In October 2022, a Class B radio station at 1080 kHz serving the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz market was handed a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture for improper power output — a problem that extended across some 25 years.
Now, the station is in potential hot water with the FCC again for antenna tower lighting issues.
Zwerling Broadcasting on Wednesday was sent a Notice of Violation from Enforcement Bureau Regional Director for Region Three Lark Hadley that spells out why KSCO-AM has run afoul of FCC rules. And, it has to do with the replacing or repairing of lights on antenna structure number 1053097.
The NOV also involves an initial inability to reach Zwerling’s offices. As Hadley points out, an agent from the Enforcement Bureau’s San Francisco office set out to respond to a complaint about the KSCO antenna tower having no lights after dark. On January 29, the agent attempted to phone Zwerling Broadcasting on the number listed in FCC’s Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) database for the Antenna Structure, but could not get through.
It was not until February 4 thanks to subsequent e-mail and telephone exchanges with a company representative that the agent was told the contact information listed in ASR database was incorrect. That’s a violation of 47 CFR § 17.4(b).
Then, there’s the matter of tower lighting after dark. A Zwerling representative told the Enforcement Bureau agent that the company had notified the FAA of the lighting outage on the antenna structure and filed two Notices to Airmen that were active from January 26 to December 24, 2024.
That’s a problem, as Zwerling needed to extend the second NOTAM when it expired on that date.
But there’s a third matter that the FCC will be taking up with Zwerling: “Replacing or repairing of lights, automatic indicators or automatic control or alarm systems shall be accomplished as soon as practicable,” Commission rules state.
During an April 28, 2025 telephone call with the Enforcement Bureau agent, a Zwerling representative confirmed that the lighting on the tower registered under ASR 1053097 still has not been repaired.
This prompted Hadley to send Zwerling the NOV seeking additional information concerning the violations and any remedial actions taken. The company has 20 days from May 14 to offer its response to the NOV.
