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 | okieopie
Premium
join:2004-02-06
Alexandria, KY
| Re: Prediction: Voters will vote the muni system d Entertainment value is high -- Listen to this "poll" about the Lafayette Fiber System. It's amazing the load of bull that Cox and BellSouth pushed in this survey.
»www.fibre911.com/Cox_BSPushPoll.html | |
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LinuxJunkie
join:2005-01-19
Cyberspace | The mention by this scumbag to "pull" the call center from the area (and thus forcing many in the area into unemployment) is nothing more and nothing less than blackmail in my eyes. Last time I checked this was a crime, wasn't it? | |
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JacksGhost
Got Bottle?
join:2002-12-29
Buffalo, NY
| Re: Prediction: Voters will vote the muni system d Not really. The labor market moves on a daily basis. I've worked call centers for a few companies in my days, If you mention the word ' Union ', or protest at all, they will threaten to close the place.
Many call centers in Bufalo have closed in the last 5 years due to labor wanting to organise and offshore labor being cheaper.
I'm sure that ' scumbag ' would find a way to move that callcenter to wherever they wanted, possibly to spit in the face of the town.
jAX. | |
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GhostDoggy
join:2005-05-11
Duluth, GA | Let them have Muni And if they fail BST should double their rates. Afterall, they'd already be use to being abused.  | |
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ronpin
Imagine Reality
join:2002-12-06
Nirvana | Re: Let them have Muni When you look at who actually gets-off their tired ass and votes -- you'll see why the odds are against them.
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When Clinton lied -- no one died. | |
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ib50MbSoon
Formerly TwoKDialup
Premium
join:2002-06-07
Coloma, MI
1 edit | Re: Let them have Muni said by ronpin  :When you look at who actually gets-off their tired ass and votes -- you'll see why the odds are against them.
Yah, Republicans are too busy working 16 hour days so they often don't have the time to get to the polls.
OTOH, the welfare democrats....  | |
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Techless
Like I care
Premium
join:2002-07-19
Hypoluxo | Re: Let them have Muni Actually the republicans have their democrat underlings working 16 hours days while they eat cake.
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Al • Adelphia HSI • 6000/768 ± • Vonage VT1000 • Will Work For Captain Morgan or Admiral Nelson | |
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JacksGhost
Got Bottle?
join:2002-12-29
Buffalo, NY | Re: Let them have Muni Hating those long days, eh?  | |
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scrummie02
Bentley
Premium
join:2004-04-16
Arlington, VA
| why does this turn into a political battle? This isn't about Dems vs. Republicans at all. I know plenty of Republicans willing to vote for muni-broadband. This political argument that Reps. stop this stuff is complete bullshit and needs to stop. | |
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Techless
Like I care
Premium
join:2002-07-19
Hypoluxo
 ·Vonage
| Re: Let them have Muni You are correct.
Poor people are not poor because they are democrats, they are democrats because they are poor.
Rich people are not rich because they are Republicans, they are Republicans because they are rich.
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Al • Adelphia HSI • 6000/768 ± • Vonage VT1000 • Will Work For Captain Morgan | |
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FiberNow
@cox.net
| As much as I have touted this... I'm sort of skeptical myself. I'm expecting a NO vote, and if YES does win, I will not believe it until I see it. The anti-fiber people seem to have done a good job of misleading the public as to what the real facts of the issue are. That being said, I did go vote YES this morning. | |
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| alchav
join:2002-05-17
Palm Desert, CA
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
|  Re: As much as I have touted this...
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MarkyD
Premium
join:2002-08-20
Oklahoma City, OK
clubs:
 ·Cox HSI
| Statistics Statistics show that the people that vote are old fogies. I'm not saying that's the ONLY group that votes, but most older, retired folk WILL vote. We know that most of them will vote against it, because they are scared of technology for the most part. I mean, this is the same generation that found the Florida ballots in Bush v. Gore to be "confusing." Do you really think they're going to vote "yes" on a fiber optic network that they don't understand?
Prediction:
Muni Fiber in Lafayette gets voted down by a large margin. | |
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Kirk5287
join:2005-07-16
Church Point, LA
| my guess is yes all i've seen is pro-fiber ads all over lafayette and on the television. i don't really know for a fact what fiber would do, but i think people will vote pro simply because of the fact that it is projected as a 'step forward' and is supposed to 'aid prosperity' and i can't see the people of lafayette voting against that. | |
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FiberNow
@cox.net
| Re: my guess is yes You'd be suprised. Many older people look at this as a money only issue, or are scared of technology, and will almost definitely vote no. The anti-fiber people also seem to have done a decent job of convincing the people that half truths and blatant lies are real truths. I honestly wouldn't be suprised if it gets voted down, even though I'm hoping for a YES vote. | |
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IsaacGolding
Get over it.
