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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
)
In the Matter of )
File Number EB-07-LA-197
Radio One Licenses, LLC )
NAL/Acct. No.: 200832900002
Licensee of Station KSZ63 )
FRN: 0007164544
Los Angeles, California )
)
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: March 31, 2008
By the District Director, Los Angeles Office, Western Region, Enforcement
Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL"), we find
that Radio One Licenses, LLC ("Radio One"), licensee of station KSZ63
in Los Angeles, California, apparently willfully and repeatedly
violated Sections 1.903(a), 1.947(a), and 74.532(e) of the
Commission's Rules ("Rules") by failing to operate station KSZ63, an
aural studio-transmitter-link ("STL"), from its licensed location. We
conclude, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended ("Act"), that Radio One is apparently liable for a
forfeiture in the amount of four thousand dollars ($4,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On February 6, 2008, in response to a complaint, an agent from the
Enforcement Bureau's Los Angeles Office contacted the radio station
engineer for KRVB, Los Angeles, California, licensed to Radio One.
KSZ63 is the STL used by KRVB. The Los Angeles agent asked the chief
engineer about the location of KSZ63. The chief engineer indicated
that the transmitting equipment for KSZ63 was located at the main
studio of KRVB, at 5900 Wilshire Blvd., in Los Angeles. The chief
engineer stated that the KRVB main studio was moved over eight years
ago along with the STL, KSZ63.
3. On February 7, 2008, an agent from the Enforcement Bureau's Los
Angeles Office inspected the STL transmitter operating from the Radio
One studio at 5900 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, California. The
coordinates of the Radio One studio located at 5900 Wilshire Blvd. are
34-o 3' 44" north latitude, 118-o 21' 28" west longitude. At the time
of the inspection, STL station KSZ63, was operating from these
coordinates. According to the KSZ63 station authorization, the
licensed coordinates are 34-o 3' 48.6" north latitude, 118-o 22' 12.2"
west longitude, with a physical street address of 6500 Wilshire Blvd.,
in Los Angeles, California. During the Radio One studio inspection,
the agent informed the station's chief engineer of the violations
found regarding the KSZ63 station location. The chief engineer stated
that the KSZ63 STL had been relocated from the 6500 Wilshire Blvd.
location to the new location more than eight years prior to the
inspection. The chief engineer acknowledged the station had no
authorization for the new location and stated that KRVB had started
the process to correct the authorization accordingly.
4. On February 6, 2008, a review of the Commission's databases reflected
the licensed location for KSZ63 to be 6500 Wilshire Blvd., in Los
Angeles. As of the date of this NAL, no applications were pending in
the system to modify the KSZ63 license to reflect the station's
current location.
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person who willfully or
repeatedly fails to comply substantially with the terms and conditions
of any license, or willfully or repeatedly 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. The term "willful" as used in Section 503(b) has been
interpreted to mean simply that the acts or omissions are committed
knowingly. The term "repeated" means the commission or omission of
such act more than once or for more than one day.
6. Section 1.903(a) of the Rules requires that stations in the Wireless
Radio Services must be used and operated only in accordance with the
rules applicable to their particular service and with a valid
authorization granted by the Commission. Section 1.947(a) of the Rules
requires that all major modifications as defined in Section 1.929 of
the Rules require prior Commission approval. Section 1.929(d)(1)(i) of
the Rules defines one of the major actions as "any change in transmit
antenna location by more than 5 seconds in latitude or longitude for
fixed point-to-point facilities." Section 74.532(e) of the Rules
states that each aural broadcast auxiliary station will be licensed at
a specified transmitter location to communicate with a specified
receiving location, and the direction of the main radiation lobe of
the transmitting antenna will be a term of the station authorization.
On February 6, 2008, the chief engineer stated that the radio
equipment for KSZ63 had been moved over eight years prior to the
current location. The chief engineer subsequently faxed a statement to
the Los Angeles Office noting this oversight in modifying the license
and stating that corrective action would be taken. At the time of the
inspection on February 7, 2008, Radio One was operating radio station
KSZ63 from a location inconsistent with the station's authorized
coordinates and street address. The distance separating the point of
operation from that of the license was greater than 0.71 miles
(specifically, approximately 4.6 seconds of latitude and approximately
44.2 seconds of longitude).
