Barry Willis

In a move that will keep union members working for at least the next three years, negotiators for the <A HREF="http://www.wga.org">Writers Guild of America</A> agreed to a new contract on May 4, three days beyond the date of a threatened strike. The WGA had agreed to let its members keep working as discussions continued beyond the renewal date for the old contract, which expired May 1.

The entire city of Los Angeles depends on the entertainment industry, and Mayor Richard Riordan is doing his best to find a way to prevent strikes by screenwriters and actors that could have crippling economic repercussions.

Civil libertarians and computer hackers are united in their opposition to a ruling last summer by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan that banned the posting or propagation of DeCSS. The code, named for its ability to unlock DVD's Content Scrambling System, enables the copying of DVDs. In his ruling, Judge Kaplan ordered website <A HREF:"http://www.2600.com">2600</A> to remove not only the code, but also links to other sites where curious visitors might find it.

Michael Powell, the newly appointed chairman of the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A>, announced March 29 to the House Telecommunications Subcommittee that his agency will soon begin reviewing ownership caps on broadcast television and other forms of media.