DENVER
Fox asks federal ban on EchoStar practice
Fox Broadcasting Co. has asked a federal judge to bar EchoStar Communications Corp. from transmitting network programming from one city to satellite-TV subscribers in a different area, the latest legal volley in an 8-year-old lawsuit.
Fox, owned by News Corp., made the request Thursday in U.S. District Court in Florida, saying a permanent ban on the Dish Network practice is now required by an appeals-court order. News Corp. also owns EchoStar’s chief satellite rival, DirecTV.
The request was made on behalf of other major broadcast networks involved in the lawsuit: ABC, CBS and NBC.
Fox, which owns and operates 25 stations, is the only network that has not reached a settlement with EchoStar. Douglas County-based EchoStar said its agreement with the other networks may collapse if it cannot resolve differences with Fox.
DENVER
Qwest to provide bills for tax refund
Qwest will make phone bills from Feb. 28, 2003, to Aug. 1, 2006, available to customers who want to review the bills to determine their exact refund as part of a federal settlement over a long-distance telephone tax.
The government is issuing refunds related to a 3 percent federal excise tax that had been charged since 1898 until it was nullified this year.
The standard refund amounts are $30 for a person filing a return with one exemption, $40 for two exemptions, $50 for three exemptions and $60 for four or more exemptions.
For customers who choose to calculate their own refund, Qwest will make the previous bills available beginning in January.
Details on requesting the telephone-tax refund will be included in all 2006 tax-return materials and on www.irs.gov.
MANADO, Indonesia
Newmont denies dumping accusations
An American gold-mining executive denied Friday that his company dumped dangerous levels of mercury and arsenic-laced waste into an Indonesian bay, sickening villagers and causing fish stocks to plummet.
Richard Ness, taking the stand for the first time since his trial began just over a year ago, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, and his Denver-based company, Newmont Mining Corp., faces a possible fine of $68,000.
A verdict is not expected for several months.
Ness, 56, was asked by judges and prosecutors whether waste rock, known as tailings, dumped into Buyat Bay by Newmont’s now-defunct mine on Sulawesi island exceeded standards outlined in a 2000 permit.
“No,” he said firmly, telling the panel of five judges that “for the most part we only discharged roughly 10 percent of the allowable mercury and 7 percent of the permitted arsenic.”
DENVER
Nurses told to leave 6 hospitals in dispute
United Healthcare nurses were asked to leave six metro-Denver HealthOne hospitals operated by HCA Inc. Friday morning, the latest salvo in an ongoing contract dispute between HCA and United.
HealthOne spokeswoman Linda Kanamine said contractual and privacy issues dictated the move, which she described as “amicable.” Each of the hospitals employs one United Healthcare nurse.
A contract-renewal deadline between the two companies passed Thursday night, making HCA’s HealthOne hospitals “out of network” for patients covered by United and its affiliates, PacifiCare and SecureHorizons.
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