7. Radio One's chief engineer acknowledged the station was operating from
a location not authorized on its license, therefore, the violation was
willful. The engineer also acknowledged that station KSZ63 was
operating from the incorrect location on February 6 and 7, 2008, and
had been operating from this location for over eight years; therefore,
the violation was repeated. Based on the evidence before us, we find
that Radio One apparently willfully and repeatedly violated Sections
1.903(a), 1.947(a), and 74.532(e) of the Rules by failing to operate
station KSZ63 from its licensed location.
8. Pursuant to The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment
of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines,
("Forfeiture Policy Statement"), and Section 1.80 of the Rules, the
base forfeiture amount for the operation of a station from an
unauthorized location is $4,000. In assessing the monetary forfeiture
amount, we must also take into account the statutory factors set forth
in Section 503(b)(2)(E) of the Act, which include the nature,
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violations, and with respect
to the violator, the degree of culpability, and history of prior
offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may
require. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement, Section 1.80, and
the statutory factors to the instant case, we conclude that Radio One
is apparently liable for a $4,000 forfeiture.
9. We also note that, as of the date of this NAL, the Commission
databases continue to reflect neither a change in the coordinates nor
a change in the fixed location address for station KSZ63.
Consequently, we require Radio One to report to this office, no more
than thirty (30) days following the release of this NAL how it
achieved compliance with Section 1.903(a) of the Rules for station
KSZ63. Radio One's report must be submitted in the form of an
affidavit signed by an officer or director of Radio One.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
10. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.311,
0.314 and 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Radio One Licenses, LLC, is
hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of four thousand dollars ($4,000) for violations of Sections
1.903(a), 1.947(a) and 74.532(e) of the Rules.
11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the
Commission's Rules within thirty days of the release date of this
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, Radio One Licenses, LLC,
SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a
written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 403 of the Act, that Radio
One Licenses, LLC, must submit the report described in paragraph 9,
above, within no more than thirty (30) days following the release of
this NAL, to the Federal Communications Commission, Enforcement
Bureau, Western Region, Los Angeles Office, 18000 Studebaker Rd.,
Suite 660, Cerritos, California 90703, and must include the NAL/Acct.
No. referenced in the caption.
13. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or similar instrument,
payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission. The
payment must include the NAL/Account Number and FRN Number referenced
above. Payment by check or money order may be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000.
Payment by overnight mail may be sent to U.S. Bank - Government
Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO
63101. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number 021030004,
receiving bank TREAS/NYC, and account number 27000001. For payment by
credit card, an FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be submitted.
When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the NAL/Account number in
block number 23A (call sign/other ID), and enter the letters "FORF" in
block number 24A (payment type code). Requests for full payment under
an installment plan should be sent to: Chief Financial Officer --
Financial Operations, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington,
D.C. 20554. Please contact the Financial Operations Group Help
Desk at 1-877-480-3201 or Email: ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov with any
questions regarding payment procedures.
14. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal Communications
Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Western Region, Los Angeles Office,
18000 Studebaker Rd., Suite 660, Cerritos, California 90703, and must
include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.
15. 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 ("GAAP"); 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.
16. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice of Apparent Liability
for Forfeiture shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, and regular mail, to Radio One Licenses, LLC, at the
address of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Leo E. Cirbo
Acting Interim District Director
Los Angeles Office
Western Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S:S: 1.903(a), 1.947(a), and 74.532(e).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. S: 312(f)(1), which applies to
violations for which forfeitures are assessed under 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 or any rule or regulation of the Commission
authorized by this Act...." See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6
FCC Rcd 4387 (1991).
Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. S: 312(f)(2), which also applies
to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under Section 503(b) of
the Act, provides that "[t]he term 'repeated', when used with reference to
the commission or omission of any act, means the commission or omission of
such act more than once or, if such commission or omission is continuous,
for more than one day."
47 C.F.R. S: 1.903(a).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.947(a).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.929(d)(1)(i).
47 C.F.R. S: 74.532(e).
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 47 C.F.R.
S:1.80.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(E).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b), 47 C.F.R. S:S: 0.111, 0.311, 0.314, 1.80, 1.903(a),
1.947(a) and 74.532(e).
47 U.S.C. S: 403.
See 47 C.F.R. S: 1.1914.
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Federal Communications Commission
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Federal Communications Commission