tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20824972429567762942024-02-07T22:14:28.235-05:00WBAIInformation, observations and opinion about WBAIAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-4048966690320343482014-06-26T14:19:00.005-04:002014-06-26T15:02:28.588-04:00Earthwatch Commemorative Broadcast: Undercurrents 1989-1990 <span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">A special commemorative edition of <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Earthwatch</span> featuring some historic broadcasts from Robert Knight</span>.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Not-Ready-For-Mainstream News<br />
with<br />
Dennis Bernstein and Robert Knight<br />
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In this commemorative broadcast of <strong>Earthwatch</strong>, we hear from Robert Knight through his work on <strong>Undercurrents</strong> in1989 and 1990.<br />
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<a href="http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/wbai_140626_000000earthwat.mp3" target="_blank">http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/wbai_140626_000000earthwat.mp3</a></div>
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The first segment includes a series of broadcasts on "The US Agenda - Conflicts in Central America", including a May 18, 1989 phone call from Manuel Noriega to WBAI, on the impending US invasion.<br />
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In the second segment, a series of <strong>Undercurrents</strong> reports on the Panama Invasion from January of 1990, including broadcasts of Robert Knight's interview of Manuel Noriega done on-site in Panama, Dennis Bernstein's interview of Congressman Charles Rangel, and an investigative report by Allan Nairn. <br />
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The third segment from January 8, 1990, features a report from Phyllis Bennis and an interview with Admiral Eugene Carroll on both Columbia and Panama. <br />
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Robert visited Panama in November and December of 1989. He received the <strong>Polk Award</strong> for his reporting in January of 1990. Robert Knight's ground-breaking work is featured in the 1992 documentary film <strong>The Panama Deception</strong>, which won the <strong>Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature</strong>. The film is critical of the US military during the 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States. It includes footage of mass graves uncovered after the US troops had withdrawn, burned down neighborhoods, as well as depictions of some of the 20,000 refugees that fled the fighting. <br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-80116074734361374022014-06-13T13:28:00.003-04:002014-06-13T22:56:18.301-04:00Is the legendary Pacifica Radio Network about to be dismantled?<strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here’s why you should sign the court petition at</span></strong><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.jotformpro.com/PDGG/petition" target="_blank"><strong>http://www.jotformpro.com/<wbr></wbr>PDGG/petition</strong></a><strong> </strong></span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to stop the shameful attempt to break up Pacifica</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">(Please forward this letter to your own email lists)</span></strong><strong><span style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><i><span style="font-size: 20pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></i></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The threat to the Pacifica Network</span></strong><strong><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></strong><br />
<img align="left" height="115" hspace="12" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=1cd6e113dc&view=att&th=1469369af8f6c3ba&attid=0.1&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" width="78" /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dear Friend of Pacifica –</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A “rogue” board faction has narrowly seized control of the Pacifica Radio Network after a hotly disputed (and possibly illegal) vote, which is now being challenged in court. The faction’s stated intention is to dismantle the legendary progressive radio network – in a large part, it appears to me, to satisfy the grudge of a politically connected San Francisco Bay Area attorney.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The faction members want to sell what they call Pacifica’s “weak” East Coast stations, and use the proceeds to “endow” their own stations in California. First station on the chopping block will be <strong>WBAI</strong> (in New York), then probably <strong>WPFW</strong> (in Washington, DC), followed by <strong>KPFT</strong> (in Houston).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<img align="left" height="130" hspace="12" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=1cd6e113dc&view=att&th=1469369af8f6c3ba&attid=0.2&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" width="90" />The faction trying to break up Pacifica is directed by a California attorney named Dan Siegel (whose employee now sits on the Pacifica board, and appears to be intentionally destabilizing foundation operations). <br />
