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The key public service commission document is here.

Following is the complaint sent to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission Saturday 9/15/12.  Edits, items not included in the original document, are being made on an ongoing basis.  They are marked “EDIT.”

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I am requesting PUC assistance with the following problems.  I strongly hope issues with this company will become a Commission agenda item, so that more inquiry/corrections may be made.

I am estimating the first report of my problems to CenturyLink as a year and a half ago (EDIT:  This may be as long as 5-6 year ago–that I noticed problems and reported them; I requested a history/timetable from CenturyLink representatives and they have not responded).  This week I have had additional major outages and I have spoken with and e-mailed over a dozen CenturyLink employees.

The problem I am having with my home phone is 1) extreme static, so much so that conversations often cannot be conducted; the problem is intermittent and 2) frequent outages; I can specify at least seven over the recent past.  (EDIT:  At least) Six service employees have been to my home and have not fixed the problems.  This week I was told several times “we cannot fix the problem.”

Now CenturyLink construction is occurring in my neighborhood for network maintenance and/or upgrades that will last approximately/at least five more weeks.  There was a prolonged outage Tuesday 9/11.  I was told by David Schmidt “you are going to have outages” (plural).  I asked for a schedule and pre-outage notifications and was told “Want me to send a letter saying no dates or service assurances?  I will.”

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Further, I submit the following.  This, and more information are contained on my blog:  http://pcpfeiffer.com/columns.  I will also post e-mails online, with a link to be provided in the blog.

Rule 2004 (p. 31)  Must provide contact information for External Affairs Section of the commission; this was asked-for and refused.  I was told “go on the internet and find it,” then hung up on.

CenturyLink is required to automatically provide bill credits for certain outages (Rule 2304).  They do not do this:  they require customers to call a different department (billing) which has limited business hours, and attempt to obtain a billing adjustment.  During a 24-hour period this Tuesday and Wednesday of this week my phone was not working for more than eight hours.

2333 (p. 135) Plant and equipment to provide uniform service quality and safety of persons and property; neighborhood service is below other areas, my line is described by CenturyLink employees as  “the worst,” and construction is dangerous (e.g., unrepaired holes in road; lack of fire department/sheriff notification road-blocking).

2334 (p. 136) LEC must coordinate with other entities concerning construction; this is not done, e.g., the road has been completely blocked and fire/sheriff departments have not been notified.  Further, I could find no information online for a permit; Gary Dietz of CenturyLink provided a permit number and county contact when asked but this information does not correspond with county records.

I was going to list specifics of all violations and individual “rules” not followed.  I am hoping the list at the end of this post will suffice; please let me know if additional information is needed..  I am hoping the Commission or staff will ask/insist that CenturyLink executives comply with these regulations.

2308. Local Exchange Service Standards.

(a) Basic service standard. As part of its obligation to provide adequate basic local exchange service, each LEC shall construct and maintain its telecommunications network so that the instrumentalities, equipment, and facilities within the network shall be adequate, efficient, just, and reasonable in all respects in order to provide the following services or capabilities to each of its customers within its service area.

2310. Availability of Service — Adequacy of Facilities.

Each LEC shall employ prudent management planning practices, including budgeting and prioritizing resources, to ensure that adequate facilities and equipment are in service to provide service to prospective customers in its service territory and in areas certificated to the LEC in conformance with the LEC’s line extension policy.

Part of the problem in my area is that the “box” is full–there are no more phone lines available and this has been the case for months if not years.  The service person at my home Thursday called and attempted to move my line to a better connection; he was told none are available. Connections appear to vary.  None are available and they are not uniform.

Rule 2335 – Service interruptions for an extended time due to maintenance requirements shall be performed at a time that causes minimal inconvenience to impacted customers. The LEC shall take reasonable steps to notify the customer in advance of extended maintenance requirements. The LEC shall also make emergency service available when the provider knows that the service interruption affects 1,000 or more access lines and when the provider knows, based upon the prior experience of the LEC, that the interruption may last more than four hours during the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. If the LEC cannot provide emergency service, it shall file a report of the occurrence as required by paragraph 2143(h).

2336. Adequacy of Service.

(a) Each LEC and toll service provider shall employ prudent management and engineering practices so that sufficient equipment and adequate personnel are available at all times, including the average busy hour of the busy season. To meet this objective, each LEC and toll service provider shall conduct traffic studies, employ reasonable procedures for forecasting future service demand and maintain the records necessary to demonstrate to the Commission that sufficient equipment is in use and that an adequate operating force is provided.

