The total number of low-power FM construction permits issued hit 1,598, twenty-six of them issued in the last week. There are more stations in big urban metro areas this batch, including ones in Las Vegas, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Diego and Chicago.
There also are a number of established community media groups that are approved for LPFM stations this week. Easton Community Access Television in Easton, MA will broadcast public affairs program on 96.5 FM.
To the north, near the New Hampshire border, Public Media of New England operates an online station called WHAV in Haverhill, MA that also broadcasts a low-power, presumably Part 15, AM station. The group will build a station at 97.9 to bring the webcast to the FM airwaves. According to the group’s website, the call letters have a storied history in the community.
Founded in 1980 Media Alliance has operated the community media arts center Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY for the last nine years. According to the educational program submitted with its application, the group plans to train community members in radio production and will include live broadcasts of talks and performances held at the Sanctuary amongst its programming.
Located in the heart of Center City, the Philadelphia Public Access Corporation–known as PhillyCAM–will build a station at 106.5 FM to broadcast programming that reflects the city’s rich cultural scene, with an emphasis on local arts, poetry, music, media and theater arts. The station will be an extension of PhillyCAM’s public access television channels that have been broadcasting since 2009.
Some other interesting groups receiving construction permits include the Troy (NY) Bike Rescue, which is at least the second bicycle group to be approved, after the Sacramento (CA) Bicycle Kitchen. There is also the Greater Greensboro (NC) Broadcasting Team, which sounds like it should be some kind of radio superhero group, and Reading, Writing, Arithmetic which provides free learning materials to educators, teachers, students, shut-ins and other people in need in the Las Vegas area.
