DEAR SUN SPOTS: Why does Time Warner Cable keep taking some channels off our lineup? I notice that the Fox Movie Channel is gone. I also notice that the price of cable does not come down. It’s like they can do what they want, and the customer does not count with them except pay your bill on time. — Paul Dorion, badpaul1@juno.com

ANSWER: You are not alone in your frustration with cable television, but efforts to institute changes have not met with a great deal of success. Ala carte programming, which would allow customers to choose which channels they would like to receive, is favored by many people, but the cable companies say it is too expensive.

According to Wikipedia.com, “all cable TV systems (are required) to carry all full-power local broadcast stations in the designated market on their lineups, unless those stations opt to invoke retransmission consent and demand compensation, in which case the cable provider can decline to carry the channel.

“Cable TV systems are also required to offer a subscription package that provides these broadcast channels at a lower rate than the standard subscription rate. The basic programming package offered by cable TV systems is usually known as ‘basic cable’ and provides access to a large number of cable TV channels, as well as broadcast television networks (e.g., ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC, PBS), local-access television channels, and several channels devoted to infomercials and home shopping to defray costs.

“Many cable systems operate as local monopolies in the United States, as only one cable company typically receives the right to serve a region as a result of a franchise agreement with a local government. For some franchises the agreement is explicitly exclusive; for others the local authority retains the right to franchise overbuilders but does not do so. Overbuilders in the U.S. have traditionally had severe difficulty in financial and market penetration numbers, compared to their incumbent brothers. therefore they are the exception, not the norm in the United States.”

Currently, almost 60 percent of U.S. homes subscribe to basic cable services, with the biggest chunks of that going to Comcast and Time Warner, also according to Wikipedia.

Sun Spots does not think the cable companies will face stricter regulations anytime soon. The wiring that the cable companies own is very valuable, as the need for “pipelines” for broadband Internet access grows. Federal and state government officials would like to see broadband Internet available in more homes.

If you are really unhappy with Time Warner, you could switch to satellite television or you could do what Sun Spots does. She has an antenna so she can receive PBS and belongs to Netflix, but it has been almost five years since she’s had cable. Visitors to her home find it most disconcerting!

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am interested in finding Jack LaLanne’s blue album that went along with his “glamour stretcher.” It would need to be a playable album. Please leave a message at 782-1957. — Anne Deletsky, Auburn

ANSWER: At www.teamlalanne.org, Sun Spots found the following bit of information: “Jack LaLanne’s “Glamour Stretcher Time” phonograph album became available in 1959 and was sold along with a rubber stretch cord known as the Glamour Stretcher, demonstrated by Jack on the album’s cover (and at the top of this web page). Marketed toward women, “Glamour Stretcher Time” was probably the first instructor-led workout available on recorded media to achieve wide acclaim.”

When Sun Spots checked, there were three copies available on amazon.com, starting at $16.25. If you’re not online, you can call them at 1-800-201-7575.

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