Wyandotte, Michigan Update & FBA News

Published: Fri, 06/30/23

Hi ,

We have an update from Wyandotte, Michigan (regarding cell phone tower antennas on an elementary school property) for you tonight:

The motion for remand in the City of Wyandotte case was granted by the federal judge Wednesday afternoon, which means they're back in State court. The TRO expires on June 30th at 11:59pm so now an emergency hearing in state court is needed to get this extended.

Please see the attached opinion and order.

Here is a summary by Irene:

Judge Goldsmith issued and opinion & order yesterday as follows >>>

(1) granting plaintiffs’ motion to remand
(2) denying w/out prejudice motion to dismiss filed by City of Wyandotte & related defendants

(3) denying w/out prejudice a motion for extension by defendant Frank Tarnowski, Public Schools board member –– who resigned TODAY not in defeat –– but who was tired of being in the minority against the cell tower –– https://www.wxyz.com/news/wyandotte-school-board-member-resigns-amid-cellphone-tower-controversy + https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/wyandotte-school-board-member-resigns-following-5g-antenna-controversy/
(4) denying w/out prejudice defendant T•Mobile’s motion to dismiss

TO STATE COURT go the Wyandotte plaintiffs –– where the case belongs regarding two state-law claims satisfied –– for which nuisance per se AND private nuisance (in this case) ARE NOT “federal-law” claims in disguise. *

The U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division found that that the Court lacks jurisdiction over this action –– and remands this case to state court.

*OF NOTE ––

The plaintiffs stated that FCC guidelines “have not been updated since 1996" -– and cited EHT v FCC from the DC Cir. (decided 8/13/2021). T•Mobile engaged in alleging that the plaintiffs “carefully drafted,” based, and disguised their essentially federal law claims as state-law claims –– which is known as the “artful-pleading.” However, the defendants FAILED to establish that the plaintiffs’ state-law claims indeed created federal jurisdiction -– nor did the defendants identify WHICH federal statute they believed was the BASIS for the plaintiffs’ claims!

* Great excerpt from the Judge -–

"T-Mobile appears to be arguing that Plaintiffs should be deemed to have brought a federal claim because, in T-Mobile’s view, Plaintiffs’ claims challenge FCC regulations and are preempted by those federal standards. But this point does not transform Plaintiffs’ state-law causes of action into federal claims; such claims may prompt a “defense that relies on . . . the preemptive effect of a federal state.” but that is not sufficient to create federal jurisdiction.” [emphasis added]

Also, please see excerpts from the latest via email from the Fiber Broadband Association below:

White House and NTIA Announce BEAD Funding Allocations

The Fiber Broadband Association was honored to join President Biden and senior Administration officials on Monday, June 26, 2023, at the White House to celebrate the allocation of $42.5 billion of broadband funding enabled by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. The Association appreciates the leadership of the President in bringing the country one step closer to closing the digital divide and Administration's prioritization of fiber to connect all U.S. residents with reliable, high-speed broadband.

Laying fiber optic cable will not only help increase the quality of life in communities and close the digital equity gap but as President Biden pointed out in his remarks, building fiber optic networks is also creating thousands of good-paying jobs across the nation. FBA feels it is critically important that each state and territory prioritize workforce development and has released a Workforce Development Guidebook to assist in the creation and implementation of comprehensive workforce development programs in support of the NTIA BEAD program.

Counties Mobilize for Broadband

Providing internet to every household and small business by 2030 may not take a village. Still, it will require the efforts of local officials and service providers working together to pave the way for fast and efficient construction, an action that the National Association of Counties (NACo) says its members have been steadily working on.

“About two years ago, we put together NACo’s Broadband Task Force,” said Seamus Dowdall, Associate Legislative Director for Telecommunications & Technology, NACo. “This included over 40 county leaders who convened from across the country, different political parties, different regional and geographic backgrounds, with one commonality, which was understanding the salience and importance of high-speed broadband connection.”

The task force generated a report to define how counties could facilitate the deployment of broadband for their residents in terms of how to prepare for broadband, what barriers existed and how to reduce or eliminate them, strategies to address digital disparities, and how to make sure investments were future-proof to last for decades.

To learn more about how counties can work with service providers for successful fiber network deployments, read the rest of the summary and listen to the latest Fiber For Breakfast podcast brought to you by our Platinum Sponsor, Wesco.

To view this episode and past episodes of Fiber for Breakfast, visit FBA's YouTube Channel.

Sincerely,

Jenny DeMarco

Virginians for Safe Technology

VirginiansforSafeTech@protonmail.com

www.VirginiansforSafeTech.org

Odette Wilkens

Wired Broadband, Inc.

www.WiredBroadband.org

P.O. Box 750401
Forest Hills NY 11375
US

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