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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  2567 
 Before  the 
 Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of  ) 
 )  MM  Docket  No.  89-  120 
 Amendment  of  Section  73.202(  b),  )  RM-  6701 
 Table  of  Allotments,  )  RM-  6999 
 FM  Broadcast  Stations.  )  RM-  7000 
 (Northwye,  Cuba,  Waynesville,  )  RM-  7001 
 Lake  Ozark  and  Eldon,  Missouri)  ) 


 In  the  Matter  of  ) 
 ) 
 Amendment  of  Section  73.202(  b),  )  MM  Docket  No.  90-  195 
 Table  of  Allotments,  )  RM-  7152 
 FM  Broadcast  Stations.  ) 
 (Brookline,  Missouri)  ) 


 In  the  Matter  of  ) 
 ) 
 Amendment  of  Section  73.202(  b),  )  MM  Docket  No.  91-  352 
 Table  of  Allotments,  )  RM-  7866 
 FM  Broadcast  Stations.  ) 
 (Ava,  Branson,  and  ) 
 Mountain  Grove,  Missouri)  ) 


 In  the  Matter  of  ) 
 )  MM  Docket  No.  92-  214 
 Amendment  of  Section  73.202(  b),  )  RM-  8061 
 Table  of  Allotments,  )  RM-  8144 
 FM  Broadcast  Stations.  )  RM-  8145 
 (Columbia,  Bourbon,  Leasburg,  )  RM-  8146 
 Gerald,  Dixon,  and  Cuba,  Missouri)  )  RM-  8147 


 MEMORANDUM  OPINION  AND  ORDER  (Proceedings  Terminated) 
 Adopted:  October  31,  2001  ;  Released:  November  2,  2001 
 By  the  Chief,  Allocations  Branch: 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  2567 
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 1.  The  Allocations  Branch  has  before  it  petitions  for  reconsideration  filed  by  Lake 
 Broadcasting,  Inc.  (“  Lake”)  in  four  separate  rulemaking  proceedings.  Because  the  petitions  raise 
 essentially  the  same  issue,  we  consider  them  herein  in  a  single  order. 


 2.  Previously,  we  dismissed  Lake’s  petitions  for  reconsideration  in  these  four 
 proceedings  as  moot.  1  The  basis  for  this  determination  was  that  the  Commission  revoked  all  of 
 the  stations  licensed  to  Lake  or  controlled  by  its  principal  shareholder,  Michael  Rice.  The  U.  S. 
 Court  of  Appeals  for  the  D.  C.  Circuit  affirmed  those  actions,  and  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  denied 
 certiorari.  See  Contemporary  Media,  Inc.  et  al.,  v.  Federal  Communications  Commission,  214 
 F.  3d  187  (D.  C.  Cir  2000),  cert.  denied,  ___  U.  S.  __,  121  S.  Ct.  1355  (2001).  Rice  did  not  seek 
 rehearing  before  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. 


 3.  Lake  now  argues  that  this  determination  of  mootness  was  premature.  In  support  of 
 this  position,  Lake  contends  that,  at  the  time  the  reconsideration  petitions  were  filed,  it  continued 
 to  be  authorized  to  operate  its  stations  and  that  it  intended  to  file  with  the  Commission  a  request 
 for  extension  of  its  operating  authority  and  additional  equitable  relief.  As  a  result,  Lake  requests 
 that  the  staff  withhold  any  dismissal  action  pending  the  Commission’s  ultimate  resolution  of  its 
 request  for  special  equitable  relief. 


 4.  We  disagree  that  our  dismissal  of  the  four  reconsideration  petitions  as  moot  was 
 premature.  In  essence,  those  petitions  sought  upgrades  for  Lake’s  former  license  for  Station 
 KBMX(  FM),  Eldon,  MO,  and  its  former  construction  permit  for  Station  KFXE-  FM,  Cuba,  MO, 
 and  questioned  our  actions  in  some  of  these  proceedings  as  prejudicial  to  its  rulemaking  requests. 
 However,  those  stations  cannot  be  upgraded  because  those  authorizations  were  revoked,  and 
 those  actions  became  final  thirty  days  after  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  denied  certiorari.  In  any 
 event,  the  staff  of  the  Mass  Media  Bureau  recently  denied  Lake’s  request  for  special  equitable 
 relief,  finding  that  it  was  “an  untimely  and  collateral  challenge  to  a  proceeding  that  has  been  final 
 since  April  13,  2001,  the  deadline  for  seeking  rehearing  of  the  Supreme  Court’s  denial  of 
 certiorari.”  Public  Notice,  DA  01-  1441,  released  July  3,  2001,  at  5.  Further,  the  Commission 
 ordered  Rice  and  his  wholly-  owned  companies  to  cease  broadcast  operations  of  all  of  their 
 formerly  licensed  stations  no  later  than  11:  59  PM  on  October  3,  2001.  See  Memorandum 
 Opinion  and  Order,  FCC  01-  300,  released  October  3,  2001.  Under  these  circumstances,  Lakes’ 
 petitions  for  reconsideration  in  the  above-  captioned  proceedings  no  longer  need  be  considered. 


 1  The  petitions  for  reconsideration  in  Docket  Nos.  89-  120,  90-  195,  91-  352,  and  92-  214  were  dismissed  as  moot  in 
 four  separate  Memorandum  Opinion  and  Orders  at  16  FCC  Rcd  7982  (2001);  16  FCC  Rcd  8698  (2001);  16  FCC 
 Rcd  8701(  2001);  and  16  FCC  Rcd  8704  (2001),  respectively. 
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 5.  Accordingly,  the  petitions  for  reconsideration  filed  by  Lake  Broadcasting,  Inc.  in  the 
 above-  captioned  proceedings  ARE  DENIED. 


 6.  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  That  these  proceeding  ARE  TERMINATED. 
 . 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 John  A.  Karousos 
 Chief,  Allocations  Branch 
 Policy  and  Rules  Division 
 Mass  Media  Bureau 
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