The county's cable channel will show continuous live coverage of conditions at major intersections during this weekend's storm. Following is the county's press release.
For Immediate Release: February 5, 2010
County Cable Montgomery Will Feature Live Coverage of Road Conditions Throughout This Weekend’s Storm
Montgomery County government’s cable television channel – County Cable Montgomery (CCM), which can be viewed on Channel 6 on the Comcast and RCN cable systems and Channel 30 on Verizon – will feature live coverage of road conditions at all major traffic intersections, beginning at 3 p.m. today, February 5. The coverage will continue throughout this weekend’s storm, ending at 9 a.m. on Sunday, February 7.
With at least two feet of snow and blizzard conditions anticipated, residents are urged to stay home this evening and Saturday, if at all possible. Be sure to watch the live coverage on CCM to view road conditions before leaving home if travel is unavoidable. Do not attempt to drive if you are not comfortable driving on snowy roads.
When preparing to drive, be sure to thoroughly clear the snow from the entire car – including roof, windshields, trunk and hood – to ensure visibility and prevent snow from blowing onto surrounding cars. When driving, do not speed and be sure to leave plenty of space between your car and the one in front of you. Avoid pulling out in front of other vehicles and do not slow down before going up a hill.
Plowing of roads occurs when three or more inches of snow accumulates with a temperature below freezing. The County’s Department of Transportation completely clears emergency and primary routes before beginning clearing of neighborhood streets. Neighborhood streets are not cleared to bare pavement, but are made passable.
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Friday, February 05, 2010
County Cable Montgomery to Show Intersections During Snowstorm
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Leggett Protects Incumbent TV
In its new package of budget cuts, the Leggett administration did not heed our call to cut County Cable Montgomery (CCM), also known on this blog as Incumbent TV. Instead, the County Executive has chosen to keep CCM whole in time for the next election.
The County Executive’s package of $29.5 million in cuts, necessitated by the state’s cuts in aid to the county, includes the following reductions:
Public schools cut: $9.7 million
Montgomery College cut: $1.1 million
Park and Planning cut: $2.2 million
Health and Human Services cut: $971,550
Police cut: $1.2 million, including reduction of January 2010 recruit class from 47 to 36 police officer candidates
As for County Cable Montgomery? Their “cuts” consist of delaying the hiring of two staff people until January 5, 2010. That means they will be on board for the election year, and of course, the primary purpose of some of CCM’s programming is to make incumbent county officials look good. The only other cable television cut is targeted at Public, Education and Government (PEG) programming, which serves people who do not speak English. Let’s remember that CCM’s budget has been increased 72% since FY 2006, a FAR greater rate than any core function of government. Here is the “cut” package for CCM.
Why is CCM protected? Because while cuts to the schools, police, community college and services to the poor are OK, the last thing that will ever be cut is the re-election prospects of incumbent office holders.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Cut County Cable Montgomery
Many times, we have heard elected leaders complain that their constituents are quick to defend programs and slow to suggest cuts in times of deficit. Today, we have heard their pleas and are ready to oblige with a suggested reduction.
Cut County Cable Montgomery.
County Cable Montgomery (CCM) runs county television programming on Channel 6. Some of its work consists of live and taped recordings of County Council meetings, hearings and work sessions as well as town halls. It also produces nineteen regular shows and occasional department programs that are shown both on cable and on YouTube.
All too many of these programs seem to have a common primary purpose: making the incumbent office holders look good. Over and over again, politicians are shown prancing at press conferences, smiling to their adoring admirers and explaining why Montgomery County is such a wonderful place to live – under their leadership, of course. County Report, CCM’s flagship weekly program, is little more than a parade of such political frolicking.
Since incumbent protection is naturally the highest priority of all office holders, CCM’s budget has grown by a LOT. In FY 2007, its budget increased by 16.1%. In FY 2008, its budget grew by 13.9%. And in FY 2009, a year in which some politicians demanded cuts to employee raises, CCM’s budget soared by 22.9%. When county politicians discuss whether employee compensation increases are sustainable, why do they not also discuss whether their own televised glorification is sustainable?
Budget deficits are no obstacle to CCM’s relentless march towards bloat. In FY 2010, CCM added a new web producer position, its third employment expansion in four years. And its budget grew by $147,700, or 5.9%. That came despite the fact that the county had to close a $587 million deficit, cut overall spending for the first time since 1992 and cried poverty to the state on school funding. And while CCM’s funding was hiked again, the Cable Franchise Administration, which protects consumers from rapacious cable companies, saw its budget cut by 16% at the same time.
How bad is all of this? Compare CCM’s budget growth to that of the core functions of government. This is one way to figure out what the county leaders’ priorities REALLY are.
How large is CCM’s audience? That’s hard to say. On YouTube, it has only 82 subscribers. Its County Report show seldom gets more than a couple hundred views. Most of its other shows get a few dozen views apiece. When we embed County Report on MPW, hardly anyone watches it. This past summer, County Report’s June 19 show – which received more page views than any other CCM edition we posted – was tied for a rank of 281 in page view count on this blog. In other words, last summer there were 280 posts on MPW that received more views than the top-ranked County Report show. Is this what we have to show for a 72% budget increase over four years?
Just how many ribbon cuttings, back pattings, smile flashings and hand shakings do we have to see? CCM does not educate our kids, protect us from crime, put out fires, plan our land use or build our transportation projects. It is a luxury at a time when we can’t afford luxuries.
And so here is our message to the County Council: cut County Cable Montgomery first. Pare it down to the basics: covering council meetings and hearings, committee work sessions and town halls. Howard County, the richest county in the state, did it last year and still survives. We can survive too.
