Suffolk County is planning a wireless system to provide free access to the Internet to the 1.5 million residents who live throughout its 900 square miles. It would be one of the largest government-sponsored wireless networks in the nation.
The system would allow anyone to use computers and P.D.A. devices with wireless capabilities anywhere in the county, and would also be available to visitors, businesses, government agencies, institutions and groups. County officials hope to start installation next year. (New York Times, April 28, 2006)
The rest of the story: The New York Times
Community: The Carpe Diem Santa Monica Classic -- Sunday
Run a spectacular course, from the beach on through Main Street, to a picture-perfect finish at the Santa Monica pier. While you’re running, check out the bay – you’re helping to keep it clean for future generations. Cap the day with a massage at the Expo out on the pier, let the music from the after-party blow over you, and ponder this question: "How can they name the first year of a race a classic"?
All proceeds from the event go to Heal The Bay: <http://www.healthebay.org/>
Sunday, April 30, 2006, 7:00 – 9:30 a.m.
From 2600 Barnard Way (at Ocean Park Blvd.)
Pre-event registration: <http//www.active.com/>
Day of event registration: 6:30 -7:45 a.m.
<http://www.carpediemsmclassic.com/>
All proceeds from the event go to Heal The Bay: <http://www.healthebay.org/>
Sunday, April 30, 2006, 7:00 – 9:30 a.m.
From 2600 Barnard Way (at Ocean Park Blvd.)
Pre-event registration: <http//www.active.com/>
Day of event registration: 6:30 -7:45 a.m.
<http://www.carpediemsmclassic.com/>
The Project on Extrajudicial Executions (NYU Law's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice)
"The Project on Extrajudicial Executions was established to provide rigorous analysis of international law protecting the right to life and to support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Philip Alston, in carrying out his mandate. The Project is directed by William Abresch. Current areas of research include:
"-> The use and abuse of commissions of inquiry in investigating unlawful killings. Many states routinely establish commissions of inquiry when people are killed due to the acts or omissions of government agents. Sometimes these commissions lead to accountability and change, but too often they perpetuate impunity and delay institutional reform. The Project is conducting research on the proper role of commissions of inquiry in protecting the right to life.
"-> The legal limits to capital punishment. At least 154 states have adopted as a binding legal standard that the “sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes.” (Article 6(1) of the ICCPR). The Project is engaged in clarifying this standard.
"-> Transparency regarding the use of capital punishment. In a considerable number of countries information regarding the death penalty is cloaked in secrecy. This both undermines human rights safeguards and prevents any informed public debate about capital punishment within the society. The Project has supported the Special Rapporteur’s efforts to have every country that uses capital punishment undertake full and accurate reporting of all instances thereof on at least an annual basis.
"-> Regulating lethal force in armed conflicts and counter-terrorism. There are a number of legal instruments regulating the use of lethal force during armed conflicts. These include, for example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Geneva Conventions. The range of applicable rules has sometimes led to confusion as well as to cynically legalistic attempts to place killings outside of any legal framework. The Project is analyzing how these legal regimes apply to the concrete situations in which the right to life is at risk." -- from the website. <http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/>
"-> The use and abuse of commissions of inquiry in investigating unlawful killings. Many states routinely establish commissions of inquiry when people are killed due to the acts or omissions of government agents. Sometimes these commissions lead to accountability and change, but too often they perpetuate impunity and delay institutional reform. The Project is conducting research on the proper role of commissions of inquiry in protecting the right to life.
"-> The legal limits to capital punishment. At least 154 states have adopted as a binding legal standard that the “sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes.” (Article 6(1) of the ICCPR). The Project is engaged in clarifying this standard.
"-> Transparency regarding the use of capital punishment. In a considerable number of countries information regarding the death penalty is cloaked in secrecy. This both undermines human rights safeguards and prevents any informed public debate about capital punishment within the society. The Project has supported the Special Rapporteur’s efforts to have every country that uses capital punishment undertake full and accurate reporting of all instances thereof on at least an annual basis.
