Verizon Pushes FCC to Turn Off LA Office Tower's Lights

Yesterday, I did not realize fluorescent lights could disrupt wireless communications. Ah, what a difference a day makes. A piece in today's theverge.com reported on issues Verizon has experienced with a Los Angeles office tower illuminated with the offending light bulbs. Initially, Verizon had to identify the source of the service disruption. After some sleuthing, the wireless provider determined the Ernst and Young Plaza structure was the culprit. Verizon complained to the FCC, and the Feds began to hondle with the building's owners.

Image: gelighting.com

The problem has not yet been resolved, according to theverge.com's story. What's curious about the episode is the FCC's involvement. At first blush, one would assume wireless cases would naturally fall into the Federal Communication Commission's purview. Not so fast. Sometime in the FCC's history, the agency became the regulatory agency for fluorescent light bulbs. According to theverge.com's piece, these particular lights "are regulated by the FCC since they fall under 'industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) equipment.'"

You can't make this stuff up.

LA Cabbies Protest Ride-Sharing Apps

Taxi driver protest in Los Angeles
Image: AP, as posted in news.yahoo.com

Once upon a time, taxi cab drivers would have conducted protests against what they perceived as low fares, unfair law enforcement, or unpopular regulations. Well, our data-driven nightmare has created a new front against which taxi drivers find themselves fighting: They're struggling against an app onslaught threatening their livelihoods.

Apps? Well, yes. Instead of something quaint like a phone call or hailing a cab on the street, an increasing number of people use apps to "share" a ride from the like-minded. Apps are the bloodstream for ride-sharing enterprises, such as Lyft, Sidecar, and UberX. The success of these businesses has riled Los Angeles cabbies to the point of public protest. According to an Associated Press story appearing in siliconvalley.com, taxi drivers in the City of Angels "staged a noisy protest" over the businesses using smartphone-capable apps to muscle into the cabbies' turf.

The city bureaucracy issued cease-and-desist orders to the ride-sharing firms earlier this week. So far, the affected businesses have turned up their collective noses, claiming they are only answerable to the Caesars in California's state capital, Sacramento.

PBR Moves to LA

Believe it or not, Pabst Blue Ribbon is moving its headquarters from Illinois to La-La Land. To someone who went to college in PBR's original home state, Wisconsin, the beer company's shift to California seems like a bar room gag. Pabst was a cheap beer, a brew one purchased for parties when the opportunities for drinking were expected to be ample. There was never any cachet associated with PBR.

Times have changed. According to the LA Times story about the corporate move, Pabst has made its mark among self-defined "hipsters." This would appear to go hand-in-hand with another "hipster" trend: an interest in "dives." They're not legit dives, but bars that have a staged, calculated look. Ugh. I don't know if Pabst is served in these trendy "dives," or what it costs to enjoy a cold PBR at one. But I'll have a hard time hoisting a Pabst and thinking of Sunset Boulevard.

An Author's Tale

An author spoke before an industry group this evening and told some funny stories about some of his life experiences. One story was particularly good. He had sold the rights to one of his novels to a movie studio. At one point, he was invited out to LA for a press junket on behalf of the film. Later that day, he went to a restaurant. As he was getting ready to leave, he saw two very famous actors also walking toward the exit. A fan approached the author, and to his surprise, asked for his autograph. The author gladly complied.

Watching this episode unfold, one famous actor said to his acting peer, "Shit, I need a new hit movie BAD."

Aussies Say "G'Day" to LA

According to a story in today's Los Angeles Times, Australians brought the most overseas tourists to LA in 2010. The "G'Day" crowd flocked in record numbers to soak up the settings and personalities familiar from  America's principal exports: television programs and feature length movies. Of course, Los Angeles is a natural gateway for Australians visiting the United States. Southern California's climate bears a striking similarity to the populated areas Down Under. And LA's physically extroverted atmosphere neatly fits the Australian national character.

While Aussies enjoyed life in Los Angeles, they were not the largest group of tourists. That title belongs to Mexico, with Canada a distant second. There are some who would say Anglos are LA's largest tourist group, and that the city, by its history, location, and population, is Mexico's second largest city.

LA's "Ghost of NFL Franchise Future"

The Christmas season brings us another appearance of LA's version of the "Ghost of NFL Franchise Future." This apparition was reported by the LA Times' NFL reporter Sam Farmer. The story includes a watercolor rendition of a new football stadium earmarked for some fanciful downtown location.

The NFL's LA franchise has been the league's wetdream ever since Pete Rozelle wanted a piece of the action more than a generation ago. Currently, Los Angeles does not have a pro football team, an absence that greatly annoys the television pooh-bahs that sell advertising time for its NFL telecasts. Every year finds another team on the list kicking LA's tires and wondering when it will get a test drive of the southern California market. Current contenders include the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, and Buffalo Bills. One team not in the running is the St. Louis Rams, which moved from the Southland many moons ago because there was more money to be made on the banks of the Mississippi than in the shadows of Hollywood.