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                            Before the
                 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

                                  )
In the Matter of                   )
                                  )     File No. EB-02-SD-075
Blue Skies Broadcasting Corp.      )     NAL/Acct. No. 
Licensee of Station KSKT-CA        )     200232940006
San Marco, California              )     FRN: 0003-7774-06
                                  )

            NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                           Released:  July 31, 2002

By the Enforcement Bureau: San Diego Office


                          I. INTRODUCTION

1. In  this Notice of Apparent Liability  for Forfeiture (``NAL''), 
  we find that Blue Skies  Broadcasting Corp. (``Blue Skies''), the 
  licensee of  Class A  Television Broadcast (``Class  A'') station 
  KSKT-CA in San Marcos,  California, apparently willfully violated 
  Sections 11.35(a), 11.61 and 73.1125(c) of the Commission's Rules 
  and Regulations (``Rules''),1 by  failing to ensure that required 
  Emergency Alert  System (``EAS'')  equipment was  operational and 
  failing  to establish  a main  studio  at a  location within  the 
  station's  predicted  Grade B  contour  (as  outlined in  Section 
  73.683 of the  Rules).2  We conclude, pursuant  to Section 503(b) 
  of the  Communications Act of  1934,3 as amended  (``Act''), that 
  Blue Skies, is apparently liable  for forfeiture in the amount of 
  fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).

                          II.  BACKGROUND

2. On  March  6, 2002,  an agent  from  the Federal  Communications 
  Commission's (``FCC'')  San Diego  office attempted to  conduct a 
  routine inspection of the EAS  equipment of station KSKT-CA.  The 
  agent  discovered that  there was  niether a  studio address  nor 
  telephone listing  for station  KSKT-CA in  any of  the telephone 
  directories for the  City of San Marcos or for  San Diego County.  
  However, the  transmitter for station KSKT-CA  was operational on 
  TV channel  43 and  was located atop  Mount Woodson  near Ramona, 
  California, as authorized. 

3. On  March  8,  2002,  the  agent  telephoned  Mr.  Robert  Ruiz, 
  President  of  Blue  Skies,   at  a  Woodland  Hills,  California 
  telephone number provided  in the last application  filed by Blue 
  Skies.  Mr.  Ruiz stated that  there was  no local studio  and no 
  local  telephone number  for  KSKT-CA.  A  main  studio had  been 
  maintained in  Poway, California, but  Mr. Ruiz said that  it was 
  closed in December of 2001  due to financial problems experienced 
  by Blue Skies.  Mr. Ruiz stated that when the main studio closed, 
  the station's EAS  equipment was also taken out  of service.  Mr. 
  Ruiz  admitted that  station  KSKT-CA had  neither conducted  the 
  required weekly  and monthly EAS  transmit and receive  tests nor 
  had any operational EAS equipment in service since the closure of 
  the KSKT-CA studio.  

4. On  April 12, 2002, agents  from the San Diego  office conducted 
  an inspection of the transmitter site of station KSKT-CA on Mount 
  Woodson in California.   The EAS equipment had  been installed by 
  that time  at the transmitter  site.  However, the  EAS equipment 
  was not capable of receiving  or transmitting the required weekly 
  or monthly EAS tests from either of the local stations designated 
  in the local San Diego County EAS Plan.  Rather, KSKT-CA had only 
  one module  installed that  was tuned to  the local  NOAA Weather 
  Service radio  station.  Blue Skies had  no logs of any  EAS test 
  received or retransmitted since KSKT  became a Class A station in 
  August of 2001. 