"-> Regulating lethal force in armed conflicts and counter-terrorism. There are a number of legal instruments regulating the use of lethal force during armed conflicts. These include, for example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Geneva Conventions. The range of applicable rules has sometimes led to confusion as well as to cynically legalistic attempts to place killings outside of any legal framework. The Project is analyzing how these legal regimes apply to the concrete situations in which the right to life is at risk." -- from the website. <http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/>
Preventive War and Its Alternatives: The Lessons of History (Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College)
"The 2002 National Security Strategy suggested preventive attacks, diplomacy, deterrence, and other policies as means of curtailing threats presented by the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons to terrorists and rogue states. The author analyzes which mix of these policies might best and most cost effectively address the NBC threat, with special focus on preventive attacks. The past performances of preventive attacks, diplomacy, deterrence, and other policies as means of curtailing the NBC threat are analyzed. The central findings are that preventive attacks are generally unsuccessful at delaying the spread of NBC weapons; that deterrence, especially nuclear deterrence, is highly successful at preventing the use of NBC weapons by states; and that diplomacy has had moderate and perhaps unappreciated success at curtailing the spread of NBC weapons. The author also discusses how funds spent on preventive wars, which are much more expensive than diplomacy or deterrence, might be better spent to combat threats from terrorism and proliferation, on initiatives such as fissile material recovery, ballistic missile defense, and port security." -- from the website. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College: <http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/>
Download the full study.
Download the full study.
American Left Ephemera Collection
"The collection of American Left ephemera on this website reflects the personal collection of Richard J. Oestreicher, 
Associate Professor within the History department at the University of Pittsburgh. The material primarily documents three of the largest and most influential left-wing organizations in the twentieth century in the U.S.: Socialist Party of America (SPUSA), Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA), and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Digitized items include flyers, leaflets, pamphlets, posters, postcards, illustrations, photographs, pins, ribbons, and miscellaneous objects." -- from the website. <http://tinyurl.com/zrd4k>
Associate Professor within the History department at the University of Pittsburgh. The material primarily documents three of the largest and most influential left-wing organizations in the twentieth century in the U.S.: Socialist Party of America (SPUSA), Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA), and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Digitized items include flyers, leaflets, pamphlets, posters, postcards, illustrations, photographs, pins, ribbons, and miscellaneous objects." -- from the website. <http://tinyurl.com/zrd4k>
Third Party, Anyone?
Even after Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, more than a half-dozen retired generals, junior officers from Kirkut to Kalamzoo, various prominent neoconservatives, and the entire Democratic congressional delegation from his home state call for Donald Rumsfeld's ouster, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who the news media remind us is a "leading" Democrat, still finds the Secretary's record "mixed," adding that whether he stays on at the Defense Department "is up to him and the president at whose pleasure he serves." Read the story in The Hartford Courant.
Outside the Box: William H. Hinkle for President
[One of the problems with our system of choosing our chief executive officer is that by the time the election rolls around the pool of choices has evaporated down to a puddle of state governors and U.S.Senators, mostly frogs, who orchestrate "drafts" to camouflage their ambitions for power. "Outside the Box" is an on-going meditation on the qualifications of leaders in the form of "nominations" of specific individuals -- business and academic leaders, artists and intellectuals, non-conformists of various sorts, celebrities and "ordinary" people -- for President of the United States.]
After William H. Hinkle sold his wholesale electronic bond trading company, he spent his newfound leisure time reading voraciously about global warming (on his website, he recounts My Conversion to Green). But if, like a lot of us, he is worried about flooded cities, monster storms, and methane burps, he is different in one way: he can afford to do something about it.
Last winter, according to the New York Times, Hinkle put together a list of 500 well-heeled friends and colleagues and set out to make them carbon conscious.
"He wrote a series of six e-mail messages, each a brief presentation of what he believes is the grim reality of global climate change, and how the rich and powerful make things worse with their limousines, jet flights and big homes. He challenged each recipient to read all the messages and send them to others. He then promised to buy a $100 pass from one of three carbon-offset programs in the name of the first 1,000 people who complied."
"I could have just sent $100,000 directly to the groups, but that would not create leverage," Hinkle told the Times. "My goal is really to get people to look at these three options."
