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NEW DELHI: A Department of Telecom (DoT) official on Thursday told the special CBI court hearing the 2G spectrum scam case that a report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in 2010 had said it was "not feasible" to auction spectrum.

Deposing as a prosecution witness, Viresh Goel, DoT's deputy advisor (MN), told special CBI judge O P Saini that Trai's report had said spectrum should be given to new operators at a "reasonably low price".

"In paragraph 3.116 (of the Trai report), it is mentioned that spectrum to the new operators should be given at a reasonably low price. It is further stated that this was the reason that the figure of Rs 1,659 crore (entry fee) was maintained for so many years. It is correct that in paragraph 3.46 (of the Trai report) it is mentioned that in the view of the authority, it was not feasible to auction the spectrum in 800, 900 and 1800 MHz band," Goel said.

Goel, who was on deputation in Trai from January 2010 to June 2011, said he had provided the data to CBI regarding adjusted gross revenue (AGR) per MHz on behalf of Trai but he was not aware about gross revenue.

Besides Goel, the court also recorded the statement of prosecution witness Vinod Kumar Budhiraja, chief regulatory officer of Etisalat DB Telecom (P) Ltd. He said Associated Hotels (P) Ltd, allegedly a sister concern of DB Realty, had taken a property belonging to accused R K Chandolia, ex-private secretary of former telecom minister A Raja, on rent for its guest house in Safdarjung Development Area.

Budhiraja said the property was taken on rent with the help of Chandolia's broker. The witness said he did not know if there was any influence in decision-making of Associated Hotels (P) Ltd from directors of DB Realty or anyone else on behalf of the company.

"It is correct that neither Shahid Balwa (promoter of Swan Telecom) nor Vinod Goenka (MD of DB Realty) ever contacted me to find out accommodation for themselves for the purpose of a guest house. It is correct that brokers keep the name of the owner secret from the prospective tenants till the finalization of the deal," he said. Budhiraja said till the time of signing the lease deed for the rented premises, he did not know that it belonged to Chandolia.

"There was no pre-plan to take the premises of Chandolia. It was just a coincidence," he said, adding, "I did not find anything unusual or illegal in taking the premises of Chandolia on lease. It was done in ordinary course of business. This premises was taken on rent on March 9, 2009. This is more than a year after issuance of UAS licence to Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd. The deal was finalized as the rent of Rs 63,000 per month was lower than other accommodation seen by us."

Budhiraja, whose cross-examination will continue on Friday, said this transaction was not made to show any favour to Chandolia who was then private secretary to Raja. "No one from DB Realty or Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd knew about this transaction between Chandolia and Associated Hotels (P) Ltd. Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka never discussed this matter with me," he said.

He said that during the recording of statement by CBI's investigating officer, he had said this was a bonafide transaction but the officer did not record this.

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Trai opposed spectrum auction: DoT official tells court

Beware of candidates bearing narratives.

Crafted by consultants and borne to voters by conservative talk radio and liberal-leaning blogs, campaign narratives are aimed at carrying their authors to campaign cash and, ultimately, victory at the polls.

That’s certainly the case with the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts. Supporters of the two top candidates, Wrentham Republican incumbent Scott Brown and Cambridge Democrat Elizabeth Warren, have sought to portray them as underdogs despite the massive fundraising advantages each will enjoy during the race.

A WBUR/MassInc poll released Tuesday showed voters consider Brown, who won the 2010 special election to replace the late Edward Kennedy, and Warren, a Harvard law professor, as candidates willing to “stand up for regular people.” But both are wealthy by most any standard, with Warren earning over $500,000 last year, and Brown owning several properties, as noted by a WBUR report.

In the poll of 503 likely voters, 46 percent said they backed Warren while 43 percent said they supported Brown, figures that are within the margin of error.

Voters conceive their own narratives, of course. At a Saturday morning caucus meeting of Ward 15 Democrats on Meetinghouse Hill, some voiced their concern about how Warren can win over their more conservative brethren.

Ed Cook, a Warren supporter who is considered a political bellwether locally, said the candidate came across as too professorial at a January gathering of Dorchester Democrats at Florian Hall.

“She’s a brilliant woman,” he said. “We all admire her.” When Warren was talking about her middle class childhood, “I was moved,” Cook said. But when she started talking about issues, particularly economic ones, “She switched gears and became a college professor,” he said, with the talk rising to the 30,000-foot level and turning toward the wonky. “She has to come down to the Meetinghouse Hill level,” he said.

Former City Councillor Maureen Feeney, who attended the caucus, told the small crowd of activists that she agreed with Cook. “It’s that, ‘Don’t lecture me,’ ” Feeney said.

