[IP] Feds shut down Free Radio Santa Cruz
[ Pirate stations are an old game and have been shut down most of the
tim when one can find them Low poer radio was intended to provide a
lawful alternative. Radio spectrum badly needs reformation but this is
not he way to do it. . My opinion djf]
Begin forwarded message:
From: Paul Saffo <pls@xxxxxxxx>
Date: October 3, 2004 2:38:17 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Feds shut down Free Radio Santa Cruz
Forget the terrorists -- We can all sleep soundly, knowing that the
Feds are protecting us against hippie scofflaws who would dare to steal
frequency space from the corporate fatcats who own the airwaves...
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-radio3oct03,1,5080728.story?
coll=la-headlines-california
REGION & STATE
Tiny Pirate Radio Station Shut Down
Federal officials seize the facility's equipment. Free speech is argued
in liberal Santa Cruz.
By Irwin Speizer
Special to The Times
October 3, 2004
SANTA CRUZ — Skidmark Bob leaned back in his chair behind the
makeshift radio studio desk as he assessed the impact of last week's
raid on pirate station Free Radio Santa Cruz by U.S. marshals and the
Federal Communications Commission.
Agents yanked the antenna from the roof and carted off all of the
broadcast equipment Wednesday, effectively knocking the station off the
air. They departed with a warning that operators of the station faced
possible fines of up to $10,000.
"At least they didn't take the pirate flag," Skidmark Bob, as he is
known, said Friday.
Behind him hung a large, black-and-white flag adorned with a skull and
crossbones, a key symbol of Free Radio Santa Cruz. Surrounding him were
shelves filled with alternative music CDs that provided the staple of
the station's broadcasts, along with political commentary that tended
toward the far left.
By Friday, the station's volunteers and supporters had assembled
enough computer and audio equipment to send out programming on the
Internet. Skidmark Bob, whose real name is Robert Duran, vowed that the
station would be back on the air soon, thanks to backup equipment
stashed at another location. The station might relocate to get away
from federal officials, he hinted, but he said it had no plans to give
up squatters' rights to its radio frequency.
"We decided to take this frequency because we felt the public airways
belong to the people," Duran said.
Around Santa Cruz, that sort of power-to-the-people rhetoric strikes a
receptive chord. A college town of 55,000, Santa Cruz is a place where
liberal political posturing is so pervasive that the City Council once
adopted a resolution calling for President Bush's impeachment.
The council has twice adopted resolutions supporting Free Radio Santa
Cruz, both times in response to inquiries by the FCC about the pirate
station.
"Obviously, pirate radio isn't protected by the Constitution," said
Mayor Scott Kennedy. "But we are concerned about the federal government
restricting free speech."
The council also is concerned about the war in Iraq, medicinal
marijuana and many other issues, all brought up so frequently during
meetings that even Councilman Mark Primack, who cosponsored the latest
pro-pirate-station resolution, says things can get tiresome.
"Santa Cruz is a little bit of a fantasy town," Primack said. "This is
kind of like a resort for liberals."
With 15,000 students, UC Santa Cruz exerts a powerful influence on the
city and its politics and has helped create the atmosphere that Primack
finds appealing and enigmatic.
"This city wants to be tolerant and open to new ideas. It's my job to
make that happen," he said.
The station is run as a sort of commune, with no designated
leadership. Participants pay $20 a month to join and many have on-air
programs. Skidmark Bob is one of the original members of the station, a
one-time wanderer who found his way to Santa Cruz, liked it and stayed,
sleeping in his pickup truck at first. He became an advocate for the
homeless and a volunteer for an organization called Food Not Bombs that
served free meals.
Duran and about a dozen other volunteers and activists got together in
the 1990s and raised about $1,000 — enough to buy a 15-watt transmitter
and audio equipment to launch a station barely powerful enough to reach
more than a few miles. They selected an open radio band and began
broadcasting from a friend's carport.
Within a year, two FCC agents had shown up. In its warrant for the
latest raid, the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco documented the
FCC's pursuit of the station starting in May 1995.
David Doon, an electronics engineer in the FCC's enforcement division,
documented in an affidavit how he used sophisticated tracking equipment
to hunt down the location of the pirate station as it moved several
times over the years, switched to a different frequency and boosted its
power to 50 watts, enough to cover the city with its signal.
FCC regulations require radio transmissions to be licensed as part of
the agency's task of regulating the airwaves. Only exceptionally weak
transmissions are allowed without a license.
In May, Free Radio Santa Cruz moved again, this time to the old
Victorian house that serves as student cooperative housing and looks
like a throwback to the Haight-Ashbury of the 1960s. The paint is
mostly weathered except for a band of bright blue trim across the
second story. A Volkswagen camper van, its top popped, clearly hasn't
moved from the driveway for a considerable time.
The station itself is in a 10-foot by 10-foot room with a ceiling so
low that 6-footers might feel the need to duck.
Agents tracked down the station again, and this time the U.S.
attorney's office in San Francisco filed a complaint for forfeiture
Wednesday that allowed agents to shut it down.
After agents hustled station volunteers and house residents outside,
volunteers soon began calling each other and supporters, until a crowd
of 40 to 50 gathered to watch the dozen federal officials conduct the
raid.
Federal marshals complained after the raid that local police had
provided no support in the raid, and that tires on five federal cars
had been slashed while agents were at the house. Police were
investigating the vandalism Friday.
Kennedy described it as a heavy-handed show of force. This was, after
all, Santa Cruz, he pointed out, and city officials had no problem with
what Free Radio Santa Cruz was doing.
"Marshaling this overt police action at a time of war against a
relatively harmless radio station seems like a such a gross distortion
of priorities," Kennedy said.
Duran said the station has received considerable support from around
Santa Cruz since the raid. "This has really energized us," he said.
On Friday night, the station's webcast was up and running, offering
its brand of maverick music and irreverent commentary.
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