The Hinkle Charitable Foundation website <http://www.thehcf.org/> lists three carbon-offset organizations to which he sends the $100 proxy contributions: Carbonfund.Org <http://www.carbonfund.org/>, which supports renewable energy, efficiency and reforestation projects; the Solar Electric Light Fund <http://www.self.org/>, which brings solar power and modern communications to rural villages in the developing world -- for enhancements in health, education, and economic well-being through projects shaped by local people, particularly women -- and encourages economic and ecological sustainability; and the Lomakatsi Restoration Project <http://www.lomakatsi.org/>, which organizes community based ecological restoration projects through education, vocational training, specialized workforce development and the utilization of restoration by-products.
In the two months since Hinkle sent the first e-mails, he has received several hundred replies from people who were not on his original list. So far, he has paid about $60,000. "When you've been lucky like me, that's nothing," he said.
Hinkle has thrown down a second carbon-reducing challenge. Like everyone who drives a Toyota Prius hybrid, he thinks everyone should, so he is offering $500 rebates to 20 American families with annual incomes of less than $80,000 who buy a new Prius before July 31.
He may sound like a Ralph Nader-ish idealist, but the former executive is still the hard-nosed pragmatist he was during a two-decade long career on Wall Street. "I don't expect all this to make a big difference," he said. "But I'd like to be wrong."
Putting aside for another discussion the pros and cons of allowing rich individuals -- and rich companies and countries -- to buy the right to pollute, Hinkle's attempt to contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming is in marked contrast to the current administration's denial that the problem exists. Therefore Outside the Box nominates William H. Hinkle -- successful business executive, budding environmental activist -- to be President of the United States.
Past nominees:
John Edwards
John Cusack
After William H. Hinkle sold his wholesale electronic bond trading company, he spent his newfound leisure time reading voraciously about global warming (on his website, he recounts My Conversion to Green). But if, like a lot of us, he is worried about flooded cities, monster storms, and methane burps, he is different in one way: he can afford to do something about it.
Last winter, according to the New York Times, Hinkle put together a list of 500 well-heeled friends and colleagues and set out to make them carbon conscious.
"He wrote a series of six e-mail messages, each a brief presentation of what he believes is the grim reality of global climate change, and how the rich and powerful make things worse with their limousines, jet flights and big homes. He challenged each recipient to read all the messages and send them to others. He then promised to buy a $100 pass from one of three carbon-offset programs in the name of the first 1,000 people who complied."
"I could have just sent $100,000 directly to the groups, but that would not create leverage," Hinkle told the Times. "My goal is really to get people to look at these three options."
The Hinkle Charitable Foundation website <http://www.thehcf.org/> lists three carbon-offset organizations to which he sends the $100 proxy contributions: Carbonfund.Org <http://www.carbonfund.org/>, which supports renewable energy, efficiency and reforestation projects; the Solar Electric Light Fund <http://www.self.org/>, which brings solar power and modern communications to rural villages in the developing world -- for enhancements in health, education, and economic well-being through projects shaped by local people, particularly women -- and encourages economic and ecological sustainability; and the Lomakatsi Restoration Project <http://www.lomakatsi.org/>, which organizes community based ecological restoration projects through education, vocational training, specialized workforce development and the utilization of restoration by-products.
In the two months since Hinkle sent the first e-mails, he has received several hundred replies from people who were not on his original list. So far, he has paid about $60,000. "When you've been lucky like me, that's nothing," he said.
Hinkle has thrown down a second carbon-reducing challenge. Like everyone who drives a Toyota Prius hybrid, he thinks everyone should, so he is offering $500 rebates to 20 American families with annual incomes of less than $80,000 who buy a new Prius before July 31.
He may sound like a Ralph Nader-ish idealist, but the former executive is still the hard-nosed pragmatist he was during a two-decade long career on Wall Street. "I don't expect all this to make a big difference," he said. "But I'd like to be wrong."
Putting aside for another discussion the pros and cons of allowing rich individuals -- and rich companies and countries -- to buy the right to pollute, Hinkle's attempt to contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming is in marked contrast to the current administration's denial that the problem exists. Therefore Outside the Box nominates William H. Hinkle -- successful business executive, budding environmental activist -- to be President of the United States.
