OK – now that the redundant fiber line is active, can we hear the author celebrate and praise elected officials who promoted policies, public investments and ratepayer subsidies to make it happen?

I don’t play the repub/democrat game of who’s bestus. Both parties suck. But in the interest of fairness:

Growing Fiber Internet in Rural America: A Stimulus Success Story

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/rural-fiber-internet/

Not being from Humboldt (I’m in San Diego) but loving Humboldt, I often wonder why the business community there is so lame. I vacationed in Hawaii & Humbolt a few years ago, and Humboldt was far more beautiful. The place SHOULD be a tourist magnet. But the web presence of Humboldt is laughable. Really!!! No servers up there can handle a graphic larger than 3″ x 4″??? Pictures are worth a thousand words people. Big pictures of Trinidad Bay, the Lost Coast, the Kneeland forest area, Fieldbrook, Redwood National Park, Gingerbread Homes in Eureka and Ferndale just to mention a few. The place is incredibly beautiful, charming and filled with photo opps. Heck I could do better than your Chamber of Commerce with my eyes closes and one hand tied behind my back. Get out your cameras, put some cheap ads on Google.

Point out that the big cities are crumbling into anarchy and corruption. Humboldt could be a retirement paradise, or a paradise for people who telecommute. All you have to do is make it so.

I know I will be up there asap.

We’re fortunate to have innovators in our region who have figured out how to work around the limitations of remoteness and fragile public infrastructure.

And, it really is a political accomplishment that we have a single fiber spur in Humboldt County now. Thanks to all the visionary leaders here who made that happen! [Note: The substantial redundant broadband capacity available now (via microwave network) is really due to local enterprise of 101 Netlink.]

From the author’s complaint, can we gather that more political leadership and public investment in our broadband infrastructure is being promoted here?

So, it will be happy news to some that most of the resources being used to build Humboldt’s redundant fiber path (along Hwy 36/PG&E lines) are assets paid for by electric utility ratepayers with 40% of the cash investment provided by telecom ratepayers statewide through a subsidy mechanism called CASF that is managed by the State Public Utilities Commission.

As a measure of integrity – can we expect the author to celebrate and praise elected officials when a new redundant fiber is installed with public investments and ratepayer subsidies making it profitable?