                       III.      DISCUSSION

5. Section  503(b)  of   the  Act  provides  that  any  person  who 
  willfully  fails  to  comply  substantially with  the  terms  and 
  conditions of any license, or  willfully fails to comply with any 
  of the provisions of the Act  or of any rule, regulation or order 
  issued  by  the Commission  thereunder,  shall  be liable  for  a 
  forfeiture  penalty.4  The  term ``willful''  as used  in Section 
  503(b)  has been  interpreted to  mean  simply that  the acts  or 
  omissions are committed knowingly.5

6. Commission   licensees   are   responsible   for   familiarizing 
  themselves and complying with  applicable statutes and Commission 
  Rules and policies, regardless of the length of time the licensee 
  has been engaged in broadcasting.6   The Rules provide that every 
  broadcast  station, including  a Class  A television  station, is 
  part  of the  nationwide  EAS  network and  is  categorized as  a 
  participating   national   EAS    source   unless   the   station 
  affirmatively requests  authority to  not participate.7   The EAS 
  provides the President  and state and local  governments with the 
  capability to provide immediate  and emergency communications and 
  information to the  general public.8  State and  local area plans 
  identify  local  primary  sources  responsible  for  coordinating 
  carriage of  common emergency messages  from sources such  as the 
  National   Weather   Service   or  local   emergency   management 
  officials.9
7. The  Rules  specifically require  broadcast stations,  including 
  Class A stations,10 to install and make operational EAS equipment 
  (encoders, decoders,  attention signal generators  and receivers) 
  so  that  monitoring  and transmitting  functions  are  available 
  during the  times whenever  the station  is in  operation.11  The 
  Rules also require broadcast stations  to (a) receive monthly EAS 
  tests from  designated local  primary EAS sources  and retransmit 
  the monthly test within 60 minutes of its receipt and (b) conduct 
  tests of  the EAS header  and EOM codes  at least once a  week at 
  random days  and times.12   Based on the  evidence, we  find that 
  Blue Skies  willfully violated  sections 11.35  and 11.61  of the 
  Rules  by  failing  to  have   any  EAS  equipment  installed  or 
  operational from December of 2001  through at least March 8, 2002 
  and by failing to have EAS equipment installed that is capable of 
  monitoring, receiving and retransmitting the required monthly and 
  weekly EAS test. 

8. The  Rules also  require broadcast  stations, including  Class A 
  stations, to  establish and maintain  a main studio to  serve the 
  needs and interests  of the residents of  the station's community 
  of license.13  Based  on the evidence, we further  find that Blue 
  Skies  chose  to discontinue  maintenance  of  a main  studio  in 
  December of 2001  and has since failed to maintain  a main studio 
  for station KSKT-CA. 

9. Based  on  the  evidence before  us,  we  find that  Blue  Skies 
  Broadcasting Corp., willfully  violated Sections 11.35(a), 11.61, 
  and 73.1125(c)  of the  Rules, by failing  to have  EAS equipment 
  properly  installed  and  operational  and  failing  to  monitor, 
  receive and retransmit required monthly and weekly EAS tests, and 
  by  failing  to   maintain  a  main  studio.    Pursuant  to  The 
  Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 
  1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines,14 the 
  base  forfeiture  amount  for  EAS  equipment  not  installed  or 
  operational is  $8,000 and for  not maintaining a main  studio is 
  $7,000.   In assessing  the monetary  forfeiture amount,  we must 
  also take into account the statutory factors set forth in Section 
  503(b)(2)(D) of the Act, which include the nature, circumstances, 
  extent, and gravity of the  violation(s), and with respect to the 
  violator,  the  degree  of  culpability,  any  history  of  prior 
  offenses, ability to  pay, and other such matters  as justice may 
  require.15  In applying  Section 1.80(b)(4) of the  Rules and the 
  statutory  factors to  the instant  case, we  find no  compelling 
  evidence  to  support  any  adjustments to  the  base  forfeiture 
  amounts. Therefore, a  total forfeiture in the  amount of $15,000 
  is warranted. 

                       IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

10.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 503(b) of 
  the Act, and  Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80  of the Commission's 
  Rules, Blue Skies Broadcasting Corp., is hereby NOTIFIED of their 
  APPARENT  LIABILITY FOR  A FORFEITURE  in the  amount of  fifteen 
  thousand dollars ($15,000) for violating Sections 11.35(a), 11.61 
  and 73.1125(c) of the Commission's Rules and Regulations.16

11.  IT IS FURTHER  ORDERED THAT, pursuant  to Section 1.80  of the 
  Rules, within thirty  days of the release date of  this NOTICE OF 
  APPARENT LIABILITY, Blue Skies  Broadcasting Corp., SHALL PAY the 
  full amount  of the proposed  forfeiture or SHALL FILE  a written 
  statement  seeking  reduction  or cancellation  of  the  proposed 
  forfeiture.

