Koce

Silver was a great administrator I would like to say that Ray Silver is an excellent administrator. He's always been very cooperative with me. I think he's great and I think it's going to be a tremendous loss for the city, but, you know, whatever the man wants to do. JAMES BRIDGES Huntington Beach KOCE should not go to religious group I think it is shameful to even consider the sale of KOCE to a ...

KOCE-TV, the only public TV station in Orange County, will remain in the hands of its foundation, as the Daystar Television Network has reached a settlement to drop its ongoing lawsuit and its bid for ownership of the station. Last week, attorneys for Daystar, a Texas-based Christian broadcaster, and the KOCE-TV Foundation worked out a confidential settlement that would leave KOCE under the foundation's control. The settlement was finalized Tuesday, and the Coast Community College District ?

The Coast Community College District board of trustees has voted to appeal the latest court decision regarding KOCE-TV after a public meeting in which a number of residents spoke in support of keeping the television station public. During a closed session after their regular meeting June 21, the members opted to appeal an appellate court ruling from last month, in which the judge said the district violated its own bidding rules by selling KOCE to the station's foundation. The Daystar Television Network, a Christian broadcaster that operates stations across America, made a higher cash bid and sued shortly after the sale.

It is beginning to look less and less likely that public TV station KOCE will remain in the hands of the Coast Community College District. Last month, an appellate court ruled that the district violated the law in 2004 by selling the state to the KOCE-TV Foundation, which is intent on keeping the station public. The judge did not hand the station over to the other bidder, Christian broadcaster Daystar, but did void the sale to the foundation. Those who have been following this years-long struggle know that most people in Orange County served by the station, including us, believe KOCE should stay a PBS-affiliate and not become part of Daystar's Christian TV empire.

Marisa O'Neil The Academic Senate of Golden West College passed a resolution on Tuesday urging the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees to vote against selling KOCE, Orange County's only public broadcasting channel. The vote came a day after the L.A.-based public broadcasting channel KCET-TV announced that the channel and the KOCE Foundation had mutually agreed to dissolve the partnership it had forged to put in an $11-million bid to retain KOCE's format.

There is an old Chinese proverb -- occasionally credited to the Roman Seneca -- that goes: "The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." The same seems to be true of Orange County's public television station. KOCE-TV certainly has gone through more than its share of troubles during the past months as the Coast Community College District debated to whom it should sell the station, which due to budget troubles it could no longer afford to support.

Jenny Marder Judgment day for Orange County's only public television station is rapidly approaching. Final bidding for KOCE-TV closed Wednesday and board members are expected to make a decision in one week's time. Faced with budget cuts, the Coast Community College District can no longer afford to fork over $2 million a year to support the station's operating budget, KOCE spokeswoman Erin Cohn said. The road for the struggling station has taken several twists and turns over the past seven months, since the station was first placed on the market.

Jenny Marder Ten prospective buyers are vying for ownership of KOCE-TV, leaving board members with the daunting task of weighing cash against the station's legacy as Orange County's local news source. Supporters, who feel its programming is vital and would like to keep it local, are praying that it doesn't go to the highest bidder. Of the 10 bids, the highest have come from religious ministries, said Mel Rogers, president of the station located at Golden West College.

Jenny Marder Huntington Beach's local public TV station is up for sale, but district officials are hoping that its nonprofit ally will swoop in and buy them out. Losing KOCE-TV would mean losing the only source of local TV news coverage in the county since the Orange County News Channel went under in September 2001. But station officials are hopeful that the KOCE-TV Foundation will raise enough to save the station and its local programming. Faced with major budget cuts, the Coast Community College District, which has been funding $2 million of the station's $7.9 million annual budget, is no longer able to foot the bill.

Marisa O'Neil and Jeff Benson The KOCE-TV Foundation officially takes over Orange County's only public broadcasting channel today, after more than a year of fundraising, legal wrangling and nail-biting. Coast Community College District trustees voted 4-0 Wednesday to give the final OK for the foundation to take over the station after having placed the winning bid more than a year ago. Since then, the sale faced a legal challenge from a spurned bidder, financing difficulty and FCC approval.