This does not apply to my home phone problem, but Evergreen is not considered a Denver metro exchange or an area where “effective competition” exists.

To summarize, per PUC regulations, the most serious problems are:

1. Failure to repair known, reported service problems.
2. Failure to make adequate network repairs necessary to provide uniform, working service to all customers.
3. Failure to attempt to notify to customers of “extended maintenance requirements.”
4. Failure to perform maintenance requirements at times that will minimize inconvenience to customers.
5. Failure to provide appropriate/sufficient network capacity.
6. Failure to comply with local permit/work area regulations.
7. Failure to provide emergency services during outages.  (Per Russ Wittig, CenturyLink technician, the work in my area affects “1,000 households; plus there are hundreds of businesses in the area.  EDIT:  I have asked repeatedly for interim, dependable service; per David Schmidt:  “We would do it if you were a business.”  I do operate a small business out of my home; to me the implication is ‘you don’t pay enough.’)
8. Failure to maintain adequate records of underground cables in order to prevent accidental cutting of cables.  (Per Gabe Kishimoter, CenturyLink technician, “We don’t know where they are.”)
9. Failure to provide automatic billing adjustments for extended service interruptions.
10. Failure to provide adequate, appropriate staffing “at all times.”
11. Failure to provide, when asked, contact information for Public Utilities Commission staff assistance.

Overall there is a strong failure to comply.  The above list may not be exhaustive.  It seems endemic, systemic, and intentional.  Without question others in my immediate area are similarly affected and logic suggests this is happening elsewhere in the state.  I have asked CenturyLink employees on numerous occasions to provide such services and have been rebuked.  I have conversation notes, e-mails, photographs, and third parties (e.g., county officials) as evidence.

The most disturbing problem, aside from my continued lack of properly-working services, is CenturyLink employees’ attempts cancel–or coerce me to voluntarily cancel–their services.  Friday 9/14 I was called and explicitly told (virtually yelled-at) “Take your service elsewhere.”  I was then told I have the weekend to “decide” and that I would be called again on Monday to elicit a decision.  I don’t know if CenturyLink is going to cancel my service or not–there are strict regulations prohibiting that except under very specific conditions.  The phone call was so disturbing I considered contacting law enforcement authorities; I informed David Schmidt in writing that he may not e-mail or call me–if he does it again I will go to my local sheriff.  Two CenturyLink service representatives I spoke with Friday afternoon refused to do anything and an e-mail sent to general customer support has still not be replied-to.  I must characterize this exhortation as revenge–revenge based on my insistence that the above-listed failures be corrected.

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I have spoken with and/e-mailed from CenturyLink:  David Schmidt, Tamara Neher, Mike McDonald, Chris Brown, Frank Kassay, Gary Dietz, and many others.

I am requesting:  repair, refund, apology, and record and investigate by the PUC.

Friday 9/14 I spoke with Gladys Rey and submitted information about the potential/threatened disconnection of my phone service.  I apologize for the overlap/redundancy.

I’ve done my homework.

Roberta J. Moore.  She is the next up the line and she is responsible.  Managers are responsible for everything–people, budgets, environment, customers–within, well their area of responsibility.

So the question for today is, What will Roberta J. Moore do?  She could….

P.S.  Reminder to self:  No more phone calls!  If you’d like to talk with me you may make an appointment and come to my home…

Yesterday while I was on the phone–an important call–my home phone and internet went out.  There was no communication whatsoever from CenturyLink.

1. First I had to find the contractor supervisor and argue with him (Saul Farias, Advanced Underground).  He said “It’s gonna be a while.”  No CenturyLink employees were on site.  He said “You can call repair.”
2. I drove across the highway where a CenturyLink truck was located.  Rich Woodward was obstinate (“It’s not my fault, I’m working with dead wires”)  and not helpful.  I stood on the side of the highway for some twenty minutes while he was inside the truck.  I asked to speak with the CenturyLink person responsible/in charge of the site and he refused.  He said a repair person would come to my home, seemingly, immediately.
3. I drove home and checked again; still out.
4. I drove back to the work site with a bill/CenturyLink contact numbers.  The contractor supervisor let me use his cellular phone and I called.  After some fifteen minutes of voice response menus and seemingly nothing, I was disconnected.
5. I saw a CenturyLink truck in my neighborhood (Russ Wittig) and followed him; he was going to/at a park parking lot.  He called again for repair and gave me his card and the name of his supervisor.  I gave him the supervisor’s cell phone to return it.
6. I drove across the highway to the only known pay phone in the area.  I called repair:  after some fifteen minutes of voice response systems and speaking with a representative I was disconnected again (seemingly a payphone time limit).  I called back–a third time–and asked to speak with Mike McDonald, the local repair supervisor whose name I was given by Russ Wittig and was connected with his voice mail.  I asked to speak with him, not be put into his voice mail; this meant the end of the call.  I explained the outage; told him all I knew:  a cable was cut and “it will be a while;” I asked for compensation for my driving, time, and extreme frustration.  I asked why there was no one with CenturyLink onsite.
7. Because my internet service did not work I had to drive to Denver (Lakewood) to deposit a check (normally I can do it electronically).
8. Later that day

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 

 

 

I can’t believe this is still there.