12.  Payment of the  forfeiture may be made  by mailing a  check or 
  similar  instrument,   payable  to  the  order   of  the  Federal 
  Communications Commission, to  the Forfeiture Collection Section, 
  Finance  Branch,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  P.O.  Box 
  73482, Chicago,  Illinois  60673-7482.   The payment  should note 
  the NAL/Account No. 200232940006 and FRN 0003-7774-06.

13.  The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal Communications 
  Commission,  Enforcement  Bureau,  Technical  and  Public  Safety 
  Division, 445  12th Street, S.W.,  Washington, DC 20554  and must 
  include the NAL/Acct. No. 200232940006. 

14.  The Commission  will  not  consider  reducing or  canceling  a 
  forfeiture in response to a claim  of inability to pay unless the 
  petitioner submits: (1)  federal tax returns for  the most recent 
  three-year period; (2) financial statements prepared according to 
  generally  accepted  accounting  practices;  or  (3)  some  other 
  reliable and objective documentation that accurately reflects the 
  petitioner's current financial status.  Any claim of inability to 
  pay  must  specifically  identify  the basis  for  the  claim  by 
  reference to the financial documentation submitted.

15.  Requests for  payment of  the full  amount of  this Notice  of 
  Apparent Liability under  an installment plan should  be sent to: 
  Chief, Revenue  and Receivable Operation Group,  445 12th Street, 
  S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.17

16.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED  THAT this NOTICE OF  APPARENT LIABILITY 
  shall be  sent, by certified  mail, return receipt  requested, to 
  Blue Skies  Broadcasting Corp.,  5220 Campo Rd.,  Woodland Hills, 
  California 91364.


FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                                        William R. Zears Jr.
                                        District Director
                                        San Diego Office 
_________________________

1 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.35(a), 11.61, and 73.1125(c).
2 47 C.F.R. § 73.683.
3 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
4 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
5 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which 
applies to Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he term 
`willful', when used with reference to the commission or omission 
of any act, means the conscious and deliberate commission or 
omission of such act, irrespective of any intent to violate any 
provision of this Act....'' See Southern California Broadcasting 
Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387 (1991). 
6 See Bay Television, Inc., 10 FCC Rcd 11509 (1995) (rejecting 
licensee's request for lenient treatment because it had been on the 
air for barely six months.); Radio One Licensees, Inc., Memorandum 
Opinion and Order, DA 02-219 (Enf. Bur. Jan 31, 2002) (rejecting 
licensee's request for lenient treatment because the station had 
been acquired less than six months before, noting also that the 
licensee was an experienced broadcaster).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.11 and 11.41.
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.1 and 11.21
9 47 C.F.R. § 11.18.  State EAS plans contain guidelines that must 
be followed by broadcast and cable personnel, emergency officials 
and National Weather Service personnel to activate the EAS for 
state and local emergency alerts.  The state plans include the EAS 
header codes and messages to be transmitted by the primary state, 
local and relay EAS sources.
10 47 C.F.R. § 11.11.
11 47 C.F.R. § 11.35.
12 47 C.F.R. § 11.61.  The required monthly and weekly tests are 
required to conform with the procedures in the EAS Operational 
Handbook.  See also, Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules 
Regarding the Emergency Alert System, EB Docket No. 01-66, Report 
and Order, FCC 02-64 (Feb. 26, 2002); 67 Fed Reg 18502 (April 16, 
2002) (effective May 16, 2002, the required monthly EAS test must 
be retransmitted within 60 minutes of receipt.)
13 47 C.F.R. § 73.1125(c)
14 The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of 
Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, 
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999).
15 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
16 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80, 11.35, 11.61 and 73.1125.
17 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.