Cox Communications officials in Bossier, La., face more problems than the ones in Carthage and Lamar following the removal of a Nexstar station from their system.
According to this morning's Shreveport Times, Bossier city officials have sent Cox a letter telling the company it has violated its agreement with the city by not providing it with the local station.
The letter was written after the city attorney reviewed Cox's contract with Bossier, which dates back to 1977. The agreement said Cox must provide the signals of three local stations, including the station which is now owned by Nexstar.
No mention was made of any action that might be taken against the cable company.
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Those who have been following Nexstar's battles with Cable One and Cox should read Carthage Press Editor Ron Graber's commentary on the subject at www.carthagepress.com Graber expresses the sentiments of many who have been disgusted by the entire fiasco and doesn't pull any punches while doing so.
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The Missouri Senate voted Tuesday to remove the $50 limit on gifts senators can receive from lobbyists...since so many legislators are breaking the rule anyway. The senators who supported the move pointed out that the information is available on the Missouri Ethics Commission website anyway. They didn't point out how only a handful of their constituents will ever go to that site to check out how much their elected officials are receiving from lobbyists, or how few media outlets will take the time to do so either.
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Private Equity Week reports that after its recapitalization is completed, Leonard Green & Partners, the Los Angeles financial firm that owns the major portion of Liberty Group Publishing, will still own more than 90 percent after the deal is completed. Liberty owns the Neosho Daily News, Carthage Press, Neosho Post, and Big Nickel, as well more than 300 other publications across the United States. The $330 million recapitalization was first reported on this site.
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While the state continues to teeter on the brink of financial distress, a quarter of a million dollars was spent on Governor Matt Blunt's inauguration. Of course, that money did not come from taxpayers, but from big corporate interests trying to curry favor with the governor. Carthage-based Leggett & Platt donated 10 percent of the total, according to information released Tuesday by the governor's office.
Before anyone mentions it, yes, I am unaware that there was nowhere near the million dollars former governor Bob Holden spent on his inauguration. If this blog had been in operation at that time, I would have ripped into him, too. And, of course, we all know how his one term worked out, though hopefully that memory will fade in time.