COUNTY TO DEBUT CABLE TV CHANNEL ROLLOUT WILL BEGIN IN PARTS OF CANYON COUNTRY, STEVENSON RANCH.

Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - It's not exactly the X Games or ``American Idol,'' but viewers in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country and Stevenson Ranch will be able to watch their county supervisors at work when a Los Angeles County government cable-television channel launches in December.

The channel, supported by a $4 million budget approved Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will feature county information and entertainment on a video-on-demand basis through Time Warner cable.

``The county already spends about $2.2 million for cable regulatory operations through our Consumer Affairs Office,'' said Martin Zimmerman of the county's Chief Administrative Office, which will oversee the operation. ``That also includes the current live TV and webcasts of the board meetings and holiday shows from the Music Center, the John Anson Ford Theatre and Hollywood Bowl. The channel adds $2 million to that figure.''

The initial test of the channel will be conducted in the next 30 to 60 days on an analog system in Santa Monica, and then 60 to 180 days in Canyon Country, Stevenson Ranch and North Torrance. Those areas were picked because of recent negotiations and because of their size.

``They are relatively small systems which we can monitor and control if we need to make corrections before doing the large-scale launch,'' said Deane Leavenworth, Time-Warner spokesperson.

Other areas of the county will get the channel within one year.

Viewers will go to a video-on-demand central location where county programming can be selected from a pull-down menu with the same fast-forward, rewind and pause features as other on-demand offerings.

``The beauty of the system is that anyone who wanted to watch a Board of Supervisors meeting or special budget meeting or even theater programming could be able to access them any time day or night,'' Leavenworth said.

``This shows a great deal of vision on the county's part,'' Leavenworth said. ``It really demonstrates a commitment to visibility on the part of county government, to identify a need and come up with a workable solution for both that will benefit constituents.''

Zimmerman said that office space on the fourth floor of county's Hall of Administration will equipped for operating the channel, including a rudimentary studio setup to accommodate departments that don't have their own production facilities.

Start-up material will come from departments already producing programming such as the sheriff, fire, child support services, education and the Department of Public Social Services.

``With 4,000 square miles of area within the county's jurisdiction, we wanted to ensure that everyone had access to information, especially the unincorporated areas,'' said Tony Bell, press deputy for Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

``This will be a way to offer information on public safety, flood control, libraries, parks, public works, the beaches and harbors, pretty much everything on a cafeteria menu-style channel,'' he said.

Bell said that people who live in areas such as the Antelope or Santa Clarita valleys, San Dimas or South Bay would be able to watch the meetings without traveling to downtown Los Angeles.

County programming already being broadcast on KLCS Channel 58, a channel operated by the L.A. Unified School District, will be augmented rather than replaced by the offerings on the county channel. County officials want to ensure that the information is available to all county residents with televisions, with or without cable.

An advisory panel composed of the five press deputies serving the supervisors will influence programming and provide input from both the public and their bosses.

``We will offer whatever our respective supervisors consider important or strongly about,'' Bell said. ``It could be earthquake safety, which is on everybody's mind right now or vital information on terrorism or parks or libraries. The channel is limitless in its potential to share information.''

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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