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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
A fine by any other name
smells not a bit sweeterThe words "Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture" can be as foreboding as they sound for anyone with a Federal Communications Commission license. Such notices inform recipients of fines, often into the tens of thousands of dollars.
However, a fine is not a fine when it becomes a "voluntary contribution," according to a Federal Communications Commission order released Friday.
Nextel WIP, a subsidiary of Kirkland, Wash.-based Nextel Partners Inc., appealed a forfeiture order from the FCC and won, sort of.
Instead of forfeiting $10,000, it has agreed to make a $10,000 contribution to the United States Treasury "by mailing a check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection Section," the order said.
The matter began Aug. 27, 2002, when the FCC Honolulu Resident Agent Office received a call from Hawaiian Electric Co. expressing concern over interference on one of its frequencies.
HECO has a microwave communications system that connects its load dispatch department with the various power plants. A backup system was being installed the day the interference was noted and reported, said Bruce Benson, HECO communications consultant.
The next day an FCC agent found the interference came from a Nextel transmitter on Palehua Ridge operating at 854.7875 megahertz.
That frequency belongs to HECO.
Nextel removed the offending transmitter and the technician determined the company was actually licensed to use 854.7375.
Never mind minding your Ps and Qs, those 8s and 3s will get you every time.
"This was just a routine situation where there was a minor error that was promptly corrected," Benson said. "Nextel sent HECO an apology."
But the company is still out $10,000 for what seems to have been an honest mistake. And the semantic differentiation between a forfeiture and a contribution is amusing, if not baffling.
Ken Furukawa, marketing manager for Nextel Partners Inc. in Hawaii, didn't want to speculate. "There's a lot of legalese in this document," he said. "I guess that's the agreement they've come to."
KKOA makes 3
Maui-based Pacific Radio Group Inc. has sold the last station it is required to sell off in order to comply with FCC ownership rules.KKOA-FM 107.7, licensed to operate in Volcano on the Big Island, has been sold to Dan J. Alpert's Herb Radio for $400,000.
Alpert is an Arlington, Va.-based attorney who specializes in representing broadcasters in FCC matters. He also represented Pacific Radio in its recent transactions, in some cases representing both sides in a deal. Alpert could not be reached.
KKOA is among the stations sold to Pacific Radio Group by Connecticut-based Maverick Media LLC.
Bergson was unsure whether Alpert owns any other broadcast licenses, but said the attorney has definitely been to Hawaii before.
Major ownership changes take place on the Big Island on Monday. Alpert will officially assume operation of KKOA on Wednesday. Bergson says the shuffling will leave some people unemployed, but he didn't know how many.
Monday's closure of Pacific Radio's purchase of four Maverick Media stations, initiated earlier this year, will trigger a complex series of events, Bergson said.
More pieces of paper, more meetings.
"There are so many different variables because there are so many different parties involved. I can't speak for Nelson Ray Parker or Chris Leonard or Dan Alpert (buyers of the three spin-off stations). I only know who I'm going to hire."
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