For her part, when asked about Cook’s comments at a meeting of Ward 16 Democrats a few days later, Warren said, “All I can tell you is that I’m not a professional politician. I’ve been a teacher all my life. And I’ll learn how to run for office. I’m doing my best. I hope I get better over time.”

Galvin write-in campaign for First Suffolk committeeman
Former District 3 City Council candidate Craig Galvin has launched a write-in campaign for First Suffolk Democratic committeeman. The post has been held for state Sen. Jack Hart, a South Boston Democrat who decided to relinquish the party slot.

Galvin said he is campaigning as a write-in for the seat, which will be featured on the March 6 presidential primary ballot, because a clerical error prevented his nomination signatures from being certified.

Galvin said he has the support of Dorchester’s State House delegation, including Hart, District 3 City Councillor Frank Baker, and state Reps. Marty Walsh, Linda Dorcena Forry, and Nick Collins.

Former District 3 City Councillor Feeney, now serving as the city clerk, is the First Suffolk Democratic committeewoman. Galvin was one of seven candidates who ran to replace Feeney in 2010 after she said she would not run for another term.

Candidates pull nomination papers
Nomination papers last week became available for the Democratic and Republican state primaries. Members of the heavily Democratic Dorchester delegation appear set to run for re-election.

State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, who represents the Second Suffolk District, pulled her papers, as did her First Suffolk District colleague, Sen. Hart, who has served since 2001.

In the House, Russell Holmes (Sixth Suffolk), Rep. Forry (Twelfth Suffolk) and Rep. Walsh (Thirteenth Suffolk) have all picked up their papers. Ditto for Fifth Suffolk District freshman state Rep. Carlos Henriquez and perennial candidate Althea Garrison.

Longtime incumbent state Rep. Gloria Fox (Seventh Suffolk) will likely face a challenge from local activist Jed Hresko.

A caveat: Pulling papers does not necessarily mean someone will launch a campaign.

The job of Suffolk County Register of Probate looks like it could be the subject of a contested race, with East Boston City Councillor Sal LaMattina and Patricia (Patty) Campatelli pulling papers as Democrats, and an independent, Steve A. Wise, also possibly joining the fray.

If LaMattina, who is popular with fellow elected officials in Suffolk County, wins, a special Council election will likely be scheduled, since city councillors are not up for reelection until fall 2013.

Over the weekend, at caucuses outside of his City Council district, City Council President Stephen Murphy introduced his City Council colleague. LaMattina’s district currently includes East Boston, Charlestown, and the North End.

Potential candidates for the Council seat could include Danny Ryan, who previously ran for the seat; former House aides Jason Aluia and Dan Toscano, and City Hall aides Ernani DeAraujo and Stephen Passacantilli.

The state primary is scheduled for Thurs., Sept. 6, though there has been chatter on Beacon Hill about changing the date since it conflicts with the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

Along with state representative and state Senate races, the following positions will also be on the September ballot: U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor’s Council, county commission, and clerk of courts. May 1 is the deadline to submit signatures for certifications. Potential candidates must have 300 signatures for state Senate and 150 signatures for the House of Representatives.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Material from State House News Service was used in this report. Check out updates to Boston’s political scene at The Lit Drop, located at dotnews.com/litdrop. Email us at newseditor@dotnews.com and follow us on Twitter: @LitDrop and @gintautasd.

Originally posted here:
Reporter's Notebook:Dot supporters give Warren style points

As the scoundrels arrived to look for parking, little did the unsuspecting offenders of decency know that an undercover sting had been set up to ruin their day.

I'd written two columns on the fraudulent use of disabled-driver placards in downtown Los Angeles, and the city's Department of Transportation was swooping in for a crackdown. My only regret was that department chief Jaime de la Vega claimed he had other things to do, so there went my chance of riding shotgun with him in his Hummer.

We gathered at 6:30 a.m. Friday. My fellow crime busters included DOT officials and undercover officers and Councilman Dennis Zine, who had arranged for an LAPD unit to join the operation. Zine, a former cop who's running for city controller, was eager to bust anyone who'd fake a disability to park free all day, robbing the city of badly needed revenue.

On Friday, the action was light at 4th and Hill streets. Having run my own stakeouts, I recommended that we move the operation to Grand Avenue between 2nd and 4th streets, and let me tell you something: I ought to be in line for a consulting contract. It was easy pickings up there.

Two undercover cops from DOT worked the street while Zine and I, along with the DOT suits, held back. We tried to look inconspicuous, but with Zine, it's like you're out there with Kojak, and the red jacket he was wearing wasn't exactly camouflage. Fortunately, even Barney Fife could have handled this job.

