LOS ANGELES COUNTY - News from Sept. 11, 1995

Hang-Ups About Phone Service: As California hurtles toward a free market in basic telephone service, an alliance of community and nonprofit groups wants to ensure that interested parties can voice their opinions. On Wednesday, the Universal Service Alliance plans a forum to solicit views on ways to make sure disadvantaged and elderly customers can gain access to basic telephone service once cable and long-distance companies begin competing with onetime monopolies, such as Pacific Bell and General Telephone of California. The meeting will take place near the Coliseum at the California Museum of Science and Industry, Technology Hall Conference Room, 700 State Drive, Los Angeles, from 9 a.m. to noon. The alliance includes the American Assn. of Retired Persons and the Los Angeles Urban League. The Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to have a public hearing about universal service at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at the State Office Building auditorium, 107 S. Broadway, Los Angeles.