West Hollywood : Council Delays Cable Decision

With Council Member Helen Albert absent, the City Council on Monday postponed until May 16 a decision on whether to revoke the cable television franchise of Century Communications Corp.

It was the second time in two weeks the council has delayed action on the matter. Albert, who is vacationing in Greece, has been an outspoken critic of the cable company, which has 12,000 West Hollywood subscribers.

Two weeks ago, the remaining four council members were split on whether to approve a resolution that would revoke the franchise unless the company’s problems were resolved in six months.

Cable subscribers have complained for months about poor picture quality, frequent service interruptions and inefficiency by the company’s customer service representatives.

Despite Albert’s absence, the council chose her on Tuesday to assume the largely ceremonial post of mayor. She will be sworn in next month. Abbe Land was chosen as mayor pro tem.

Meanwhile, Paul Koretz, an aide to former Mayor Alan Viterbi, was sworn in as the newest council member. He and Land, an incumbent, were easy winners in last week’s election to fill two at-large council seats. Viterbi did not seek reelection.