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Technology Stocks : (LVLT) - Level 3 Communications -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rupert who wrote (2524)	10/26/2000 10:30:55 PM
From: SecularBull	Respond to of 3873

Rupert, thanks for the heads-up. LoF

To: Rupert who wrote (2524)	10/27/2000 9:38:59 AM
From: Yogizuna	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 3873

Whacko environmentalists hard at work again...... I doubt very much the laying of that cable would have endangered the monarch butterfly population, but hey, these folks need something to do and justify their jobs..... LVLT is now trying to hold on to falling trend-line support so it will not completely break down here. Have a good weekend everybody! Monarch butterfly collector Yogi <big grin>

To: Rupert who wrote (2524)	10/29/2000 9:00:06 AM
From: IngotWeTrust	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3873

Fair Use, etc... Beat the clock --Costly deadline pressuring Level 3 Work Deadline Could Cost Millions 10/26/00 By MORGAN GREEN, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER mgreen@newspress.com An estimated $250 million in business losses could result from county protections for butterflies and waterways unless an international company laying high-speed communication cable through the South Coast finishes the work by Nov. 1. Level 3 Communications and its cable-laying contractor and former parent company, Kiewit Construction, are scurrying to resume work on the underground data and voice cable to Los Angeles to meet a reported startup deadline for customers of Dec. 15. The company stopped laying fiber-optic cable last week after the California Public Utilities Commission threatened a shutdown for environmental protection violations. The cable through Santa Barbara County is among the last segments of a 16,000-mile, $10 billion intercity system that is part of Level 3's expansion as a worldwide Internet access wholesaler. Level 3 wants to finish burying the cable along the Union Pacific Railroad right of way from Gaviota to the Ventura County line to also beat a county-imposed deadline of Nov. 1, which marks the official start of rainy-season bans on grading that might contribute to erosion and disruptive construction near monarch butterfly roosting sites. The county restrictions are lifted March 31. Santa Barbara County and state environmental-protection officials said Wednesday afternoon they have doubts that the cable can be finished in time. Kiewit wasn't so sure either. "We're in the process of evaluating the situation," said Karen Morales, a spokeswoman for Kiewit, which is based in Omaha, Neb. The company will look into options, she said, but could not name them. The potential loss of $250 million was based on the project not resuming until April, according to Dianne Meester, deputy director of county planning and development among others. Level 3 and Kiewit must get the cable laid and charged up by Dec. 15 because of promises to start service to Los Angeles customers by that date, according to county officials' reports of statements by the companies' representatives. Paul Lonnegren, the Level 3 spokesman in Denver, declined to confirm the figure, or the company's December startup deadline. He also declined to name the customers in Los Angeles who are expecting service. The $12.8 million cable project through the county fell behind schedule here when Kiewit stopped work last week. The stoppage grew out of state Fish and Game Department complaints that horizontal drilling for the cable included more than 40 leaks of drill-bit lubricant at a slew of sites. Five local streams were polluted as a result. At that time, work was going on at 30 sites. The underground leaks through rock fissures ranged from a few quarts to upwards of 200 gallons. Some showed up in local creekbeds. One surfaced near the Goleta Amtrak station. A number of fish were reported killed in San Antonio Creek because of one incident, according to a report to the county Planning Commission on Wednesday. Two commissioners said they were appalled. "I've never seen anything like this. There were several a day," many of which were not reported, said Planning Commission Chairwoman Colleen Beall of Santa Barbara. The blame fell on the companies' need for speed. "It's apparent that Level 3 is in a very big hurry to get things done, and didn't understand how carefully we look" at environmental protections here, said Commissioner Doreen Farr of Goleta. Farr indicated she would oppose any easing of the county's winter construction restrictions to help the company finish its project by Dec. 15. Kiewit and Level 3 representatives scurried Wednesday to get PUC and Fish and Game Department permission to resume their race against the calendar. They still must lay cable near eight protected butterfly wintering areas. The most critical, officials said, is near the railroad tracks at Eagle Canyon, just west of the Bacara Resort & Spa. "We have no flexibility " to allow work beyond Nov. 1 "because the monarchs are already there," said Michelle Pasini, a county energy division specialist. Relaxing the ban on grading elsewhere to accommodate the cable is possible, Pasini said. But that would take a majority approval by the Planning Commission. Numerous waterways also remain to be crossed in the coastal zone and inland, including the Santa Ynez River, officials said. In a long-distance phone conference Wednesday afternoon among the county and the state agencies, Level 3 and Kiewit officials heard new requirements to prevent more polluting accidents in the remaining days until the county deadline. One new rule calls for hanging the cable beneath bridges instead of boring a route beneath the creekbeds. Others include Caltrans training for project monitors, injecting tell-tale dye into the lubricant drilling "mud" to detect leaks, geologic evaluations of each creek crossing, and an immediate stop to work if it rains enough to cause creek runoff. The company also must reroute through Carpinteria to bypass El Estero slough, a plan that requires Carpinteria City Council approval. Kiewit's initial plans had called for boring across a 6,000-foot-wide portion of the wetland. Some parts of the cable project could resume by tonightThursday, if the companies' fully cooperate with the PUC and Fish and Game Department's demands, said Natasha Lohmuscq, a Fish and Game spokeswoman. "We'll do our absolute very best to meet all the regulations as they've set for us," said Kiewit's Morales.