<br />
But Siegel and his board faction are being challenged in court by 8 other board members, the <b>Pacifica Directors for Good Governance </b>(<b>PDGG</b>), who oppose the plan to dismantle Pacifica. <br />
<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> These are the 8 Pacifica board members now in court to remove</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <wbr></wbr> Siegel and his destructive faction from Pacifica affairs</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <wbr></wbr> Please sign their court petition at </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><strong>http://www.jotformpro.com/<wbr></wbr>PDGG/petition</strong></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="min-height: 144px; width: 764px;"><img height="144" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=1cd6e113dc&view=att&th=1469369af8f6c3ba&attid=0.3&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" width="764" /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A recent article in <i>Los Angeles Indymedia News, </i>by attorney Eric C Jacobson, explains</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Siegel’s destructive war against Pacifica better than I can. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://%3chttp/la.indymedia.org/news/2014/04/263659_comment.php#263660" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">http://la.indymedia.org/news/<wbr></wbr>2014/04/263659_comment.php#<wbr></wbr>263660</span></strong></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <wbr></wbr> </span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Why does Siegel want to dismantle Pacifica?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Siegel is a former Pacifica National Board member who it appears was forced to resign as Pacifica’s legal counsel for (a) incompetence and (b) improper and possibly unlawful behavior. Humiliated and resentful, he revenged himself on Pacifica soon after by maliciously (and falsely) testifying under oath, during a court deposition, that in his opinion the foundation had fired its Chief Financial Officer because he was Black. This resulted in an unjustified $440,000 judgment against the network. Currently, because of his political activities, Siegel is legally barred from serving on the Pacifica board. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">But the recent board takeover by Siegel’s faction permits him to revenge himself still further against Pacifica. He can now leverage his wealth, his law firm, and his political connections to take over the network – and then destroy it. Apparently, he plans to force Pacifica into insolvency, so that it will have no choice but to sell one or more of its stations.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And Siegel isn’t hiding his plans:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">In a July 7, 2012, speech to his local KPFA radio board, Siegel said, “There were actual people who would buy WBAI for enormous amounts of money... [so] making that change<i> </i>[selling WBAI] does not seem as radical as it might be otherwise.” And, in a June 7, 2014, article in <i>The Villager</i>, he is quoted as saying he would “sell WBAI to save KPFA.” < <a href="http://thevillager.com/2014/03/20/after-directors-firing-wbai-sale-is-now-rumored/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">http://thevillager.com/2014/<wbr></wbr>03/20/after-directors-firing-<wbr></wbr>wbai-sale-is-now-rumored/</span></strong></a> ></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Alarmingly, Siegel’s faction on the board has moved quickly, and has taken steps (see below) that seem designed to force Pacifica into insolvency (something you can help prevent by signing the PDGG court petition at<b> <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.jotformpro.com/PDGG/petition" target="_blank">http://www.jotformpro.com/<wbr></wbr>PDGG/petition</a></span></u></b>)<b> <u><span style="color: blue;"></span></u></b></span><br />
<b><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span></u></b><br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">Here is what the Siegel faction has been up to:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ Within days of illegally seizing the board, the Siegel faction abruptly fired Pacifica Executive Director Summer Reese, in violation of her contract – deliberately putting cash-strapped Pacifica on the hook for at least $315,000 in compensatory payments for wrongful termination (and pushing the network closer to insolvency). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ They then removed some of the network’s most popular and progressive programs from the air, which may make enough listeners angry enough to refuse to donate during the next fund drive (squeezing the network still further).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ The faction is also currently maneuvering to change Pacifica’s bylaws (by fiat) to make itself self-perpetuating.