Access Sacramento

Highpoints Featured in

Report to Cable Commission

Every six months, Access Sacramento reports to its primary funder, the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission, about its activities and programming. The report approved last Thursday summarizes a variety of highlights from our last six months of operation.

As one of Access Sacramento's founders and after 27 years as executive director, Ron Cooper retired amidst a flurry of accolades from the political and business community. Cooper remains in Sacramento enjoying time with family and friends, and periodically stopping by Access Sacramento as a volunteer consultant to new executive director Gary Martin.

Ron Cooper gives a TV studio tour as part of his final Access Sacramento orientation workshop before retiring.

Access Sacramento staff and member producers won six Western Access Video Excellence awards and were finalists in six others, representing the best public access programming in six western states.

Successful presentation of 10 original short films at the Crest Theater as part of the 14th annual Place Called Sacramento film festival demonstrates the power of Sacramento area filmmaking.

With five months complete of the fiscal year, Access Sacramento staff have completed or scheduled 31 of a minimum 50 events as part of the annual SMCTC Hometown TV and Game of the Week broadcast project. 

Access Sacramento's Roniecia Harris directs Hometown TV coverage of Skip's Music Stairway to Stardom band competition at the Crest Theater.

Ten LIVE high school football games were completed and planning for basketball is underway. Hometown events include projects on mental health, unemployment, voter education, diverse cultural presentations, the anniversary of the World Peace Rose Garden and parades in Galt and Elk Grove.

After January, Access Sacramento's partnership with the California Endowment should bring a $50,000 grant in support of health education in Oak Park and the South Sacramento area as part of our youth stipend program on AccessLocal.tv.

We should hear from the FCC in early 2014 about our proposal to begin a new low-power FM radio station in the midtown area.

Successful Annual Financial Review

It's not quite the end of the calendar year, but it is time for Access Sacramento to report to the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission (SMCTC) and our membership about the state of our finances.

In our annual financial review of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the CPA firm of Balarsky and Associates examined the chart of accounts and the monthly bookkeeping done by CPA firm Malkasian Accountancy.

Based on the review, the report from the CPA says "we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying financial statements in order for them to be in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America."

The Board of Directors voted last Thursday to accept the financial report and to forward it on to the commission.  The commission will review the document at its next meeting, likely in December.

Access Sacramento operates cable channels 17 & 18, with its primary funding for both operational and equipment expenses coming from a grant provided by the SMCTC, similar to the funding grants provided to the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium channels 15 & 16, KVIE channel 7 [Called 6.2] and to Metro Cable channel 14 itself.

At the end of the fiscal year, Access Sacramento's cash on hand was nearly unchanged from the year before. The net asset value was down approximately $30,000 from the period a year before based on normal depreciation of previously purchased equipment.

The 2013-14 fiscal year began with a higher than normal amount of cash restricted  for equipment purchases.  This was related to reduced spending in the previous six months based on the organization's focus on hiring a new executive director. 

A normalized income and spending pattern has resumed for the start of the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Access Sacramento is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation.  Questions about the organization's finances should be directed to Gary Martin, Executive Director or to JoAnn Fuller, Board of Directors chair at 916-456-8600.

Antenna location for Access Sacramento's propose LPFM Radio station if approved by the FCC.

By Shane Carpenter

Mid-November marked the closure of the FCC's Low Power FM filing window for new construction permits.  

Now, we have a host of eager community organizations all vying for what could be four LPFM frequencies here in Sacramento.  

When the filing window closed, the applicants' identities became public knowledge.  

Twelve groups have put in applications.

All, or most of which, could become part of new radio stations by this time next year.

The greatest thing besides Access Sacramento possibly having a radio station in the future, is that there will be new and vibrant radio broadcasters in our area, all with creative and energetic ideas for making community radio.

It will be nice having more folks here in town who do community radio, as Access Sacramento has already done for nearly 30 years on cable and, more recently, on the Internet.

We'll still have to wait on the FCC's final word, but one thing is certain, the Sacramento radio landscape will change for the better soon, bringing more diversity and richness to the our area.

Applications by frequency:

93.3

The Sacramento Blues Society

Process Theater, Inc.

95.7

Sacramento Area Peace Action

Ubunto Green

William Burg

96.5

Access Sacramento

99.1

Williams Memorial Church of God in Christ

103.1

Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen

Sacramento French Cultural Society

Verge Center for the Arts

Women's Civic Improvement Club of Sacramento, Inc.

