We woke up one morning last week to the sight of a cable installer rigging a line about 20 feet from our living room window. He said, “It sure does ruin your view, doesn’t it?”

We immediately called Comcast, who directed us to the franchising authority, Island County, who directed us to the utility company, the telephone company and the FCC. We are investigating. Three years ago, when we saw all of this coming, we requested that our local lines be buried. No luck there. Too expensive? Instead, Puget Sound Energy, which leases space on its utility poles to other companies, spent money cutting down trees to get ready for the new cable. The systems appear redundant. One cable could handle telephone, TV and high speed Internet. And what about demand for the service? We live on a block-long, dead end street full of older folks with satellite dishes who are not likely to request high-speed Internet anytime soon.

Beware, citizens of Island County. The cable guy may be headed your way and he won’t be calling ahead of time to make sure you are home.

Patricia Jorgensen

Oak Harbor