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.

The most amazing thing about the recent cable television rate hike from Comcast Cablevision of Harford County is that it's only senior citizens who have raised a fuss about it.And they aren't even raising cane about the $2 monthly hike for what's called "preferred basic service." They're upset about having to provide detailed financial information to Comcast to get a discount to offset the monthly increase.The $2 monthly rate increase and the restrictions for the discount are both troubling.

Local officials who work with Prestige Cable TV Inc. appear most frustrated with two aspects of the company's service -- lack of a less expensive package of basic service and the mandatory remote control charge.Among the most vocal critics has been Westminster Mayor W. Benjamin Brown, who doesn't subscribe to the cable service.He has been critical of the firm for not offering a lower tier ofservices for senior citizens, who generally live on fixed incomes.A check of other cable firms showed most do offer a less expensive level of service.

Howard Community College officials held a series of meetings last week to discuss management of the school's athletic program following the departure of Athletic Director Tom Carbotti.Carbotti's $40,900-a-year job was one of five eliminated last month to tighten the school's budget."We are trying to make sure the basic services are maintained," said acting vice president and Dean of Students Maureen Kelly."Butare we going to feel the loss of the position? Yes. Everybody is hoping this is the worst and that it's going to get better."

The two cable television systems with monopolies on service in Baltimore and Baltimore County have announced rate increases effective in January and February.Subscribers to Baltimore County's Comcast Cablevision will see their rates increase on Jan. 1 by as much as 10 percent, according to a letter sent to cable subscribers this week with their monthly bills.According to the letter, signed by Comcast area vice president Stephen A. Burch, the rate for Preferred Basic Service, which offers about 40 channels, will rise from $20.90 to $22.99 a month.

They got the title wrong for tonight's latest world premiere movie on the USA cable network. Instead of "Love Kills," the film (at 9 on the basic service) could be named "Suspense Movie Cliches, 101" and taught as a visual aid for would-be moviemakers.They are all here: ominous camera angles, lurid lighting effects, false scares, darkened house stalkings, car chases and at least four potential suspects. Oh, and let's not forget the woman-in-peril, actress Virginia Madsen, who is in a constant state of anxiety.

County Executive Robert R. Neall is giving the Health Department a desperately needed infusion, rescuing basic services for at least 35,000 residents, from food inspections and rodent control to preschool vision screenings and care for the county's poorest children.In a break from the pattern of recent weeks, Neall announced yesterday he had scraped together $523,600 in county money to savecore public health services and 35 jobs.The Health Department was reeling from a $1.3 million cut in state aid that would have required ending eight programs and severely curtailing four others.

Make no mistake, Baltimore's new Basics supermarket on Fort Avenue in Locust Point is aiming itself at the young, urban, professional shopper.Tucked into a working-class neighborhood but close enough to gentrified rowhouses and waterfront condominiums, Basics has taken up residency in the new Southside Market Place -- an $11 million, 128,000-square-foot shopping plaza.The supermarket opened Sunday, but a grand opening is scheduled for the entire plaza Oct. 9.Combining an emphasis on low prices with such services as express home delivery and shopping by fax, Basics officials say they hope to go beyond the working-class neighborhood the store is centered in to attract upscale buyers as well.

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.

Monthly cable television rates for Carroll residents will rise $1.55 for basic service beginning March 1, the county's cable supplier said this week.Prestige Cable TV customers have been notified that basic service fees will increase from $18.95 to $20.50 per month."