham's PNC won a substantial victory in the 1968 election under the country's system of propor tional representation insti tuted by the British shortly before Guyana gained inde pendence. Burnham had until March 1974 to call new elections but has decided to seek a man date at this time, before the Commonwealth Conference to be held in Ottawa. Canada in August, and a Non Aligned Conference later in the year at Algeria. The Constitution of Guy ana provides for a sovereign democratic Republic of Guy ana, with a president as the constitutional head of state (currently President A rthur Chung). There is a Prime Minister and a Cabinet re sponsible collectively to the N a tio n a l A ssem bly, which consists of 53 m em bers elected by secret ballot under a system of p ro po rtio nal representation. The voting age is 21. (A recent govern ment proposal to lower the voting age to 18 was not supported by the Opposition). Guyanese who reside and/ or are citizens of other coun tries are still eligible to vote in the Guyana elections. The largest racial groups are East Indians labout 398, 000), Blacks labout 238,000). and there are some 10,000 Amerindians. There are also 4,000 Europeans in Guyana's total population of 760,000. I t is estimated that 86°o of the total population in Guy ana is literate. Primary education is free and secon dary education is increas ingly in reach of all. The University of Guyana was established in 1963 and awarded it's first degrees in 1967. The three major industries are sugar, rice and bauxite. Since these three contribute Guyana is a m em ber id the U nited Nations, and has (Hi server status in the Organi zation ol A m erican Slates IDAS I. (iuyana is considered one of the Big Four" of the f aribhean. along with Jamai ea. Barbados. Trinidad and Tobago, although it is located on the Northeast coast of South America. Guyana is one of the mem bers of the new Caribbean Economic Community, which begins August 1, 1973. and is designed to economically in tegrate Caribbean countries. T ir c h io n e VACATION CAR SERVICE Let us get your car ready for carefree vacation driving! 10 POINT BRAKE OVERHAUL ALIGNMENTS 4 LIFETIME SHOCKS W e ll a lig n yo u r fro n t wheels and install 4 new M o n r o -M a tic L ife tim e shocks. M o n ro e guaran tees this Shock Absorber against defects and w ear-o ut in norm al use. for as long as yo u use it on the p riv a te passenger car or tru c k on w hich it is o rig in a lly in stalled I f fa ilu re should occur, re tu rn the shock absorber w ith proof of yo u r purchase to a n y authorized M o n ro e d ea ler for exchange un d er o ur p rin te d guarantee N o m in a l charge for rem oval and in stallatio n . Includes new lin in g and rebuild ing wheel c y lin ders on a ll four wheela^nrc linings, tu rn drum s, repack front bearings and inspect com plete sys tem . S tand ard a n d com pact cars. ( D ru m -ty p e o n ly .) the rn FAMILY^ w LAWYER X ALIGNMENTS BALL JOINTS Upped Check M artin bought a secondhand motorcycle from a friendly stranger, giving him a check for “ eight hundred dollars."But when he got the check back from the bank at the end of the month, it had been upped to “ thirty eight hundred dollars.” Martin decided that the bank had no right to take the extra $3,000 out of his account. " I t ’s not my fault the fellow was crooked," he argued in a court hearing. “ Let the bank try to collect the difference from him .” But the bank pointed out that M artin had made three careless mistakes in writing the check: the most recent, largest attended Non Aligned Con ferenee. In recent months, in aildi tion to it’s free world diplo malic relations, has estab lished dip lom atic relation s with the People's Republic of • hina, Cuba, East Germany. Poland and Russia. over one third of the nation's Gross Domestie Product and employ about a quarter of the working population, they largely set the pace of eco nomie activity in the country. Significant in the past few years of Guyana's desire to control it's natural