Premium
join:2003-08-29
Jersey Shore, PA
| Lafayette is a tech hub... I live just out side of Fort Polk, La which is NE of Lafayette by a few hours and I spend a lot of my spare time down there. I would actually be surprised by a NO vote from the community. Lafayette has always had the appearance of being a forward looking community and compared to most of the rest of Louisiana is actually quite advanced. I wish them the best of luck and really do hope this goes through.
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Isaac Golding
http://deepscout.ath.cx/ | |
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preday
@optonline.net | Re: Lafayette is a tech hub... so @ what time should we expect the results
I hope for yes vote! to show the bell & cox they must upgrade or get taken over by the people
can't wait to see how much bandwith they get per house should take about 2-4 years for full city | |
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FiberNow
@cox.net | Re: Lafayette is a tech hub... The polls close at 8 PM CST tonight. You can check out results as they come in on »www.theadvertsier.com | |
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jinjimbob
Troy Mcclure
join:2001-11-13 | equals higher taxes Broadband should not be paid for by tax payers, this is what will happen.
The gov employees will also get better vacation/health/retirement benefits than 95% of us employed . . . paid by us tax payers. | |
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Octopussy2
Premium
join:2003-03-30
Batavia, IL
| Re: equals higher taxes It will be paid for by revenue bonds...sold on the open market (not by the taxpayers of Lafayette....unless they happen to get their hands on buying some of those bonds). Those are usually sold to private investors (revenue bonds).
You will still have a choice for services. If this passes and you chose to take inferior services from Cox and BS...so be it.
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It's muni-licious! »www.tricitybroadband.com | |
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| | mjcrocket
Mjc
join:2000-12-02
Abingdon, MD
| Re: equals higher taxes said by Octopussy2 :It will be paid for by revenue bonds...sold on the open market (not by the taxpayers of Lafayette.... That is not what the Proposition says.
»68.156.56.19/Images/Fiber.htm
The proposition clearly states that "said bonds to be payable first, from the net income and revenues of the communications system and second, to the amount necessary, from a secondary or subordinate pledge of the revenues of the utilities system."
That means that the Tax Payers through their other utility bills are responsible for paying off the bonds if the income from the proposed service is not sufficient to cover the required payments. That sure sounds like Tax Payers to me!!! | |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs: | Re: equals higher taxes That sounds like rate payer funding, not tax payer funding. | |
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Agent 86
| Re: equals higher taxes "That sounds like rate payer funding, not tax payer funding."
The bottom line is that it is NOT investors taking the risk. The bonds will be paid whether it makes money or not. | |
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| bmn
? ? ?
Premium,ExMod 2003-06
join:2001-03-15
hiatus
| said by jinjimbob :Broadband should not be paid for by tax payers, this is what will happen. If you read the article and kept up on this topic, you would see that this project isn't funded by tax money.
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This isn't the Hide and Seek you remember... | |
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preday
@optonline.net | Re: equals higher taxes 8:06 no update yet i'm dying to know who won!
crossing me fingers | |
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FiberNow
@cox.net | Lafayette Wins!! I expected a close vote. YES wins in a landslide!! Approximately 62 % to 38%. The people of Lafayette have spoken! | |
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| RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| Re: Lafayette Wins!! Proof that when the customers (citizens, ratepayers, taxpayers, whatever you want to call them) really believe there is a need, and not just pie-in-the-sky promises, they'll vote with their heads and ignore the "lies". In other words, this was not seen as only the pet project of a few activists.
Congrats Lafayette. I hope you get what you expect from this. At the minimum your victory should show others how it's done. | |
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| | PeterCollins
join:2005-05-23
Geneva, IL
1 edit | Re: Lafayette Wins!! As I'm pretty sure you're sniping at the Tri-Cities (my hometown "pet project") in a backhanded way with the wording of your post, I would point out a couple of things about the two battles (the Tri-Cities and Lafayette) as my wife and I (proud to be called some of the "few activists" in the Tri-Cities) were involved in both.
Both had strong citizen advocacy groups (www.tricitybroadband.com & www.lafayetteprofiber) that took to the fight. Both had ridiculous push polls and misleading info sent to their citizens. Both had people snowed into believing the arguments of their local incumbents (remember, there was a fairly decent and organized citizen anti-movement in Lafayette....see www.fiber411.com - they certainly bought into the BS & Cox side of the table.)
But the major difference between the two referenda was real political support from the elected officials (read balls and brains) and money spent by Lafayette to combat the misinfo campaigns of their incumbents - something the TriCities didn't do - with factual information.
Until that sense of responsibility, education, and vision is present in the elected officials of the TriCities, the issue will tank there time and time again. | |
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58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | Re: Lafayette Wins!! Peter, believe it or not, not everything I post is about you and your wife and the Tri-Cities... I was not sniping at you with the front or the back of my hand. These home-spun 'movements' are all the same until someone of authority picks up the banner.