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ Recently, the faction lowered morale and upset Pacifica staff members (two of whom, I am told, have resigned in protest) by re-hiring one of the faction’s members as Chief Financial Officer – even though that person had been previously fired for incompetence and cited for workplace abuse of female staff personnel. But by re-hiring him, the faction is now able to prevent auditors from monitoring suspected embezzling and audit deficiencies by firing – or threatening to fire – any accounting or executive staff who try to implement corrective procedures. For example, in a recent audit, the sum of $7 million – more than half of Pacifica’s entire yearly income! – had to be placed in suspense accounts because of improper documentation. In addition, $80,000 in cash seems to have mysteriously gone missing altogether on the books of KPFA (Siegel’s station). <i>But the faction won’t release the documentation for an audit.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ At least one – possibly two – of the faction’s board members have long rap sheets (i.e., multiple felony convictions). Under the Federal Communications Act of 1934, these convictions could block or even invalidate Pacifica’s re-licensing. Yet not only did those board members cover up their felony convictions before taking their board seats, they have also refused to voluntarily step down, <i>even though</i> <i>two of our five radio stations are up for re-licensing this year</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But that is not all. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ In a 2012 preliminary ruling by the California Court of Appeals, the Chair of the Pacifica National Board -- appointed by the Siegel faction -- was found <i>(<b>along with Siegel himself</b>)</i> likely to have committed a breach of fiduciary duty against Pacifica by diverting money away from the foundation to a private fund. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">< <a href="http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/A132296.PDF" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">http://www.courts.ca.gov/<wbr></wbr>opinions/nonpub/A132296.PDF</span></strong></a> ></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ Another appointment of the faction – this one as Secretary of the Pacifica National Board – is currently banned from the premises of the New York Pacifica station (WBAI) for acts of physical violence.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ Moreover, less than 60 days after the Siegel faction seized control of the board, Pacifica’s corporate attorney quit in disgust because the faction persisted in deliberately violating the bylaws. Guess who got Pacifica’s legal work after Pacifica’s law firm quit? None other than Siegel’s own law firm, thanks to a secret phone meeting of the board -- for which (are you paying attention?) <i>only members of the Siegel faction were given the phone number and allowed to participate</i>. Does this even pass the laugh test for legality?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">■ Now that he is once again in control of Pacifica’s legal affairs, Siegel admits that he has already billed Pacifica $25,000 in just the past few weeks alone – which is ironic, since that billing is for a lawsuit precipitated by the actions of Siegel’s own board faction. In previous years, when Siegel was Pacifica’s legal counsel (as well as National Board Member and Executive Director), he may have billed the network for as much as half a million dollars in what many, including myself, regard as questionable legal fees – fees which, in large part, seem to have been a result of his own poor decisions and/or improper actions in those jobs. In fact, according to former Pacifica National Board member Shawn Casey O’Brien, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Dan Siegel was Pacifica’s legal counsel for years and during his reign [he] cost Pacifica hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, by practicing what appears to be a very self-serving and sloppy form of lawyering.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here is a particularly bizarre “Siegel incident,</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">” which demonstrates his willingness to violate the law in pursuit of controlling Pacifica. In the “Final Report on the Pacifica 2007 Elections” < </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.pacificaelections.net/2007-8%20pacifica%20elections%20final%20report.pdf" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US">http://www.pacificaelections.<wbr></wbr>net/2007-8%20pacifica%<wbr></wbr>20elections%20final%20report.<wbr></wbr>pdf</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, Casey Peters, Pacifica’s National Election Supervisor, wrote the following:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA">“</span>Regardless of my desire to maintain absolute integrity in each of the local elections throughout the cycle, I was forced to capitulate [to Siegel’s demands] .... I realize now that this was an unforgivable error on my part and that I should have publicized the fact that the Interim Executive Director [Siegel] was using <b>extortion</b> to intimidate the National Elections Supervisor and <b>wrongly influence</b> the outcome of the elections to the detriment of members of the Pacifica Foundation.<br />
<br />
“Essentially, Dan Siegel in his dual roles as corporate counsel and Interim Executive Director engaged in <b>threats and manipulation</b> to<b> unlawfully control</b> the outcome of Pacifica elections. This constitutes the <b>highjacking </b>of the vote count....<br />
