Low Power FM Radio

Very cool news - the Prometheus Radio Project links to this bit of great news at Vermont's Seven Days:

The Distinguished Gentleman
Last week, I wrote an open letter to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT, duh) concerning the Local Community Radio Act, a nifty little bill currently awaiting passage in the U.S. Senate [�Low Power to the People,� May 19]. Long story short, the LCRA would ease ridiculous restrictions on bandwidths available to low-power FM radio stations across the country, which would help to break up the stranglehold corporate radio has on the dial, which would increase variety and localism on the airwaves in communities around the country. In other words, it would make it a lot easier for other areas to have cool, locally run LPFM stations like the Radiator in Burlington. Pretty sweet, right?

The upshot is that Senator Lahey called the writer (Dan Bolles) and asked him to call back. The upshot of the conversation:

So, Senator, what is the big holdup?
�This is a far different Senate than I have ever seen,� he said. He noted that in just the last eight or nine months, there had been more than 100 filibusters, a number normally seen over a much longer span � like, 50 years. Without saying so explicitly, he also insinuated that the Senate has been a tad preoccupied with some weightier matters: health care, financial collapse, war, etc.

And why is LPFM legislation important to you, personally?
�Because I live in a rural area in Middlesex where I see more and more of our radio stations homogenized by out-of-state ownership. These low-power stations really give you a sense of what�s happening locally.�

And the thousand-dollar question: Will the LCRA pass?
�It will pass. Soon.�

Very very cool -- there is a lot of interest out here.