Volume 12, Number 20
www.northhavencitizen.com
Friday, August 9, 2019
New FCC rule puts pressure on local public access TV By Everett Bishop The Citizen
From left: Zachary Stewart, Reilly Stewart and Leslie Peters. Photos courtesy of Mark Thomas
Eagle Scout project builds on a bond between brothers By Everett Bishop The Citizen
NORTHFORD — Reilly Stewart, a Madison native, completed his Eagle Scout project in July by creating a picnic area for the students and faculty of the Northford ACES Center for Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders. ACES (Area Cooperative Educational Services) operates out of North Haven. This scout project included a personal connection for Stewart, 17, as his brothStewart's finished project. er, Zach, 20, is a student in the ACES Northford proFrom there, Stewart went to gram. the ACES school principal, Leslie Peters, and pitched “For me, I got a little help the idea. from my Mom, as she brought it up to me one “I’ve known Reilly and his day while I was beginning family for years when they my process to find a suitable would come to school with project, that my older brothZach,” said Peters. “He really er’s school had dilapidated started this on his own. He picnic tables just sitting in worked with the head of fathe parking lot,” said Stewart. cilities to map out his pro“Zachary is the most imporject and he got to work.” tant person to me in the world.” ACES provides a variety
of resources and life skills classes for children and young adults with autism or developmental disabilities. According to Stewart, his family is very supportive of Zach and ACES as a whole. “For awhile they even had a siblings program, Sib-shops, where we would go to the school for a few hours and See Scout, A11
The Federal Communications Commission capped local regulatory authorities’ franchise fees at 5 percent, as of Aug. 1. These fees subsidize the cost of running and developing the programs broadcast on public access television stations.
the municipal telephone poles cable companies require to transmit their content.
Originally, the order that the FCC voted on also included a point that cable companies would be able to charge municipalities for the public access channels towns use. For North Haven, channels 18, 19 and 20 are used by Public access television is the town to broadcast fosometimes referred to as rums, board and commitPEG-TV for its programtee meetings as well as ming of public, education- for educational programal and government topics. ming. However, this PEG-TV for North Haven charge to towns was taken is seen on channels 18, 19 out, allowing them to conand 20. tinue to keep their access to channels without a fee. According to Walter Mann, executive director “Of course, if you don’t for NHTV, North Haven have the funding it’s kind public access receives of hard to operate the $70,000 from franchising channels,” said Mann. fees and is further subsiNorth Haven First Selectdized another $40,000 man Mike Freda, said that from the North Haven he and Branford First Semunicipal government. This is in contrast to Wall- lectman Jamie Cosgrove are “leading the ingford, where that local charge” when it comes to authority, WPAA-TV, sees safeguarding franchise its entire $80,000 budget fees. subsidized through franchise fees. “I addressed our United States congressional SenBetween the two towns, ate district about the issue the average subscriber and I said ‘Please commucosts add up to about $8 nicate to our United States per year. senators and our congres“The FCC would basically sional leaders that this is put a 5 percent cap on the going to be an issue for total amount of financial us,’” Freda said. “I was depayments that cable com- lighted that after I gave panies pay to the state of that speech, a letter came Connecticut for use of the from our U.S. senators to public routes of way,” said the FCC talking about this Mann. issue.” These “routes of way” are
See FCC, A6