The Federal Communications Commission has dealt another blow to a Florida nonprofit by dismissing another of its requests to build a new noncommercial education station.
The situation began after Florida Community Radio in February 2010 filed an application for a construction permit for a new NCE station in Otter Creek, Fla. This application was part of the February 2010 NCE filing window — a window opened for those looking to obtain construction permits for vacant NCE-only allotments.
The permit was ultimately awarded to another group (the Citrus County Association for Retarded Citizens), a decision that prompted FCR to file several petitions for reconsideration.
The latest argument: FCR said the Media Bureau improperly rejected a newly submitted amendment that would ultimately grant FCR a construction permit.
The commission had dismissed all petitions up to this point. In one case, the bureau found that the petition was untimely. In another, the bureau found FCR had not met the priorities for waving a filing deadline.
And in the last argument, FCR claimed that the bureau infringed on its right to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution when it failed to properly serve FCR with a copy of the Application for Review order.
But the FCC disagreed in this last case, too, and ultimately denied FCR’s final challenge, thus dismissing and denying FCR’s most recent request to build an NCE.
