Dateline Texas

Pirate broadcaster wins fight in court

SAN MARCOS A band of pirate radio broadcasters won a significant battle
in San Marcos municipal court last week when a jury acquitted station
cofounder Joe Ptak of three counts of operating a business in a
residential area.

Since its founding last spring, KIND Radio San Marcos, a 35 watt station
broadcasting at 105.9 FM, has defied municipal and federal effort to shut
it down. The complaints could have brought Ptak a $2,000 fine on each
charge, because the station broadcasts from his home.

The station provides 24houraday, sevendayaweek alternative
programming with a staff of 75 volunteers. The jury found that the radio
station was an acceptable "accessory use" in Ptak's residential neighborhood.

"One of our arguments was that this was an accessory use, like Boy Scouts
or Girls Scouts coming to one's home or gardening for a food bank," said
Jeffrey "Zeal" Stefanoff, another KIND Radio cofounder. "In its final
conclusion, the jury viewed it as a hobby and that it was allowable."

The verdict was the latest defeat for the city in efforts to close the
station. An error in an earlier complaint led to its being thrown out of
court.