DC Circuit Should Reject Foundation for a Beautiful Life Stay Request, FCC Says

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should deny Chinese-language radio broadcaster Foundation for a Beautiful Life’s emergency request for a stay order to allow its Saratoga, California, low-power FM station to continue broadcasting, the FCC said in an opposition filing Tuesday. “Given the company’s clear and repeated flouting of FCC rules and procedures, the Bureau was fully justified in refusing to authorize FBL to operate the station.” FBL constructed its station in Saratoga several miles from the Cupertino location in which it was licensed, and continued broadcasting after having its license application dismissed and without waiting for the agency to rule on a special temporary authority request the FCC said was improperly submitted. FBL sought the STA to provide information on COVID-19 to Cupertino’s Mandarin-speaking population, the FCC filing said. “FBL has no right to operate a radio station in northern California because it has never obtained a license from the Federal Communications Commission to do so."