Past nominees:
John Edwards
John Cusack
The War: Winning Strategies for a New Peace Movement
Presentation in Venice, April 30
U.S. Tour of Duty's Real Intelligence Project presents The Art of War for the Anti-War: Winning Strategies for a New Peace Movement, Sunday, April 30, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Venice United Methodist Church, 1020 Victoria Avenue, Venice (one block north of Venice Blvd. at Lincoln). A suggested donation of $10 gains you admission to the event, which includes a keynote address by former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, a presentation by Yvonne Latty, author of "In Conflict: Iraq Veterans Speak Out About Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive," and a vegetarian dinner by Food Not Bombs.
"The anti-war movement," according to Ritter, "first and foremost, needs to develop a laser-like focus on being nothing more or less than anti-war....It needs to start thinking like a warrior would, in full recognition that we as a nation are engaged in a life-or-death struggle of competing ideologies with those who promote war as an American value and virtue."
"In Conflict" (http://www.p3books.com/) and the "Neo-CONNED!" set (http://www.neoconned.info/) will be on sale at the event, and Yvonne Latty and Scott Ritter will be available to sign copies of these books.
The event is co-sponsored by PoliPointPress, Light in the Darkness Publications, Venice United Methodist Church and Food Not Bombs. For more information, call 310.842.8794 or visit http://www.ustourofduty.org/.
U.S. Tour of Duty's Real Intelligence Project presents The Art of War for the Anti-War: Winning Strategies for a New Peace Movement, Sunday, April 30, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Venice United Methodist Church, 1020 Victoria Avenue, Venice (one block north of Venice Blvd. at Lincoln). A suggested donation of $10 gains you admission to the event, which includes a keynote address by former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, a presentation by Yvonne Latty, author of "In Conflict: Iraq Veterans Speak Out About Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive," and a vegetarian dinner by Food Not Bombs.
"The anti-war movement," according to Ritter, "first and foremost, needs to develop a laser-like focus on being nothing more or less than anti-war....It needs to start thinking like a warrior would, in full recognition that we as a nation are engaged in a life-or-death struggle of competing ideologies with those who promote war as an American value and virtue."
"In Conflict" (http://www.p3books.com/) and the "Neo-CONNED!" set (http://www.neoconned.info/) will be on sale at the event, and Yvonne Latty and Scott Ritter will be available to sign copies of these books.
The event is co-sponsored by PoliPointPress, Light in the Darkness Publications, Venice United Methodist Church and Food Not Bombs. For more information, call 310.842.8794 or visit http://www.ustourofduty.org/.
City settles with group seeking Santa Monica Place documents
Last week, the city settled with the citizens' organization, the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, releasing documents related to meetings between city officials and the Macerich Corporation about the proposed redevelopment of Santa Monica Place, the struggling indoor mall between Third Street and the civic center (The Lookout/SurfSantaMonica.com). Also, check out page 4 of the April 20 edition of the Santa Monica Daily Press (PDF, page 4), the article entitled "It's cheers and jeers for City Hall," for a really good description of the problems faced by residents trying to force the city to release key Macerich mall documents and the pro-developer bias they encountered from the city as it refused to make public documents public.
Jack In: Wiring for Wireless in S.M. and L.A.
"It's getting easier to get online around greater L.A. without being tied to your office. This is either a good thing - you can work outdoors or over a cup of coffee for free - or a bad thing: you're never far from the obligations and distractions of your online life..." -- from LAVoice.org.