104.7

The Access Sacramento Hometown TV crew documented top beginner rock bands at the 33rd annual Skip's Music "Stairway to Stardom" competition at the downtown Crest Theatre earlier this year. 

All 11 competing bands perform and are interviewed on the program. Judges selected "War Paint" for first place, "Contrast" for second place, and "Failed Diplomacy" for 3rd place.

The 2-part DVD showcases each band's performance and features exclusive interviews with the performers and their coach. The program includes at least one song from each band and features many musical styles.

Enjoy the Stairway to Stardom experience now! Buy the 2-part DVD at Access Sacramento for only $30. You can place an order over the phone by calling the  Front Office at (916) 456-8600 Ext: 0.

Cash or check purchases may be made by coming into the Front Office and checks can be mailed to:

Access Sacramento

4623 T Street, Suite A

Sacramento, CA 95819-4700

Look for Stairway to Stardom 2013 to air on Channel 17 in December. Exact date and time will be made available as the date gets closer. 

Watch the "Place Called Sacramento" Films On-Line

This year's 10 original short films created for Access Sacramento's 14th Annual Place Called Sacramento film festival can be viewed on-line from the AccessLocal.tv website.

The films made their world premiere at The Crest Theatre last month after 10 script writers-turned-producers delivered their films, all of which showcase some aspect of living in Sacramento.

The films can be found at http://accesslocal.tv/category/local-film/pcs2013/

"The quality of this year's film script submissions was particularly high," said Michelle Barbaria, the 2013 Place Called Sacramento film festival coordinator. "The audience at the premiere was delighted by the exceptional effort by all the filmmakers. The acting and the technical aspects really showcased the quality of Sacramento filmmakers."

Each of the films runs no more than 10-minutes including opening titles and closing credits.

The initial call for script entries into the 15th Annual Place Called Sacramento will go out in January, 2014. Watch the Access Sacramento website AccessSacramento.org for details.

Mental Health Dialogue can be viewed on Access Sacramento TV Special, Staurday

Sacramento Convention Center Courtesy:www.CreatingCommunitySolutions.org

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Assembly member Roger Dickinson were among the 350 community residents who gathered to discuss ways of breaking down misperceptions about mental health issues and to promote recovery and healthy communities.

Access Sacramento's Hometown TV special is hosted by Sacramento's Isaac Gonzalez who helps interview the presenters in documenting the day. Additional interviews are done by Rick Stewart and Erika Bradley.

The hour-long special can first be seen at 8 p.m. Nov. 30 in Sacramento County on Comcast and SureWest Cable Channel 17 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99.  For those not in Sacramento County, the program can be seen on the Internet from AccessSacramento.org. Additional replays are listed below.

A nationwide call to action by President Obama in the area of mental health triggered the Sacramento event, sponsored by the "Creating Community Solutions" organization.

Information about how to participate in the National Dialogue with printable discussion guides can be found at http://www.creatingcommunitysolutions.org/

A full report on the results of the Sacramento dialogue is available for download from

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/

u/63932895/CCSSummaryReportFinal.pdf 

FULL BROADCAST SCHEDULE:

Saturday, Nov. 30 at 8:00 p.m. 

Sunday, Dec. 1 at 12:00 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 2 at 4:00 a.m.

Sunday, Dec. 8 at 5:00 p.m.

Monday Dec. 9 at 9 a.m. (Internet only)

Tuesday Dec. 10 at 1:00 a.m.

Tips for Local Small Business Airs on Access Sacramento This Saturday

A Hometown TV special features business consultants with a series of advice for small businesses in a special presentation about the Sacramento Metro Chamber's Small Business Metro Expo airs Saturday, at 6 p.m. on Access Sacramento.

Access Sacramento cameras captured a series of speakers and interviewed representatives of featured businesses during the Expo at McClellan Conference Center on Sept. 26.

The two-hour highlight show can be seen on Access Sacramento, Comcast and SureWest cable channel 17 or AT&T U-Verse channel 99.  The program will also be streamed on the web from 

AccessSaramento.org Push Watch 17.

The event is just one of many featured activities from the Sacramento Metro Chamber coordinated by the Sales and Membership Services department and Senior Vice President Philip MacDougall.

BROADCAST SCHEDULE  

Saturday, Nov. 30 at 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 1 at 10:00 a.m.

Monday, Dec. 2 at 2:00 a.m.

Sunday, Dec. 8 at 6:00 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 9 at 10:00 a.m. (Internet Only)

Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 2:00 a.m.

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