<br />
A few days later, Dan Siegel entered my home <b>illegally</b> without any prior notice, and without ringing the bell, knocking on the door or announcing himself. Siegel startled my wife Marilyn, who was home alone, in our living room and she yelled at him to get out. His intent was to confiscate election equipment and materials .... Siegel had <b>apparently been drinking</b>, and sat in a rented SUV <b>flashing his headlights</b> into our bedroom. Marilyn called the police to stop the <b>harassment</b>. We seriously considered pressing <b>trespass and assault</b> charges, but felt any publicity about the incident would not look good for the Pacifica Foundation<span style="font-size: 12pt;">.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For someone so quick to break the law, Siegel is also surprisingly quick to call in the police</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For example</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, just weeks ago, Siegel’s faction called the police to KPFA, claiming that Summer Reese (the Executive Director they had just fired in violation of her contract) was packing a gun. The charge – clearly intended as harassment of an opponent -- was as ludicrous as it was false, which the police quickly ascertained and left. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Calling in the police seems to be an old Siegel habit. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When he was on the board of the Oakland Unified School District (from 1999 to 2006), Siegel spearheaded bringing <b>armed police</b> into Oakland schools. Later, in January 2011, a young Black man named Raheim <span class="il">Brown</span> was <b>brutally beaten</b> and then <b>gunned down</b> by one of those same armed police. But though the policeman (Sgt. Barhin Bhatt) may have fired the gun, it was Siegel who concocted the policy that allowed Bhatt to have a gun on a high school campus. (Will Siegel’s next gift to Pacifica be armed security police at every station?)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One last (sobering) fact.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> It might interest you to know that it was Siegel who negotiated and signed off on the infamous 2007 <i>Democracy Now!</i> contract that many place at the heart of the network’s financial crisis, and which accounts for two thirds of Pacifica’s debts.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b><span style="color: red;">The lawsuit of the 8 “Pacifica Directors for Good Governance” (PDGG)</span> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A lawsuit has been brought against Siegel by 8 Pacifica board members, <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">the </span>Pacifica Directors for Good Governance</strong> (<b>PDGG</b>). They intend to stop Siegel and his faction from bankrupting Pacifica and forcing it to sell off WBAI or one of its other East Coast stations in order to survive. (Siegel plans, as he has stated publicly, to divvy up the cash windfall from such a sale, which could be as high as $50 million, between the Los Angeles station (KPFK) and his own station in Berkeley (KPFA).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Full disclosure:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I am a member of the WBAI local Board of Directors, so I certainly do not want to see WBAI sold, or the Pacifica Foundation dismantled. But neither do the myriad listeners who have already signed the PDGG court petition. That petition – because Pacifica is legally <i><u>governed</u></i> by its listeners – is an important part of the PDGG presentation to the court. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Which is why I have already signed the PDGG petition at <a href="http://www.jotformpro.com/PDGG/petition" target="_blank">http://www.jotformpro.com/<wbr></wbr>PDGG/petition</a></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Please understand that the 8 board members bringing this lawsuit are not wealthy. Most are ordinary working people, some of whom live on small fixed incomes. But they have decided to risk their financial security in what has proved to be a costly lawsuit – simply because they believe that Pacifica is worth saving. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">To my mind, they are heroes.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> For even though massively outmatched by Siegel’s wealth and political connections, they fight on -- supported (thank heavens) by contributions from Pacifica listeners who are shocked by Siegel’s apparent intention to dismantle Pacifica. But in addition to being shocked, these listeners are also <b><i>angry</i></b><i> – </i>angry at discovering that Siegel may have grown richer, year after year, by (intentionally or foolishly) entangling Pacifica in a web of unnecessary and avoidable lawsuits, then steering the profitable “defense” of Pacifica to his own law firm. The financial cost to Pacifica, as estimated above by former board member Shawn Casey O’Brien, could amount to millions of dollars.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Whether you decide to contribute to the PDGG lawsuit or not, I hope you will at least <i><u>sign</u></i> the legal petition of these 8 brave Pacifica directors at </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.jotformpro.com/PDGG/petition" target="_blank"><b><span lang="EN-US">http://www.jotformpro.com/<wbr></wbr>PDGG/petition</span></b><span lang="EN-US">.</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> As I said, I have already signed. I have also made my own contribution. Can I count on seeing your name, along with mine, on the petition when it is submitted to the court?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Regards,</span><br />
