MENDOCINO COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE
NEWS RELEASE
TO: MENDOCINO COUNTY NEWS MEDIA
FR: MENDOCINO COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Ukiah, California… July 19, 2016
Mendocino County Hosts Successful California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) Hearing
On July 15, 2016, the County hosted a very successful California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Public Participation Hearing (PPH) regarding the Rural Call Completion and Dial Tone Access Proceeding.
The county would like to specifically thank Commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval, Administrative Law Judge Katherine MacDonald, the CPUC Public Advisors Office and other CPUC staff for traveling to our county to hear directly the concerns of our residents. In addition to the hearing, Commissioner Sandoval and staff arrived early for a five-hour tour of telecommunication facilities in the county which included a trip out to the site of the 2014 fiber break on the Comptche-Ukiah road. The County would like to also extend a special thank you to the Comptche Volunteer Fire Department for hosting the tour group, their presentation, and for providing traffic control during this site visit. Initially scheduled for 2:30-4:30 pm, the hearing lasted well past 6 p.m. in order to accommodate the residents to provide their very relevant testimony.
The Executive Office would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to all the Mendocino County public safety and EMS agencies and residents who took the time from their busy schedules to testify in this hearing. The strong turnout provided a message that Mendocino County calls for reliable networks, both legacy phone networks for those residents who are not yet connected to the newer technologies and redundancy in the fiber networks that so many public safety agencies rely on for critical services. The County would also like to particularly thank all those elected officials and agency representatives who spoke, including: Senator Mike McGuire, Assemblymember Jim Wood, Sheriff Tom Allman, First District Supervisor John McCowen, Fifth District Supervisor Dan Hamburg, along with speakers representing Willits and Fort Bragg Police Departments, City of Fort Bragg, numerous volunteer Fire department officials, CalFire, Jen Banks Emergency Medical Services agencies, The Utilities Reform Network (TURN), County Office of Emergency Services, Mendocino Coast District Hospital, Mendocino Community Network, Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 9400, and all the residents who also provided testimony in this hearing.
501 Low Gap Rd, Rm 1010 Office: 707-463-4441
Ukiah CA 95482-3734 Fax: 707-463-5649
Video viewing of the hearing is available at:
http://www.mendocinobroadband.org/topics/special-sessions/.
Please note that this Hearing proceeding is currently still open, and if residents were not able to attend or were not aware of the proceeding, written comments can still be submitted to the Commission for consideration.
Include the Reference Proceeding Number I.14-05-012 and send written comments to:
Public Advisors Office
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Ave
San Fransisco, CA 94102
For more information please contact Trish Steel with the Mendocino Broadband Alliance, chairman@mendocinobroadband.org
Released by:_______________________________
Carmel J. Angelo
Chief Executive Officer
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