Things to do in Sacramento

We begin the week with a heartwarming story about how the Little Guy (or, in this case "the Little Gal") can, after all, triumph against a large, soulless corporation.

Let me start at, well, the start.

For about two weeks, life was miserable for a Davis woman I like to call Mrs. Media Savvy. And when Mrs. Savvy ain't happy, ain't no one in the house is happy.

See, her favorite TV network, the Weather Channel, had stopped giving the "Local on the 8s" forecast, as well as the continuous temperature scroll at the bottom of the screen. It was curious that the Weather Channel's very raison d'être was the one thing the station wasn't providing.

So Mrs. Savvy called Comcast, her cable provider. We will now recreate the conversation between Mrs. Savvy and the Comcast representative:

Mrs. Savvy: "Hello. Is there any way you can contact the Weather Channel to get them to run the local weather again?"

Comcast rep: "The Weather Channel? Do we have that? Is is channel 100 or something?"

(Is it any wonder why people get so frustrated with Comcast that they start Web sites, such as "Comcast Must Die," as Advertising Age columnist and NPR's "On the Media" host Bob Garfield recently did?)

Anyhoo, Mrs. Savvy is not going to be ignored.

Oh, no. She did what Comcast didn't do and contacted the Weather Channel directly. And, guess what? She got results.

Here's the e-mail the Weather Channel sent to Mrs. Savvy:

"After a simple rebooting of their Intellistar computer unit did not correct the problem, our technical account managers have decided to send a replacement computer unit to Comcast Cable (head-end #22410) in Davis, California, in an attempt to rectify the recent problems with their local weather experience on the eights of the hour.

"Later today, we will send a replacement WEATHER STAR computer unit to Comcast Cable in Davis; that will arrive tomorrow (Thursday, December 6th). Once the unit is installed correctly, the problems you have encountered with your local weather experience will cease. Tomorrow afternoon, one of our technical account managers will contact Comcast Cable and offer assistance with the installation of this hardware.

"We greatly appreciate your patience as we work with your Comcast Cable provider to correct this situation.

Sincerely,

Chris Hoitsma

The Weather Channel"

So again, Davis residents can find out the exact wind chill reading before heading out on their (city-required) bicycles. And, at last, peace has been restored to the household. Because, if Mrs. Savvy is happy, then everybody's happy.

Kudos to the Weather Channel for good customer service.