Right around 8 a.m., a woman in a black Honda Civic pulled into a metered space on the east side of Grand, near the Museum of Contemporary Art, and hung a blue placard. You never know for sure who's cheating, because not all disabilities are obvious. But when DOT sergeants Manny Garcia and Jessie Dyar ran a check, they learned that the placard was issued to someone other than the driver.

"It's my aunt's," the driver told me, claiming she had dropped her off at court.

It's OK to use a disabled person's placard to drop off or pick up that person and park within "reasonable proximity."

But was this driver parking for the day to go to work?

"No comment," said the woman, who was in her late 30s.

I asked how she could defend taking a space that someone on crutches, or in a wheelchair, might need. She looked past me as if I wasn't there. But she can't look past the $353 citation written by LADOT for parking the vehicle illegally, and another one written by the LAPD officers for using a placard issued to someone else. The latter fine starts at $250 and could go as high as $1,000. A judge has the option of tacking on six months in jail. An LADOT officer also confiscated her placard.

But before the ink was dry on the citations, another bust had begun across the street.

Two women had parked at consecutive meters and hung placards. They were both walking fine, no apparent disabilities. The first woman had a placard that had been issued to her, so she was in the clear legally, if not necessarily ethically. The second woman, driving a brand-new black Camaro, claimed she and her sister each have placards, and she happened to be in a car with her sister's placard.

Sgt. Dyar ran a check and said there was no record of the driver having any placard issued to her. DOT confiscated the placard and wrote her a $353 citation, and LAPD senior lead officers Karen Owens and Mike Fernandez wrote her the ticket with the $250-$1,000 fine.

The cited drivers looked more indignant than remorseful. Zine said they looked like "they'd been caught with their hand in the cookie jar." He said he plans to introduce a City Council motion calling for the city's legislative committee to explore ways to crack down on this kind of nonsense.

State legislation would be required to allow California cities to establish their own rules on placards. In other states, some cities have begun charging disabled drivers for parking at meters, thereby discouraging fraud. And it seems at least a no-brainer to hold someone with a placard to the same time constraints as any other person parking. Zine said he would consider all these things, especially if they could mean more spaces for the truly disabled. LADOT spokesman Bruce Gillman said that in Washington, D.C., disabled drivers have to pay at designated meters but can park for double the time as the non-disabled.

We could have filled a paddy wagon on Grand, but we moved to the 600 block of Hill Street, where the DOT had fielded a complaint about a serial placard abuser who ties up spaces that could be used by shoppers.

Just after 9 a.m., a guy in a big black Mercedes pulled into a metered space near the St. Vincent Jewelry Center. He looked around cautiously before placing a disabled placard on his dash. The coppers nailed him when he stepped onto the sidewalk, insisting it was his wife's placard.

He told me this was "the first time" he'd ever used it himself.

Do I look that stupid?

As the tickets were written, he sulked around with a "how dare you" look, as if we were the bad guys. Twice, he came over and stood 12 inches away from me, as if we were in a stare-down.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

No, I told him. I'm sad there are people like him in the world.

And I left him with something to think about:

"You could have parked for $10 today," I said. "Now it may end up costing you $1,000."

steve.lopez@latimes.com

See more here:
Cracking down on parking meter cheaters

View NC tolls for I-95 in a larger map

NCDOT wants to collect tolls on I-95 to pay for a $4.4 billion widening and overhaul project, border to border (see today's story with map, photos and lots of reader comments).

The proposed electronic tolling network is designed to allow lots of North Carolina travelers to continue making short local trips on I-95 without paying tolls. It would make it difficult, but not impossible, for truckers and vacationers who travel longer distances to use I-95 without paying the toll.

As a result, truckers (25 percent of all I-95 traffic) and out-of-state cars and trucks (55 percent) could actually end up paying more than their share of the tolls.

Check the attached Google map to see how this would affect you and your trips on I-95. Blue icons mark locations for 9 sets of electronic toll sensors on I-95. Pink icons mark the nearest exits, before and after the sensors, where drivers going on or off I-95 also would pay tolls.

All other exits? And that's most of them. Toll-free.

When tolling starts in 2019, a car driving all the way between South Carolina and Virginia probably would be tolled $19.20, DOT says. Tolls for heavy trucks will be higher. (Some truckers have commented that today's story does not mention the fees they pay to use North Carolina roads, even when they buy fuel in other states. I'll be reporting more on the trucker perspective in coming weeks.)

Note: I produced this Google map, based on my interpretation of DOT's report explaining the plan (available at http://www.driving95.com). Any errors are mine, not DOT's -- so let me know if something looks wrong here.

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See how DOT toll plan would affect your drive on I-95