On the Circuit

There shouldn’t be much doubt about cable’s commitment to AIDS/HIV education (it’s one of the few industries with a natl org devoted to AIDS). Yet, if doubt lingered, it was scotched Wed, as the Wash Metro Cable Club devoted its 1st meeting of ’04 to the AIDS pandemic. Even the ice storm that shuttered most of official DC didn’t deter a strong showing from NCTA, C-SPAN and CTAM, among others. And it’s not every day when Cable Positive’s Steve Villano is just one of many distinguished speakers on an AIDS panel. WMCC had 2 giants: the co-discoverer of the AIDS virus Dr Robert Gallo and the head of the Intl AIDS Vaccine Initiative Dr Seth Berkley. The doctors’ message: while researchers know more about AIDS than any other virus, the scientific challenge of creating vaccines to fight it is immense, not to mention the political and economic battles involved. Yet there’s hope; the cooperation between North and South is growing, and the knowledge of how HIV travels into cells-crucial for creating a vaccine-is "exploding," Gallo says. Until vaccines are tested and ready, Cable Positive will continue to function as an "HIV/AIDS educational vaccine delivery system unmatched anywhere," Villano said. — CTHRA’s ’04 board has S- A’s Brian Koenig as pres, while C-SPAN’s John Jackson moves to immediate past pres. A&E Nets’ Rosalind Clay Carter is vp; Comcast’s Beth Arnholt is sec; T W Cable’s Juan Munoz is treas; and Warrern & Morris’ Carolyn Cason will handle program planning.