The rest of the story: <http://lavoice.org/article1720.html>
The rest of the story: <http://lavoice.org/article1720.html>
Politics: Cartoon Short
Here's an amusing and profound video short by Tommy Douglas, narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, about Mouseland, a place where the downtrodden rodents keep electing cats to be their leaders:
<http://www.workingtv.com/media15/mouseland.mov>
The New Democrats: <http://www.ndn.org/>
<http://www.workingtv.com/media15/mouseland.mov>
The New Democrats: <http://www.ndn.org/>
Free HotSpots in Santa Monica
CremaLita - 332B Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica Library - 6th St. and Santa Monica Blvd., 310-458-8600
Infuzion Cafe - 1149 3rd St. #100, 310-721-1754
Velocity Cafe - 2127 Lincoln Blvd, 310-314-3368
Apple Store - 3rd St. Promenade
Bolivar - cafe & gallery - 1741 Ocean Park Blvd, 310-581-2344
Barney's Beanery - 1351 3rd St. Promenade, 310-656-5777
Earth, Wind and Flour - 2222 Wilshire Blvd, 310-829-7829
Unurban Coffeehouse - 3301 Pico Blvd, 310-315-0056
Santa Monica Library, Montana Avenue Branch, 1704 Montana Avenue - 310-829-7081
Santa Monica Library, Ocean Park Branch, Main St. and Ocean Park Blvd.
Hotel Carmel - lobby area and some rooms, 201 Broadway - 800-445-8695
Travelodge - guest rooms - 3102 Pico Blvd, 310-450-5766
Radisson Hotel, rooms and public areas, Santa Monica Airport
Diedrich Coffeehouse, 732 Montana Ave, 310-656-7838
Panera Bread, 501 Wilshire Blvd, 310-566-3080 (all Panera outlets offer free wireless)
The Cut Salon, 1620 Ocean Park Blvd., 310-396-2887
Whole Foods Market, 2201 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica Pico Boulevard Travelodge, 3102 Pico Blvd.
Sea Shore Motel (site of Amelia's Italian deli), 2637 Main Street, 310-392-2787
-- from the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory, with additions
Also see: Free Wireless Internet Access Points in Los Angeles
Santa Monica Library - 6th St. and Santa Monica Blvd., 310-458-8600
Infuzion Cafe - 1149 3rd St. #100, 310-721-1754
Velocity Cafe - 2127 Lincoln Blvd, 310-314-3368
Apple Store - 3rd St. Promenade
Bolivar - cafe & gallery - 1741 Ocean Park Blvd, 310-581-2344
Barney's Beanery - 1351 3rd St. Promenade, 310-656-5777
Earth, Wind and Flour - 2222 Wilshire Blvd, 310-829-7829
Unurban Coffeehouse - 3301 Pico Blvd, 310-315-0056
Santa Monica Library, Montana Avenue Branch, 1704 Montana Avenue - 310-829-7081
Santa Monica Library, Ocean Park Branch, Main St. and Ocean Park Blvd.
Hotel Carmel - lobby area and some rooms, 201 Broadway - 800-445-8695
Travelodge - guest rooms - 3102 Pico Blvd, 310-450-5766
Radisson Hotel, rooms and public areas, Santa Monica Airport
Diedrich Coffeehouse, 732 Montana Ave, 310-656-7838
Panera Bread, 501 Wilshire Blvd, 310-566-3080 (all Panera outlets offer free wireless)
The Cut Salon, 1620 Ocean Park Blvd., 310-396-2887
Whole Foods Market, 2201 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica Pico Boulevard Travelodge, 3102 Pico Blvd.
Sea Shore Motel (site of Amelia's Italian deli), 2637 Main Street, 310-392-2787
-- from the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory, with additions
Also see: Free Wireless Internet Access Points in Los Angeles
Some SM muni hotspots -- free...for now?
The Revolution Will be Wireless
By Olin Ericksen
The LookOut Staff Writer
April 4 -- Google took San Francisco. Earthlink won Seattle and is looking to take New York. So who will capture the lucrative wireless network that could likely blanket Santa Monica a year from now?
As City Hall's tech squad busily erects tiny antennas throughout Santa Monica that could signal the start of a wireless infrastructure revolution citywide, other City staff are booting-up a proposal that could slash prices for local consumers by having high-tech companies bid for control of the future system.
"We've put out some feelers and they've come back positive," said Jory Wolf, the City's chief information officer and primary architect for the City's fledgling wireless system, which he said could be expanded to cover all of Santa Monica by next year.
"A request for proposal is going out asking for public and private companies to bid on the contract to take over the assets," said Wolf. "If we don't get an offer we like, we are prepared to blanket the City ourselves."
