[Peace] REMINDER: MONDAY, NOON: support DEMOCRACY NOW! and MARTELL MILLER

[Randall Cotton]

Please forward this to "friendly" lists and individuals...

There are now TWO important reasons to attend the MONDAY, NOON special
meeting of the Urbana Public Television (UPTV) commission (in the Urbana
City Council Chambers, largest room on ground floor, 400 S. Vine St.,
Urbana).

1. Encourage the UPTV Commission to continue their support of the
considerable public demand for "Democracy Now!" and discourage the Urbana
city administration (including the mayor, Tod Satterthwaite and city
attorney, Steve Holz) from pressuring the commission for their support of
this widespread public request (of over 1200 local residents who have signed
a petition).

2. Witness the UPTV Commission's proceedings regarding the city
administration's ban from UPTV of the Martell Miller/Patrick Thompson
documentary on local police conduct.

At last week's Monday meeting, the UPTV Commission *unanimously* recommended
public-access-cable policy changes for UPTV that clear the way for
"Democracy Now!" broadcasts. However, the city administration may adversely
modify them or possibly even reject them outright. There is a specific
agenda item for tomorrow's meeting which provides for an "Update from the
City Administration on the proposed public access policy changes". The
agenda is available on the web at:

http://www.ci.urbana.il.us/urbana/mayor/boards/uptv_commission/agendas/uptv_agenda_9-20-04.pdf

While, traditionally, the UPTV Commission's recommendations have carried
considerable weight, technically, their role is only to *advise* the city
administration in their operation of UPTV. It would be perfectly legal for
the city to COMPLETELY IGNORE the UPTV Commission's recommendations and
advice. Given the comments by the mayor to the press after last Monday's
meeting, further obstruction of "Democracy Now!" by the mayor and his staff
is virtually assured. And the best way to oppose this is by *personally*
attending the next UPTV Commission meeting as a *witness* to publicly
dissuade the city administration from further censorship of "Democracy
Now!".

Also, *new* developments are expected regarding the city administration's
ban from UPTV of the Martell Miller/Patrick Thompson police conduct
documentary. One or more additional complaints to the UPTV Commission are
expected from supporters of Miller and Thompson. In addition, for the first
time, there is a formal agenda item for Monday's meeting to address the
case. The item reads, in part, "Draft procedures for a 'hearing of dispute'
between Mr. Martell Miller, Kimberlie Kranich and the City Administration".
It's important for the public to witness this in person to discourage
possible manipulation of the process by the city administration.

And remember, don't worry if you can't make it exactly at noon, don't worry
if you can't stay for the whole meeting. All public presence, even if it's
just for a little while, counts for a lot. Once again, this meeting is
TOMORROW, MONDAY at NOON  at the Urbana City Council chambers, ground floor,
400 S. Vine St., Urbana. And, just like last Monday, the meeting is
scheduled to last one hour.

Thanks for your support =8-)
R