— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Bethlehem City Council has a big agenda for Tuesday, and among the items is a vote on a franchise for Comcast.
I was curious, so I went to the Comcast site to see what might be available at my home in Bethlehem, and when, and the website was not helpful. The site was not user-friendly.
The Lehigh Valley has been served mainly by RCN (by various names, including the curious “Astound”) and Service Electric Cable TV for many years. Complaining about cable service is a popular pastime here and just about everywhere.
The ordinance to be voted on Tuesday includes this note, that “the continued availability of cable television service by Comcast … would afford significant social, educational, and entertainment benefits to the public in the City of Bethlehem” and that Comcast “has the legal, character, financial, technical and other qualifications to construct, erect, own, operate and maintain a cable television system to meet the needs and desires of the residents…”
As for the first part, the benefits of cable TV, maybe. The second part, definitely, Comcast is a big company.
Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has a market value of $164.1 billion as of Friday’s closing price of $42.88. The company is based in a big building on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Philadelphia. It’s about a block from Benjamin Franklin Parkway and close to City Hall, and just a few blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Sometimes the big, high lobby inside Comcast is open to the public. There is a free holiday display starting Thanksgiving Day.
Bethlehem City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19, in Town Hall. The agenda is subject to change. Actual city business might not start for some time, because people may wish to discuss all kinds of things during public comment.
During public comment, people have discussed music, religion, history and sometimes they just express their feelings. I guess that is … democracy?
The meeting will also be livestreamed.
— Disclosure: Many, many years ago I worked part-time for the former Service Electric Cable TV news program. It was a good show, but eventually Service Electric decided to focus on sports.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 