But since you brought it up: The "balls and brains" you speak of are derived from a real need, backed by real political force. Lafayette's government really wanted this, Geneva's didn't (and Batavia and St. Charles really didn't care since they are home rule). The need in Lafayette is real, and Lafayette is not a bedroom community to a top-5 market. Another problem is that the three towns involved with your effort already have municipal-owned fiber connecting them to their facilities as well as the schools, meaning they're already playing with their toys.
said by your website FAQ:
Geneva is currently building a fiber optic network connecting the city offices, emergency offices and schools. Batavia and St. Charles already have a fiber network connecting their city, emergency and schools. This was a separate project that had nothing to do with the current proposal. None of the cities has made any move in regards to this referendum, beyond the feasibility study. And Geneva, in particular, is not a home rule town and MUST have voter approval to proceed. St. Charles and Batavia referendum questions are "advisory" in nature and are like an opinion poll.
It is true that all three cities have CLEC status. This was done primarily to allow the installation of fiber optic cable on non city owned poles (for example ComEd). In many instances, in order to serve the school districts with fiber optic connectivity, the cities have had to use non city owned poles to reach schools that fall within the school district boundaries, but are not located within city limits. Your attitude about the elected officials in your area speaks volumes. Calling them impotent and brainless in a public forum doesn't seem terribly productive. Until you get more than a "few activists" to really want this, or you seed the city government with supporters, you'll never get farther than a failed referendum. Sorry. I hope you have better luck next time. | |
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| | | | PeterCollins
join:2005-05-23
Geneva, IL
| Re: Lafayette Wins!! RD:
You're a lttle off on one fact.
Lafayette also has an extensive fiber network in place and, in fact, leases wholesale fiber right now. According to citizens there, Lafayette is also served quite well with DSL right now. From the Fiber 411 site (the anti muni site) - »www.fiber411.com/chat.php?60
neal_breakfield on Saturday 16 July 2005 - 15:35:33
Everyone that would be affected by this project CAN get DSL and/or cable modem at least as fast as 1 Mbps and in most areas up to 4 Mbps.
Our Utilities Dept. already has one competitor that can offer the triple play and will probably have two competitors offering the triple play here before it can get to market.
As to our elected officials not getting this, it's simply irresponsible given the fact that we're home to Fermi Lab and the DuPage National High Tech Park. If they don't get the importance of stepping ahead, then they should be called out. It's part of their job - a job the citizenry elected them to do. | |
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58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| Re: Lafayette Wins!! I agree that it's rather boneheaded of them. But it's been my experience that hurling insults and calling them boneheaded while you're trying to get them to do something they don't see the benefit of, however, is counterproductive.
The need I speak of is not necessarily borne of lack of service availability. It's that their government wants it, and was willing to stick their necks out to get it. Yours isn't. The next vote over there in the Tri-cities should be to replace municipal officials rather than to coax a few disinterested voters to punch "yes". Get Batavia and St. Charles on board and online, and then maybe Geneva will get with the program. | |
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| | | | | | PeterCollins
join:2005-05-23
Geneva, IL
| Re: Lafayette Wins!! RD:
I'd have to agree that there are some distinct differences in how the differnet governments acted.
The governments here paid for feasibility studies to look into the concept. The studies said go for it. Much like Lafaytte.
They paid for citizen and business surveys. The surveys said go for it. Much like Lafayette.
They paid for staff time to make sure all was legit. The staff said go for it. Much like Lafayette.
They took the time to put it on the ballot the first time (citizens second time) because they were going for it. (okay BS & Cox sued Lafayette to make this happen, but nonetheless, it was on the ballots)
But they wouldn't stand up to the bs SBC and Comcast threw out to their citizens (barring one Mayor and select Aldermen) and fight back. They didn't get out there, actively campaign for the issue, and tell the citizenry that they were being misled. The officials at Lafayette & LUS fought back.
Two of the three Chambers of Commerce here would have rather taken "donations" from SBC and Comcast than to stand up for what they knew was in the best interest of their cities. The Lafayette Chamber (much like the Batavia Chamber) got the concept and backed the idea.
You're right. The problem here isn't with the concept of FTTH or muni broadband, or what penetration of services is where - it's lack of political will and, in the Chamber's case, money. | |
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d4rkf1br
join:2004-11-04
Lafayette, LA | Yeah we did it! Whooo hooo 62% for, 38% against. 51% was all that was needed! Happy resident indeed. | |
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PliotronX
My Katamari's Bigger Than Your Katamari
join:2000-05-13
Sunland, CA | Shows my pessimism... Wasn't warranted  Nice going people of Lafayette. | |
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Octopussy2
Premium
join:2003-03-30
Batavia, IL | Re: Shows my pessimism... CONGRATS Lafayette!!!!! I knew you could do it! "Vision" is alive and well in Lafayette....
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It's muni-licious! »www.tricitybroadband.com | |
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Muni Fiber Vote
·
Prediction: Voters will vote the muni system down