Santa Monica is one of a handful of cities that have decided to fund "hot spots" -- zones where wireless access is available -- out of City coffers. The cost: approximately $42,000 so far.
Over the past few months, the City has began stitching together a series of free "Wi-Fi hot spots" or zones where wireless devices can access the internet as part of a program called "CityWi-Fi."
When users log on wirelessly from the new library, the Third Street Promenade and Virginia Avenue Park, they are instantly transported to a "CityWi-Fi" homepage, a jumping off-point into the sea of web information.
"So far it's being used quite heavily, so we think it's going to be a big hit," Wolf said of the program, which currently boasts about 500 people logging on per day.
City and business officials are heralding the new service as priceless for Santa Monicans and visitors alike.
"It's a free service, powered by the City, as we like to say," said Marivi Valcourt, marketing director for the Bayside District Corporation, which runs the Downtown, including the Promenade.
"Free Wi-Fi is just another way to attract people Downtown,” Valcourt said. “There's a lot of internet company workers here, as well as visitors and tourists who will appreciate the service."
There is an added advantage to having people go online in hot-zones such as the Promenade, Valcourt said. Every time someone signs on, the first page to come up is the City's Wi-Fi page, which business officials say is tantamount to free advertising for the City and local businesses.
And the three hotspots are likely just the beginning, said Wolf.
In addition to every new public project being prepared for "Wi-Fi" access, the City is also preparing the Civic Center, the Ken Edwards Community Center and the Santa Monica Pier for the service, Wolf said. Even the courtyard outside of City Hall will have wireless access so developers can go on-line while waiting in line.
The rest of the story: The LookOut at SurfSantaMonica.com
By Olin Ericksen
The LookOut Staff Writer
April 4 -- Google took San Francisco. Earthlink won Seattle and is looking to take New York. So who will capture the lucrative wireless network that could likely blanket Santa Monica a year from now?
As City Hall's tech squad busily erects tiny antennas throughout Santa Monica that could signal the start of a wireless infrastructure revolution citywide, other City staff are booting-up a proposal that could slash prices for local consumers by having high-tech companies bid for control of the future system.
"We've put out some feelers and they've come back positive," said Jory Wolf, the City's chief information officer and primary architect for the City's fledgling wireless system, which he said could be expanded to cover all of Santa Monica by next year.
"A request for proposal is going out asking for public and private companies to bid on the contract to take over the assets," said Wolf. "If we don't get an offer we like, we are prepared to blanket the City ourselves."
Santa Monica is one of a handful of cities that have decided to fund "hot spots" -- zones where wireless access is available -- out of City coffers. The cost: approximately $42,000 so far.
Over the past few months, the City has began stitching together a series of free "Wi-Fi hot spots" or zones where wireless devices can access the internet as part of a program called "CityWi-Fi."
When users log on wirelessly from the new library, the Third Street Promenade and Virginia Avenue Park, they are instantly transported to a "CityWi-Fi" homepage, a jumping off-point into the sea of web information.
"So far it's being used quite heavily, so we think it's going to be a big hit," Wolf said of the program, which currently boasts about 500 people logging on per day.
City and business officials are heralding the new service as priceless for Santa Monicans and visitors alike.
"It's a free service, powered by the City, as we like to say," said Marivi Valcourt, marketing director for the Bayside District Corporation, which runs the Downtown, including the Promenade.
"Free Wi-Fi is just another way to attract people Downtown,” Valcourt said. “There's a lot of internet company workers here, as well as visitors and tourists who will appreciate the service."
There is an added advantage to having people go online in hot-zones such as the Promenade, Valcourt said. Every time someone signs on, the first page to come up is the City's Wi-Fi page, which business officials say is tantamount to free advertising for the City and local businesses.
And the three hotspots are likely just the beginning, said Wolf.
In addition to every new public project being prepared for "Wi-Fi" access, the City is also preparing the Civic Center, the Ken Edwards Community Center and the Santa Monica Pier for the service, Wolf said. Even the courtyard outside of City Hall will have wireless access so developers can go on-line while waiting in line.