Sally Jenkins, I have lost all faith in you.  This one is a little better:  No we don’t know whether Lance is guilty or not and it is mildly curious why he never failed a drug test but is now being declared a violator.

I suspect there is rationality behind that, namely that individual tests do not constitute the whole of the evidence.  Further, even more logical, drug testing and performance enhancing drugs is a new and dynamic field and it makes sense that testing procedures would improve.  I confess that I don’t know all the facts of the USADA investigation–I don’t believe they have been made public–but there seems no reason to believe this was a witch hunt or an act of personal vengeance.  Sometimes justice must work this way:  go after the big guys and hope others will follow.

I do remember good things about Lance Armstrong.  His career definitely helped promote cycling in the U.S., and for me it led to following the Tour de France and learning about the sport.  I became especially fond of watching on television–I liked the pace, the scenery, and the opportunity for storytelling relating to the race and racers.  I particularly like the cycling announcers Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin and I believe they are linked to the sport and responsible for the great telecasts.

No, I don’t know and this is not libel it is just my opinion.  Here’s what I think.  Lance Armstrong is a smart guy and a good manager.  He is/was a gifted athlete and that meant he could earn a spot in the filed.  He was absolutely involved in every single effort to gain every second, from bicycles to gear to clothing, plus training, team management, and everything else that went into the overall effort.  Vitamins, medication, and yes, performance enhancers, are/were part of this regimen; in this ultra-grueling sport the were a part of the culture.  They were the norm.  One of the many challenges of being a champion was finding a way to do it better.

And I believe that is what Lance Armstrong did.  He managed very, very effectively to do it better (seven straight wins), and how to not cross the line and get caught.  Now, overall, the preponderance of the evidence is that he was guilty.

Now, back to the sport…  Cycling had a huge, a massive problem.  It was something that had the potential to kill the competitive side of the sport completely.  The only solution was to make every conceivable effort to stop the doping.  Survival depended on it.  It had to be innovative, persistent, and fearless.  And no one could be beyond its reach.

http://mashable.com/2012/04/27/wordpress-photography-themes/#605196-Portfolium

http://wpshower.com/demo/?theme=portfolium

http://www.wpzoom.com/design/10-wordpress-themes-designed-for-photo-galleries/

http://www.freewebsitetemplates.com/

http://www.hookit.com/members/eyebum/

I am writing to ask that Agriculture Secretary John Salazar, or his designee, assist with eradicating noxious weeds in my neighborhood.  I request that the Department of Agriculture 1) initiate an eradication effort and/or 2) investigate and enforce civil penalties per CRS 35-5.5-118 against Jefferson County officials responsible for continued inaction.

Relevant statutes include but are not limited to :  responsibilities, private lands, and civil penalties.

Specifics

I live in Evergreen in an unincorporated portion of Jefferson County.  There is a severe noxious weed presence in my neighborhood and in my local open space park.  The infestation includes adjacent properties to mine and creeps onto my property.  About two years ago I began to look seriously into the problem.  Efforts to eradicate the problem through local government (Jefferson County) have been completely fruitless; the problem appears to be getting worse.  I have also communicated extensively with Steve Ryder, Eric Lane, and Patty York of your department; Ms. York has been to my home and neighborhood and has documented the problem.

Key e-mails and photographs are posted here.

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has failed to “adopt a noxious weed management plan” as required by CRS 35-5.5-105; I, and Agriculture employees, have requested a plan in writing on numerous occasions.  Per the e-mail (unsolicited) from Ms. Doran her requirements a) are not confirmed by a written plan from the Board and b) conflict dramatically with eradication procedures required by statute.  Put simply, Jefferson County employees are very aware of the problems in my neighborhood and refuse to take eradication and/or other action.  Myrtle spurge is a particular problem both on private and public (county) property.  Dalmation toadflax is also absolutely taking over the Elk Meadow open space park.

