Congress OKs Local Community Radio Act; WPVM hopes FCC will now lift power restrictio­ns

“This is a day we have dreamed of since 2003 when MAIN launched its low-power FM station for Asheville and Buncombe County,” declared Wally Bowen, executive director of MAIN FM (WPVM), after the passage by Congress this weekend of the Local Community Radio Act, which gives FCC the ability to allow low-power stations such as MAIN’s to broadcast at 100 watts, instead of at its current 2 watt level.