The mayor has a pen, too
I received the news of Rafael Tejeda’s firing and my first thought was the wickedness of the mayor’s actions less than a week before Thanksgiving. Seems that Mayor Rivera takes pleasure in instilling pain on people because this is not the first time he has done it. I remember when Mike Fielding was fired, the letter was delivered to him on the day his mother was buried.
We were ready for the printers and there was no time for me to assess the situation except that I read the report issued by Lauren Goldberg of Kopelman and Paige, P.C. dated November 20, 2014. Attorney Goldberg was one of the attorneys working on the recount of last year’s elections and again during the State Elections of this year.
As I read the report, several questions came to my mind and as I read more it became clear that this report was designed to satisfy a need from the mayor and use it as leverage to clean house once again and the proof is that he took action the moment it was received.
Since I have not had the proper time to look into it, I will write in more detail in my next edition. Meanwhile, on November 8th I wrote that hatred prevailed in this year’s elections and it doesn’t seem to stop even beyond November 4th. Firing an employee is one thing but destroying him financially and morally has no possible excuse. I am not talking about politicians; take the case of Lorenza Ortega whose offense was living with a man out of wedlock and has been treated in the press as a criminal. Gilda Duran, a woman with a Masters degree who couldn’t find a job around here for almost a year and had to go out-of-state to survive.
Most recently, it was Art McCabe who was told there were no funds for his position and laid off. A month later, all his possibilities of future employment were shattered by a horrendous contribution to the media. And now, Rafael Tejeda. What ever happened to verbal warnings and written warnings to create a file justifying taking this measure? The pleasure, it seems, is in the surprise element. I hate to think that this could be reason for joy for someone. Just look at the picture published as evidence of his neglect: 10,000 postcards containing information on voting locations that were returned to City Hall as undeliverable mail in 2005. We all know that notifying a change-of-address is not customary for many of us and it has always created a problem for hospitals, creditors, City Hall and even for the IRS.
The way they are going about destroying lives is disgusting!
5 reasons to take cable TV license renewal seriously
What follows was prepared by Kopelman and Paige (yes, the same attorneys helping the mayor) and I am reproducing it here in preparation for the public hearing on Monday.
- Many cable systems are old and need to be updated. Many towns still have a 450 MHz system which is the cable equivalent of a dinosaur. System upgrades to 650 MHz, 750 MHz, or 870 MHz can provide more channels, clearer pictures, and access to high speed internet services.
- Many existing systems need to be built out. There may be streets, neighborhoods, or subdivisions within the Town that have not been cabled even though most licenses obligate a cable operator to build out into all areas of the town (with certain exceptions). During the renewal process, you may discover that there are areas that were supposed to be cabled, but never were.
- Signal quality can be improved. The FCC has technical specifications for signal quality, however, in many towns, particularly those with older systems, the cable system does not comply. There are remedies for this, but the best time to pressure the cable operator to improve signal quality is during the license renewal process.
- Customer service complaints can be addressed. Many subscribers have significant problems with service calls or billing questions. A cable operator is highly motivated to correct these types of problems during renewal negotiations.
- Contributions towards Access programming can be negotiated. If the Town has, or wants to have, a viable Access program, the laws governing cable license renewal permit the Town to seek money or equipment contributions towards the Town’s Access programming. This requires some homework on the part of the Town, but the rewards here can be great.
If you have any questions about cable licensing, license renewals, license transfers or Access programming please contact Bill Hewig at 617-654-1711 or whewig@k-plaw.com.
