Iglesia Shekira will get to build its new noncom educational FM in Tucumcari, N.M.
The Federal Communications Commission has denied an objection from Trinity Baptist Church of Tucumcari and issued the CP.
Iglesia Shekira applied in 2007 for the slot at Channel 213; but Trinity argued that its application should not be granted because it had violated local public inspection and local notice requirements of FCC rules.
Trinity alleged that Iglesia Shekira failed to provide public access to the application; the FCC decided Trinity did not provide details as to how Iglesia had in fact denied Trinity — “or anyone else” — access to the application.
“In fact, the record indicates that an e-mail request sent by Trinity to Iglesia on Nov. 15, 2007, seeking public access to the application was answered within four hours by an e-mail from Iglesia to Trinity stating that the application could be viewed by the public ‘at the Tucumcari Public Library’ in accordance with the rules,” the commission staff wrote.
Trinity also argued that Iglesia Shekira had not provided local public notice of the filing of the application. The FCC said that although Iglesia was in fact two weeks tardy in meeting the requirements, “we find that its twice-weekly publication notices provided substantial compliance with the rule.”
