Newsday (Nassau Edition) from Hempstead, New York • 5

AW' Given ah OK 3pecial to Nowaday Washington A Federal Communications Commission examiner gave his approval yesterday to Long first television station an ultra-high-frequency outlet to broadcast from Riverhead LI and beam a signal reaching from Montauk to Bjv Shore In his decision FCC hearing examiner Forest McClcnning recommended approval of a construction permit for station WRIV-TV which has been seeking a license for three yean Barring a change of mind during the next 50 days final l'CC approval is expected to follow on Sept 29 Construction could begin immediately afterwards and developers of CIi 55 hope to be broadcasting as early as November 1968 The channel was seen as the latest affirmation of a developing trend toward local emphasis in broadcasting a pattern successfully pioneered by sin j11 radio stations in the years after Woild War II and now being followed bv a burgeoning number of TV stations WRIV-TV will be independent without nctwoik affiliation The brief filed by WRIV-TV with the CC indicated that Channel 55 would broadcast live and shows news and discussion programs on community problems Edward Wood Jr president and general manager of the station said lie planned to work with universities in Suffolk to help develop programs Four or five hours a day will be devoted to programs originating locally WAVELENGTHS The new UHF television station approved yesterday by a Fadaral Communications Commission examiner would serve all of aastarn Suffolk ana astern Suffolk to about the limits indicated by tha lino from Kings Park to Bay Shore ber of available channels about 90 would bring a diversity impossible under the limited spectrum of only 12 channels in the VIII- range UHF stations broadcast between 470 and 890 megacycles as compared to the 54 to 216 megacycles used by VIIF channels which are numbered from 2 to 13 'Hie FCC has set aside Channel 67 for a channel in Patchogue and Washington businessman Theodore Granik and Medallion Pictures Inc of New York have entered bids for it As yet however there have been no hearings on the license and Wood said that the matter is presently dormant east of a line running from Kings Park on the north to Bay Shore on the south Marginal reception will be available as far west as eastern Nassau McClcnning reached in Washington said that his decision was made on the basis of the financial qualifications of the new channel He said that competition for UHF outlets has steadily grown since Congress passed in 1965 a bill requiring all new television sets to be equipped for UI1F reception (Older sets can be con- converted to UIIF for about 525) He added that UHF is less susceptible to interference than is very high frequency (VHF) and predicted that the large num and the re will be svndicatcd programs and films he said The station will be directed at no one group or interest Wood 59 is a 36-year veteran of the broadcasting business and was a founder in 1954 of the Mutual Broadcasting System Wood who lives in Pcconic said yesterday that the new station would offer a wide range of programming with special focus on Suffolk He said the station would broadcast IS hours a day from 6 AM until midnight and would produce a stronger signal in the area than any other channel except Channel 3 in Hartford Conn a CBS affiliate The viewing area is expected to cover all of Suffolk Local Tax Power Plan Is Sent to Convention I Newsday Albany Bureau Albany A State Constitutional Convention committee scut to the convention floor yesterday a measure that would permit local governments to levy non-property taxes unices specifically barred by the Legislature and a proposal that would nuke it harder for the stats to raise the cof of government on the local level The Local Government and Home Rule Committee headed by Syracuse University Prof! Alan Campbell reported out the tax provision without any recommendation Linder the present constitution the state must specifically authorize the taxes that a local government may levy or a locality mav request the legislature's permission to levy a tax by home rule message Under the proposed new setup the localities could provide for any new non-property not specifically denied to tlicin under law If both houses of the Legislature did not then act to bar the tax within one year the new taxes would go into effect The provisions would apply only to cities villages towns or counties with more than 125000 population established by added that it would be a logical one for localities to institute On I-oii" Island the tax proposal was greeted with little enthusiasm by county leaders Nassau County Executive Nickerson said that though property taxes are inequitable wliat is needed is more state and federal aid to local communities Hempstead Presiding Supervisor Rjlpli Caso leader of the Republican majority on the Ixiard of supervisors warned have to be vciy careful of the powers of lie agreed with Nickerson that the stale and federal governments should share more taxes ith communities Suffolk County Executive Dennison could not be reached for comment last night Gilbert Hanse (R-Baby-lon) chairman of the Suffolk board of supervisors said lie was still opposed to a sain tax on a local level but he said other areas of taxation might be explored Turning to another local tax problem Campbell said that liis committee had received many complaints at public bearings across the state about state-mandated costs to localities in which the state increased minimum salaries and retirement and other fringe benefits for public employees such as teachers police and firemen The committee sent to the convention a proposal that would bring fewer increases of this sort bv slowing down the process and permitting more opposition Campbell said Under the new provisions whenever the state wanted to lay additional costs on local governments the state would have to: (1) hold a public nearing (2) include a-statement of estimated additional annual costs to each jurisdiction in any proposed statute and (3) win passage of the bill at two successive calendar-year sessions of the legislature If the state wanted to put the statute into effect after the first year it would nave to pick up the costs for that year Nickerson lias been one of the chief advocates of a tougher system while public employee groups generally favor retaining the present system Though he favored the new tax plan Campbell said that it would be amended on the floor probably by Abraham Bcamc who favored an alternative system Tlic Bcamc proposal would allow a locally imposed tax to go into effect if the Legislature did not veto it within 30 divs Neither plan won a committee majority committee also recommended proposal' that would eliminate all references to sheriffs county ContinueJ on Pazc 63 the most recent federal census It would not apply to school districts or other special districts The Towns of 1 farmstead North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau and Islip Hunting folk could qualify Campbell said that the new tax plan was created to up new taxing areas for the and offered as an example a local surcharge on the state income tax Though he said that he was not suggesting such a tax he UPI Telephat THE BETTER TO SEE A workman climbs part of the world's largest optical collimator recently at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio The eight-story collimator will enable scientists to test all sizes of precision photographic lenses for accuracy and clarity 5 Friday -August 11 167.