resources, the Government negotiated a purchase of the Aluminum Company of Canada's (A L C A N ) bauxite operations, for an estimated $53 million. Guyana has been running the operation, known as the Guy ana Bauxite Company Ltd. (G i'Y B A L ). successfuly and in it's first full year returned a profit of $13 million. (iu y a n a has become a moving force not only in Caribbean affairs, but in the Non Aligned Movement, or the Third World" countries. Guyana was the host for the first Caribbean Festival of the Arts, and was the site of W e in stall 4 new b rake pads, resurface rotors, repack front wheel bearings and inspect calipers and rear axle brakes. O u r exp ert m echanics w ill install both up p er b all jo in ts O R both low er b all jo in ts an d a lig n yo u r fro n t wheels. STEEL RADIALS 40,000 MILE TIRES 1) he had failed to 611 in the payee's name; 2) he had failed to 611 in the numbers after the dollar sign; and 3) he had left more than an inch of open space in front of the word "eight” plenty of room for inserting the word "th irty.’’ The court concluded that M a r tin, by his negligence, hud invited the tampering hence,would have to bear the loss himself. O f course, as a general rule, a bank has no right to pay any more money out of your account than you have authorized. The bank, after all. has the best opportunity to detect fraud by examining a check before cashing it. But the law will usually shift the loss to you if, by your care- lessnes. you have made the check easy to alter. Furthermore, you have a duly to go over your cancelled checks within a reasonable time after thev are returned, and In alert tlie hank if something is amiss. For example A man whose signature had been forged on a check had Io absorb the loss himself because he neglected, for almost six months, to let the hank know what had happened. A court said that by bis pro crastination, he had deprived the bank of a fair chance to track down the villain. A p u b lic s e rv ic e f e a t u r e o f th e A m e r ic a n B a r A s s o c ia tio n a n d th e O r e g o n S ta te B a r A ssoeia- li o n . W r it t e n by W i l l B e r n a r d . C 1973 American Bar Association STEEL RADIAL 500 RADIAL V-l STEEL Tbs top of the great Firestone ,500', lirw'' This tire combine« the strength of steel with the long mileage, superb handling and traction provided by Firest me radial construction Two tough steel belts under the wide tread offer outstanding resistance to road hai- ards and keep the tread firm on pavement enabling us U> guarantee 10,000 miles of treat!»ear. This wide 70 senes tire features precise handling and excellent traction P L U S Firestona laminated steel construction. One steel stabilizer belt is compressed between four rayon »tahiliier belts - a tetal of flee belts under the tread for exceptional impact and cut resistance The aggrp«wve Europe an-type trend to guaranteed for 40,000 miles of wear Ilia W hitewall Rnce tach F.I.Ta BR70-13 175R 11 DR78 14 CR70 15 HR78 15 JR78-15 LR78-1B •4 1 .7 0 4 1 .7 0 4 1 .8 0 •1 .1 5 « 8 25 71.35 7 5 .4 0 •2 01 200 2 35 30« 3 20 343 348 «ricas plu» tavaa and lire oft your car. Blechwaua avariatola in some sir««. _____________________ 4 0 , 0 0 0 M IL E G UARANTEE T M F ie r.i n. St M l fcMMti W and IU .il.1 v - l *w«*l an- auaiamswd t< r w y s x 46 w m i«« of Irre riw ra i ,n nonaai passeaarr use » Uw a«p s rar. It th> y ifoa t , la ke ymsr to any > >rsr*(M *wS(of«a*partKiaau«K I hater H i Y r * ir e lh r tirawtU» I M » nc and «>.« you rra d it the not- wot ret ♦< red baas-i oa tlM tb rn < urrenl mijusuwwwt pf t o I aa»yrua >mwui naOowal >M<carina prl p»Wa, pfua Uaxlenu a a tite U S- A Il ^ -rr k a c fc */fa t s a r M SdU«d. K - IL — T v p c s to n c 815 W . Burnside Site WhrieweN Price le c h fat . •50 .1 5 • a a t 2aa 5« 45 320 « 3 .5 5 3 00 «1.15 2.17 5 5 .1 5 323 7 1 .1 5 xaa 7 5 .4 5 Rrlcea pluetg •Mind urseffyavav. FR7O-14 GR 70-14 H R 70-Î4 GR7O-15 HR 70-1 5 JR7O-1B LR7O-15 the people tf re people 228-9268 CHARGE TIRES SCAR SERVICE Member I D ll »
