Mark Turner

Broadband safe in NC? For now, maybe.

At this morning’s three-hours-earlier-than-usual Senate Commerce Committee meeting, S.1004, the so-called Level Playing Field Act (companion to House bill H.1252), was sent to the Revenue Laws Study Committee. While it appears this particular bill has been defanged, I don’t for a minute expect Time Warner Cable to roll over and play dead – in spite of Time Warner Cable allegedly now claiming it wanted a study bill all along.
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Senate Commerce Committee member contact info

Here [PDF] are the contact numbers for the Senate Commerce Committee members. They will hear the Senate version of the “Level Playing Field Act” bright and early at 8 AM tomorrow in room 1027 of the Legislative Building.

Chairman
Sen. R. C. Soles, Jr. 733-5963

Vice Chairman
Sen. Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. 733-4599

Vice Chairman
Sen. David W. Hoyle (sponsor) 733-5734

Vice Chairman
Sen. Tony Rand 733-9892

Members
Sen. Tom Apodaca 733-5745
Sen. Tony Foriest 301-1446
Sen. Larry Shaw 733-9349
Sen. Philip E. Berger 733-5708
Sen. Doug Berger 715-8363
Sen. Harris Blake 733-4809
Sen. Julia Boseman 715-2525
Sen. Peter S. Brunstetter 733-7850
Sen. Debbie A. Clary (sponsor) 715-3038
Sen. Katie G. Dorsett 715-3042
Sen. James Forrester 715-3050
Sen. Linda Garrou 733-5620
Sen. W. Edward (Eddie) Goodall 733-7659
Sen. Steve Goss 733-5742
Sen. Malcolm Graham 733-5650
Sen. Neal Hunt 733-5850
Sen. Jim Jacumin 715-7823
Sen. Clark Jenkins 715-3040
Sen. Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr. 715-3001
Sen. William R. Purcell 733-5953
Sen. Bob Rucho 733-5655
Sen. Josh Stein 715-6400
Sen. Richard Stevens 733-5653
Sen. Don Vaughan 733-5856

Time Warner Cable Protection Act not dead yet

I spent my lunch hour at today’s House Public Utilities Committee listening to debate about H.1252, the “Time Warner Cable Protection Act.” The meeting was full of spectators, including a group that proponent Americans For Prosperity apparently borrowed from a nearby protest. In spite of the crowd, this meeting had more civility than the previous meetings.

The chair said right from the start that there had been many citizens weighing in on this bill, so clearly they knew it was controversial. Immediately the bill’s sponsor, Ty Harrell, submitted a PCS (a potential committee substitute) directing this bill be sent to the Revenue Laws Study Committee. This would seem to defang it, and a lot of talk ensued about how everyone just wanted to make broadband available to anyone who wants it.
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Public Utilities Committee meeting tomorrow

Tomorrow is the N.C. House Public Utilities Committee meeting where H.1252 is scheduled to be heard. I hope to attend the meeting but it depends on whether I can schedule my work around it.

I spent my lunch break calling the members of the committee to urge them to oppose the bill. Many of the legislative assistants expressed marked awareness of the bill. Apparently they’ve been getting lots of calls, though for which side I don’t know. At least one said the assistant’s boss was reconsidering support for the bill, which is a good sign.

I hope our representatives know what a bad bill this is for our communities and vote accordingly, but we’ll have to see. It may come down to the wire.

Also, there’s a Facebook group where you can lend your voice in opposition. The more avenues for expression, the better!

Tornado sighting

We had a particularly large thunderstorm move through Raleigh this evening. I watched it on the radar as it approached from Cary and turned my ham radio on to the Skywarn net as we got ready for dinner. As we were finishing dinner, the skies grew darker and the kids got more excited.

I suggested to Kelly that we move the family to our safe room. Even if nothing happened it would be good practice, as we’ve never done this in our new home here. So with that, the kids began to gather pillows and blankets and put them in our utility room.

A minute or two afterward, I heard a report on the radio of rotating clouds above the NCSU belltower not far away. I suggested Kelly go to the utility room and told her I would join her when things looked safe. I then went to the back porch, which has the best view of the sky.
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Google, Intel, and other heavyweights oppose H1252

Google and Intel announced today their opposition to H1252, the so-called “Level Playing Field Act.”. In a letter to legislators, the companies joined Alcatel-Lucent, Intel, Telecommunications Industry Association, the Fiber to the Home Council, Educause, the Utilities Telecom Council, Atlantic Engineering and the American Public Power Association in saying:

We, the undersigned private-sector companies and trade associations urge you to oppose HB1252, the so-called “Level Playing Field Act.” HB1252 is “level” only in the sense that it will harm both the public and private sectors. It will thwart public broadband initiatives, stifle economic growth, prevent the creation or retention of thousands of jobs, and diminish quality of life in North Carolina . In particular, it will hurt the private sector by undermining public-private partnerships, hamstringing our ability to sell our goods and services, interfering with workforce development, and stifling creativity and innovation. …
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Bringing the Heat

I snuck out on my own Friday night and headed to Carrboro to see the Reverend Horton Heat (a.k.a. “Rev”) play the Cat’s Cradle. Boy was I not disappointed! It was almost the perfect show: tickets were just ten bucks, the opening act was entertaining, Cat’s Cradle is now smoke-free, the beer is reasonably-priced, and Rev. absolutely rocked the house. The only way it could’ve been improved was if Kelly could’ve been there, too, and the asinine mosh pit and the morons populating it had been somewhere else.
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Culture of privilege

cary_allred-ncgaI was returning home from a meeting or something an evening a week ago when I spotted a driver having trouble keeping his vehicle in his lane. A few times the vehicle wasn’t keeping speed with traffic and hugged the lane lines. This vehicle had state senate tags. I opted not to call it in, though in hindsight I probably should have.

If I fell for the aura of authority, it seems I’m not alone. Rep. Cary Allred (R-Burlington) was recently cited for driving 102 miles an hour on I-40. Yet rather than haul him off to jail like the trooper would’ve done with the rest of us peons, Trooper N.A. Mitchell let him go with a warning. Now Allred is complaining about getting a ticket days later, saying he’s been “unfairly singled out.”

Yeah, you were unfairly singled out, you moron. You should be cooling your heels in jail right now and catching the bus to the legislative sessions from there on out.

This culture of privilege is what drives me nuts about state politics. If you think our state representatives think they’re “regular folk,” you’d be mistaken.

On a totally unrelated note, have you noticed the resemblance of Cary Allred to the Ha! Ha! guy on FARK?