Katrina: Astrodome blocks FCC-approved emergency radio (update)

Update: "Do you wish you could contact the people blocking the LPFM radio station?" Here's contact information: Link

Snip from press release:

Houston Independent media organizers, who have been working in concert with local community organizations, relief groups, the Federal Communications Commission, a major electronics manufacturer, and the City of Houston, have been denied permission to build a 30-watt radio station inside the Astrodome by R.W. Royall Jr., Incident Commander of the JIC (Joint Information Committee) at the Astrodome.

Organizers at the Prometheus Radio Project, a not-for-profit organization that helps community groups broacast to their neighborhoods under 100-watt licenses, vowed to keep pushing for permission for this vital station, and for others like it.

After waiting over 5 days since the radio volunteers received official the official go-ahead from the FCC to build their station, a senior staffer for the Harris County administration of the Astrodome abruptly stamped 'Denied' on a piece of paper.

The organizers with Indymedia have gathered a full broadcast-ready radio station, hand-tested by professional engineers in Portland and Austin. They also have a license in hand from the FCC, as well as 2 seperate sources of over 10,000 radios. One of those sources is a donation from the Sony corporation.

Link

Previously: LPFM station for Astrodome blocked

Update: Joel Johnson files a story for Wired News here, with details: Link