Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File No.: EB-02-SD-288
)
Playa del Sol Broadcasters ) NAL/Acct. No. 200332940004
Licensee, KRCK-FM )
Mecca, California ) FRN 000-425-6426
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Adopted: January 25, 2007 Released: January 29, 2007
By the Assistant Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order ("Order"), we deny the petition
for reconsideration ("petition") filed by Playa del Sol Broadcasters
("Playa del Sol"). Playa del Sol seeks reconsideration of the
Forfeiture Order in which the Chief, Enforcement Bureau, found it
liable for a monetary forfeiture in the amount of $12,000 for
violation of Sections 11.35, 11.61, and 73.1125 of the Commission's
Rules ("Rules"). The noted violations involve Playa del Sol's failure
to ensure that required Emergency Alert System ("EAS") equipment was
operational, failure to conduct required tests of Station KRCK-FM's
EAS equipment and failure to maintain a main studio. In its petition,
Playa del Sol does not dispute the violations but instead seeks
rescission or reduction of the forfeiture, claiming an inability to
pay.
II. DISCUSSION
2. The forfeiture amount in this case was assessed in accordance with
Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"),
Section 1.80 of the Rules, and The Commission's Forfeiture Policy
Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate
the Forfeiture Guidelines. In examining Playa del Sol's petition,
Section 503(b) of the Act requires that the Commission take into
account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation
and, with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any
history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as
justice may require.
3. In its petition, Playa del Sol contends that its involvement in
on-going litigation adversely impacts its ability to pay the
forfeiture in this case. When considering an inability to pay claim,
the Commission has determined that, in general, a licensee's gross
revenues are the best indicator of its ability to pay a forfeiture. If
gross revenues are sufficiently great, the mere fact that a business
is operating at a loss does not itself mean that it cannot afford to
pay a forfeiture. The Commission has also concluded that it is
appropriate to take into account "income derived from other affiliated
operations, as well as the financial status of the station(s) in
question." Because Playa del Sol is operated as a sole proprietorship,
it has provided the financial documentation of its sole proprietor,
Edward R. Stolz II. We find that the documentation provided reflects
that the amount of Mr. Stolz's gross income, when compared to the
forfeiture amount, effectively negates the financial hardship claim.
The instant forfeiture assessment and the percentage of gross income
it represents falls within the range that has been found acceptable.
Accordingly, we reject Playa del Sol's claim of inability to pay.
III. ORDERING CLAUSES
4. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 405 of the Act
and Section 1.106 of the Rules, Playa del Sol's petition for
reconsideration IS DENIED.
5. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Act, and
Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80(f)(4) of the Commission's Rules, Playa
del Sol IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of $12,000
for willfully and repeatedly violating Sections 11.25, 11.61, and
73.1125 of the Rules.
6. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in
Section 1.80 of the Rules within 30 days of the release of this Order. If
the forfeiture is not paid within the period specified, the case may be
referred to the Department of Justice for collection pursuant to Section
504(a) of the Act. Payment may be made by credit card to the Commission's
Credit and Debt Management Center at (202) 418-1995 or by mailing a check
or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications
Commission, P.O. Box 358340, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-8340. Payment by
overnight mail may be sent to Mellon Bank /LB 358340, 500 Ross Street,
Room 1540670, Pittsburgh, PA 15251. Payment by wire transfer may be made
to ABA Number 043000261, receiving bank Mellon Bank, and account
number 911-6106. Requests for full payment under an installment plan
should be sent to: Associate Managing Director - Financial Operations, 445
12th St, SW, Room 1A625, Washington, DC 20554.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT this Order shall be sent by regular mail and
by certified mail, return receipt requested, to Playa del Sol
Broadcasters, 801 K Street, 27^th Floor, Sacramento, California 95814 and
its counsel, Lauren A. Greenberg, Esq., Crispin & Associates, P.L.L.C.,
555 13^th Street, NW, Suite 420 West, Washington, DC 20004.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
George R. Dillon
Assistant Chief, Enforcement Bureau
Playa del Sol Broadcasters, Forfeiture Order, 19 FCC Rcd 16130 (Enf. Bur.
2004).
47 C.F.R. SS 11.35, 11.61, 73.1125.
47 U.S.C. S 503(b).
47 C.F.R. S 1.80.
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999).
47 U.S.C. S 503(b)(2)(D).
Petition for Reconsideration at 2; Supplement to Petition for
Reconsideration at 2.
PJB Communications of Virginia, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 7 FCC
Rcd 2088, 2089 (1992).
Id.
KASA Radio Hogar, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 6256,
6258 (2002) (quoting Emery Telephone, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 13
FCC Rcd 23854, 23859-60 (1998), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 7181 (1999)).
See William Saunders, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 21 FCC Rcd 1028 (Enf.
Bur. 2006) (financial documentation, including personal tax returns,
considered to determine inability to pay when antenna structure was
operated as a sole proprietorship); Maria L. Salazar, Memorandum Opinion
and Order, 19 FCC Rcd 5050 (2004) (federal individual tax returns of
licensee of radio station considered to determine licensee's ability to
pay forfeiture).
See Local Long Distance, Inc., Order of Reconsideration, 16 FCC Rcd 10016,
10025 (2001) (forfeiture not deemed excessive where it represented
approximately 7.9 percent of the violator's gross revenues); Hoosier
Broadcasting Corporation, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 8640,
8641 (Enf. Bur. 2002) (forfeiture not deemed excessive where it
represented approximately 7.6 percent of the violator's gross revenues);
Alpha Ambulance, Inc., Order, 19 FCC Rcd 2547, n.15 (February 5, 2004),
citing PJB Communications, supra at 2089 (forfeiture not deemed excessive
where it represented approximately 2.02 percent of the violator's gross
revenues).
47 U.S.C. S 503(b).
47 C.F.R. SS 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
47 C.F.R. S 1.80.
47 U.S.C. S 504(a).
See 47 C.F.R. S 1.1914.
Federal Communications Commission DA 07-223
3
Federal Communications Commission DA 07-223