The rest of the story: The LookOut at SurfSantaMonica.com
Phone & cable cos. try to muscle in on municipal wireless
This was in the Wall Street Journal the other day: "Having tried to stop cities from offering cut-rate or free wireless Internet access to their citizens, some large phone and cable companies are now aiming to get into the market themselves.
"Telecom and cable giants have traditionally been critical of city-sponsored broadband initiatives, questioning their financial viability and, in some cases, even pushing for state laws to bar or restrict them. Now, in an effort to compete with similar initiatives by Google Inc., EarthLink Inc. and others, some of the companies are changing their tune.
"AT&T Inc...put in a bid March 7 to build a wireless Internet service for Michigan's Washtenaw County...Cox Communications recently teamed up with two companies to offer wireless Internet access in some Arizona cities, and Time Warner Inc.'s Time Warner Cable has signaled interest in Texas.
"Experts say the companies were forced into the shift in strategy. 'It's inevitable that municipal wireless is going to become prevalent in cities large and small,' said Craig Settles, author of the book Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless....'You just can't get away from this wave.'
"Cities and small localities across the country have started offering their residents cheap or even free access to the Internet either because their areas aren't reached by regional telecom providers or because the available offerings in their areas are too pricey. More than 50 municipalities around the country have already built such systems, and a similar number are at some stage in the process, including Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston, according to Esme Vos, founder of the Web site www.muniwireless.com, which tracks such projects nationally...
"The cities often charge users around $15 a month for the service, though cities such as St. Cloud, Fla., are opting for free access. That compares with cable broadband bills that typically run around $40. DSL services from the large phone companies can run as low as $15 a month for slower speeds, but speeds closer to cable are roughly $30.
"Those economics are a real threat to the large telecom and cable companies, which is why they initially fought hard to stop city-based networks....As they wage those regulatory battles, the large telecom and cable companies are watching competitors jump in to offer municipal-based Wi-Fi services...
"To be sure, both the phone and cable companies say what they have opposed is having to compete with publicly owned or operated services that have access to municipal subsidies or other advantages. They say they have been more open to having local governments facilitate projects by giving out contracts to companies, which is the tack municipalities are increasingly taking."
The Wall Street Journal
Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless by Craig Settles
"Telecom and cable giants have traditionally been critical of city-sponsored broadband initiatives, questioning their financial viability and, in some cases, even pushing for state laws to bar or restrict them. Now, in an effort to compete with similar initiatives by Google Inc., EarthLink Inc. and others, some of the companies are changing their tune.
"AT&T Inc...put in a bid March 7 to build a wireless Internet service for Michigan's Washtenaw County...Cox Communications recently teamed up with two companies to offer wireless Internet access in some Arizona cities, and Time Warner Inc.'s Time Warner Cable has signaled interest in Texas.
"Experts say the companies were forced into the shift in strategy. 'It's inevitable that municipal wireless is going to become prevalent in cities large and small,' said Craig Settles, author of the book Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless....'You just can't get away from this wave.'
"Cities and small localities across the country have started offering their residents cheap or even free access to the Internet either because their areas aren't reached by regional telecom providers or because the available offerings in their areas are too pricey. More than 50 municipalities around the country have already built such systems, and a similar number are at some stage in the process, including Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston, according to Esme Vos, founder of the Web site www.muniwireless.com, which tracks such projects nationally...
"The cities often charge users around $15 a month for the service, though cities such as St. Cloud, Fla., are opting for free access. That compares with cable broadband bills that typically run around $40. DSL services from the large phone companies can run as low as $15 a month for slower speeds, but speeds closer to cable are roughly $30.
"Those economics are a real threat to the large telecom and cable companies, which is why they initially fought hard to stop city-based networks....As they wage those regulatory battles, the large telecom and cable companies are watching competitors jump in to offer municipal-based Wi-Fi services...
"To be sure, both the phone and cable companies say what they have opposed is having to compete with publicly owned or operated services that have access to municipal subsidies or other advantages. They say they have been more open to having local governments facilitate projects by giving out contracts to companies, which is the tack municipalities are increasingly taking."
The Wall Street Journal
Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless by Craig Settles
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