This is not an official blog of the City. It is the work of Mark Kapel who is solely responsible for content.

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Thursday, January 4, 2018

The Coming of age of Tele communications

In 1959 at the end of a relatively prosperous decade in the City of Sacramento, California in a dozen or so homes that faced a rather large Catholic grade school, half the homes had telephones  but no televisions. and the other half had  TV,s but no telephones.
The latter became painfully apparent when sibllings of absent were sent home  for lunch with notes pinned to their jackets.

Yes dear reader it does get cold even in California in October.
Today  each of those homes  probably homes That have two or TVs and perhaps as many as three telephones. That is the tele communications  revolution.

In 1984 my father retired after a  career in television. At thta time in Detroit Michigan Tv viewers had a choice of programming provided  on three channels, 2,4, and, seven.  They were the network affilates and. Detroiters also had and independent station Channel 50 which broadcast on UHF which newer Television   sets could recieved. In addition. Residents could also get channel 9 in Windsor and even channel 11 in Toledo Ohio.  All of which was Broadcast over the airways. The airways belonged to all and  the mediums that used them had to show cause  when  their liscence came up for  renewal that thy were used for the common good.

A new form on Television was was coming or so everyone said. It did not broadcast over the air but a cable buried in the ground as a result it could carry 100  different channels. The trouble was laying the Cable was expensive  and if a neighbor an over it with a riding lawn mower a sub division could be shut down.

 To off set the expense of Cable communities gave cable companies exclusive rights to a community. In return the residents got Public acces. which filmed  City Government meetings, Founders day parades, high school  and other items of a purely local interest. The cable company would  also teach  residents how  to film events and loaned them the camera or studio space when necessary.


 A factor called low popuation density limited  our  City’ participation in the  the last cable revolution. Still we were of among the first communities to film city commision meetings. Current City Commisioner and former Mayor  Coakley believes  Fiber optics is the cure to what ails us. Is It ? Read on. 

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