Reporter, SurfSantaMonica.com
Reporter for SurfSantaMonica.com, Santa Monica's online newspaper
PROFILE
Ann Williams
Guest
FROM Ann Williams
Which Way, L.A.?
Cable TV, Competition and Community Service Twenty years ago, cable companies promised to wire libraries, schools and hospitals as part of their public service. Community groups would be connected to local government, senior citizens could talk directly to city hall and politicians would be called to account on programs focusing on politics and government--all in exchange for monopoly franchise agreements with local cities and counties. Although most of those promises have not been kept, many of the franchise agreements remain. Now, even the public service programming may be at risk. In Sacramento, it's a bill to promote "competition" that's racing through the Legislature. Locally, it's Time-Warner , which is taking over from Adelphia and Comcast to become the biggest cable operator in LA and Orange Counties. We hear about the fate of public service on cable TV from local and state officials, and a former cable TV host.
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To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.