The FCC has identified two applications east of Los Angeles as the selectees for LPFM construction permits on a timeshare basis after the initial selectee failed to respond to a petition to deny.
Fontana-based Heme Aqui Church, with an application for Cucamonga, the Pomona-based Iglesia Ministerios Voz De Jubilo, with an application in Glendora and the MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) Coalition, located in San Dimas, were the tentative selectees in a mutually exclusive group. Each organization had filed LPFM applications to broadcast on 101.5 FM during the December 2023 window.
All three applications were technically short-spaced to second-adjacent Los Angeles stations 101.1 KRTH(FM) and 101.9 KSCA(FM), both transmitting from Mount Wilson approximately 15 miles away. However, each applicant filed technical waivers stating that the second-adjacent stations would be adequately protected.
Initial selectee faces petition
Initially, Iglesia was named the selectee through the FCC’s standard tiebreaking process for MX groups. Heme and MENA tied for second. MENA subsequently filed a petition to deny Iglesia’s application, which argued that Iglesia had misrepresented the address of its president, Roberto G. Melena, in its application. MENA also alleged that Iglesia’s voting structure violated California law, that its listed main studio address — a residential location — was not a viable site, and that neither the board members’ residences nor the organization’s headquarters satisfied LPFM localism requirements.
Before the commission weighed MENA’s claims, the Media Bureau instructed Iglesia in February to respond to the allegations raised by Mena, according to the commission’s account. It warned that failure to do so would result in dismissal of the application for failure to prosecute.
Missing engineer
In response, Iglesia representative Roberto Garcia informed the commission that he had been unable to reach the group’s engineer and did not know how to respond to a petition.
As of the date of the FCC’s decision, Iglesia had still not filed an opposition, the commission said.
(Read the commission’s decision for LPFM MX Group 12.)
Accordingly, the FCC said that it dismissed Iglesia’s application and each of MENA’s claims in its petition was deemed moot.
The commission said that it rejected Iglesia’s argument “that it is unable to contact its broadcast engineer who may have made errors in its application and that Iglesia is unfamiliar with the commission’s procedures.
“The commission has long held that errors made by engineering consultants are not an excuse for failure to adhere to the rules,” the FCC wrote.
Heme Church and MENA Coalition move to timeshare
That leaves Heme and MENA as the remaining applicants in the MX group. The FCC directed both organizations to enter the 90-day period for submitting a voluntary time-share proposal.
There is a 30-day window for filing petitions to deny either application.
The MENA Coalition says it intends to use the LPFM station to promote Arabic culture and teach Arab American values to parents and children. Heme Church plans to use the LPFM for religious teachings and to spread a message of “hope and compassion.”
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