Finally, after numerous requests from me county representatives sprayed the right of ways in my neighborhood close to two years ago; it was ineffective.  At my request it was done again about three months ago.  Myrtle spurge is still thriving around my home and in my neighborhood.  I suggest the county is wasting money:  It would be far more efficient to eradicate the weeds as required.

I suggest Alicia Doran (“Jefferson County Weed & Pest”), the Jefferson County Board members, and Ralph Schell, county administrator are all individually culpable in this matter.

As noted, employees of the Agriculture Department are aware of this problem.  I had several productive discussions with Ms. York and, approximately two months ago I informed her that I must make additional, escalation efforts.  She was to get back to me and that never occurred.  Therefore, I am writing to the Agriculture commissioner directly.

Summary

I believe this constitutes a viable summary of the situation.  Need I include the following?  It is dangerous, annoying, costly, time-consuming, unsightly, home value affecting, etc.  And this obstinance absolutely conflicts with what other counties/municipalities are doing and what is required by law.  Anyway, if further information is needed please contact me.

Peter Pfeiffer

The question is, is the Board of Commissioners responsible for the actions of the sheriff?  Does the board have oversight responsibility?  I am pretty sure they do have budget responsibility.  The board can sue and be sued.  Statutes relating to county officers begin here.

The duties of sheriff are poorly defined (unspecific), described only as “30-10-516. Sheriffs to preserve peace – command aid.”  Sheriffs have considerable discretion.  Unlike commissioners, statutes do not specifically say they can be sued; in other words, sovereign immunity seems to apply.

A sheriff has complete hire and fire authority of undersheriffs and deputies.  Any official capacity lapse by subordinates is the responsibility of the sheriff.

Nothing in statute absolves the sheriff from public corruption (e.g., falsification of public records) violations.

The Board of Commissioners is responsible for the budget and in this respect has authority over the sheriff.

http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1961&issue_id=122009

• CYA bias, but, “discretion to the point of deliberate indifference may result in civil liability;” Okin v. Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Dept.; concept of public duty doctrine.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-ruling-should-spur-domestic-violence-reform/

• suggests Inter-American Commission on Human Rights decision should spur domestic violence reform; good summary of Castle Rock.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1192547.html

• Okin v. Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Dept.

http://www.aclu.org/blog/human-rights-womens-rights/protection-domestic-violence-human-right

 http://www.law.miami.edu/hrc/hrc_gonzalez_usa.php

• details of the IACHR case/decision; this case is about private/domestic violence, NOT police duties more generally.

http://www.jessicagonzalesvsunitedstates.com/Jessicas_Story.html

• documentary film in production.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525280/

• GWU/public health article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062700580.html

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that federal law provides no guarantee of a specific police response to domestic violence complaints, even when a restraining order has been issued against a potential perpetrator.

“It’s not about being protected. Nobody is asking for miracles. She was asking for police to take her calls seriously, which is what procedural due process — fairness — is all about,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html

• similarly excellent (Gonzales filed in Federal court in Colorado)

The theory of the lawsuit Ms. Gonzales filed in federal district court in Denver was that Colorado law had given her an enforceable right to protection by instructing the police, on the court order, that “you shall arrest” or issue a warrant for the arrest of a violator. She argued that the order gave her a “property interest” within the meaning of the 14th Amendment’s due process guarantee, which prohibits the deprivation of property without due process.

The district court and a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit dismissed the suit, but the full appeals court reinstated it and the town appealed. The Supreme Court’s precedents made the appellate ruling a challenging one for Ms. Gonzales and her lawyers to sustain.

A 1989 decision, DeShaney v. Winnebago County, held that the failure by county social service workers to protect a young boy from a beating by his father did not breach any substantive constitutional duty. By framing her case as one of process rather than substance, Ms. Gonzales and her lawyers hoped to find a way around that precedent.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_procedural_due_process_and_substantive_due_process

http://www.stanford.edu/group/psylawseminar/Substantive%20Due%20Process.htm

Procedural Due Process

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/due_process

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment05/12.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_process

http://nationalparalegal.edu/conlawcrimproc_public/DueProcess/SubstantiveFundamentalRights.asp

http://nationalparalegal.edu/conlawcrimproc_public/dueprocess/proceduraldueprocess.asp

Property –

http://civilrights.uslegal.com/due-process-violation/procedural-due-process/deprivation-of-property/

SELECTIVE (POLICE) ENFORCEMENT

Rule of law

http://www.ncdsv.org/publications_castlerock.html

• good list of links–articles indicating Castle Rock is at fault, from the time.

http://www.constitution.org/brief/forsythe_42-1983.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1871

 TownofCastleRockVGonzalez.doc