Basic Service

Many cable customers in Maryland are taking a hard look at their monthly cable television bills and deciding they can live without Home Box Office, Cinemax and other "premium" channels.Cable operators say an increasing number of viewers in the Baltimore area are dropping the extra-pay channels while holding onto basic service, mirroring a national trend that began about two years ago.Many of those customers are migrating to pay-per-view television, for which there is no monthly charge, only a one-time charge that varies according to the event, from a few dollars for a first-run movie to $30 or more for a live prizefight.

WASHINGTON -- The House voted yesterday to reimpose some regulation on cable television, giving the federal government power to review prices if local governments complain.The unanimous voice vote came amid broad criticism of the industry, which many have accused of functioning as an unfettered monopoly since it was deregulated in 1984 by the Reagan administration.The House bill would give the Federal Communications Commission power to set rates for a "basic tier" of service, meaning traditional over-the-air stations, public television and government channels.

BERLIN -- Try making a business phone call in Hungary and you're likely to wait 20 seconds for a dial tone. Once you start dialing, you may get a busy signal after only three or four digits.And that's when you're lucky enough to find a phone -- there are only 7.5 phone hookups per 100 Hungarians, a recent survey shows.For Westerners used to closing deals with a quick business trip, a few phone calls or a fax, the daily hassles faced in Eastern Europe can be maddening.Just ask British advertising man Alan Asbridge.

Residents of an Elkridge subdivision say they have been waiting six years for the county to plow their street during snow storms. They have waited for more street lights to be installed and for police to cruise on patrols up their road.But Fairbourne Court in Canbury Woods cannot receive some of these basic services available in most neighborhoods because the street hasn't been "dedicated" by the county.And it won't be until its developer brings the street up to county standards. So far, the residents' six-year wait is about twice the typical delay.

As they struggle to meet Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker's order to cut spending by 12 percent in the next 2 1/2 years, some department heads have proposed cuts in essential services -- in effect, daring Mr. Ecker to make unpopular cuts or none at all."In some cases, the county executive is not accepting the cuts and is saying, 'Go back to the drawing board,' " Raymond Wacks, Mr. Ecker's budget administrator, said yesterday, declining to identify the departments or cuts. "In some cases he [Mr. Ecker]

WASHINGTON -- Holding out against fierce lobbying by the cable TV industry, the House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to cap rates for basic service and set national standards for customer protection.The 280-128 vote exceeded the two-thirds majority needed to override a threatened veto by President Bush (though it was short of the 289 votes needed if the whole House were to vote), but the bill must still clear the Senate, where the outcome is expected to be closer. A Senate vote could come next week.

WHEN A GROUP of citizens started a petition drive to loosen the strangling grip the tax cap has on county revenue, their effort seemed an uphill fight. The county desperately needs money to repair schools, pay public safety officers and fix roads, but would 10,000 citizens look past their tax bills to see that their quality of life was at risk? The answer, fortunately, is a resounding yes. At least 12,000 residents signed up. If 10,000 of those signatures are verified, voters will decide in November whether to amend the tax revenue cap. The cap works against every schoolchild, every motorist and everyone who wants top-notch police officers and firefighters.

Baltimore County Council members gave unanimous approval to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's $1.6 billion budget Thursday, having agreed to only minor spending cuts last week. The council voted last week to cut the budget by about $258,200 — a fraction of the $1.5 million recommended by the county auditor. Kamenetz trimmed dozens of jobs and pulled $61 million from reserves — nearly six times the amount used last year — to balance the budget, leaving property and income tax rates unchanged.

House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr.'s ambitious tax ideas -- an income tax cut balanced by a sales tax expansion -- drew a tepid response from legislators in Annapolis yesterday.Taylor startled lawmakers Wednesday when he said he wanted to cut the state's 5 percent sales tax rate. Yesterday, he reaffirmed his support for a rate cut but also made it clear that even with one, total sales taxes paid by Marylanders would increase because he also would apply the levy to some services now not taxed.

RAWAH, Iraq -- Few Americans are greeted as warmly by Iraqi soldiers serving in the western desert of Anbar province as Maj. John Bilas, a Marine from Camp Pendleton. He pays them. Tall and sturdily built, Bilas recently climbed aboard a Black Hawk helicopter in Baghdad and headed for Al Asad, a military base in Anbar, the heartland of Iraq's Sunni Arab-led insurgency. He carried more than $2 million in cash. Over the next several days, riding in Humvee convoys, he would make the dangerous journey across Anbar to outposts and bases to deliver the payroll for the soldiers of Iraq's 7th Army Division.