<span style="min-height: 221px; width: 144px;"><img height="221" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=1cd6e113dc&view=att&th=1469369af8f6c3ba&attid=0.4&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" width="144" /></span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-34318292320911012042014-05-26T17:23:00.002-04:002014-05-26T17:23:23.745-04:00Gary Null on the future of Pacifica and WBAI Tonight at 8pm, following his <em>Progressive Commentary Hour</em> at 7pm, Gary Null will be doing a one-hour special report on the future of Pacifica and WBAI. <br />
Listen on the live stream: <a href="http://www.prn.fm/radio-player.php" target="_blank">http://www.prn.fm/radio-player.php </a>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-36085123619400436982014-05-26T17:14:00.001-04:002014-05-26T17:14:14.043-04:00"The" Uprising at KPFA<div>
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"The" Uprising at KPFA</h2>
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May 26, 2014 at 2:47pm<span class="timelineUnitContainer"><a aria-label="Public" class="passiveImg fbAudienceHover timelineAudienceSelector" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/tracy-rosenberg/the-uprising-at-kpfa/10202123407268025#" role="button"><i class="img sp_IAa2ktb_meE sx_eefe7d"></i></a></span></div>
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<strong>Berkeley</strong>-On Memorial Day morning at Berkeley's KPFA radio, the AM hour did not go off as planned. A sudden programming change was announced only 5 days ago to replace the Morning Mix, a programming collective including Andres Soto from the Richmond Progressive Alliance, the legendary Project Censored, authors for more than 30 years of the "Censored" collections of the year's most-neglected news stories and the nation's most prominent media literacy educators, Hard Knock Radio's Davey D, a nationally known African-American reporter and commentator, Steve Zeltzer's labor program, the Poor News Network and several others, driving out of KPFA's prime time the few new Bay Area-based programs generated in the last few years. The replacement plans would have substituted Uprising, which has occupied the 8am hour at Los Angeles sister station KPFK, for the last decade, 5 days a week.<br />
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But that's not what happened. At the last minute, 100 community members showed up at KPFA's doors. At 8am, despite the on-air announcement Uprising was to follow, the station aired a special Morning Mix open house with hosts Sabrina Jacobs, Steve Zeltzer and Anthony Fest with Andres Soto and Peter Phillips and support from Flashpoints.<br />
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The festive rally ended with the station's heavy metal doors thrown open to the sidewalk and supporters filled the lobby during the impromptu broadcast which featured several guests by telephone and supporters on the air talking about why they came to the protest/broadcast and what the Mix has meant to them.<br />
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KPFA news staffers remained on the second floor of the building and did not come down the stairs to greet the protestors for the hour-long duration of the open house.<br />
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On Tuesday, supporters are again invited to an AM open house at the station's downtown Berkeley studio at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr Way and Berkeley.<br />
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The sound archive will be available on Soundcloud shortly, but for the moment can still be heard on KPFA's archives. <a href="http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/103151" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/103151</a><br />
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The Morning Mix came onto KPFA's air in the fall of 2010, after two years of more than a half million dollar deficits drained KPFA's million dollar reserve down to zero. A recovery plan approved by the national board unanimously in October of 2010 called for $375,000 in staffing reductions.<br />
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Many staffers at the station and members of the community have come to see the Mix as precious open space in the schedule that is accessible for a wide range of content and focuses on local issues often neglected by pundits and celebrities, as well as more subversive analyses of race, class and political issues than is present in two-party-based political affairs coverage. The flexibility in the Mix provided opportunities often missing at KPFA, where program slots are usually held for a decade or more and have been known to be passed down from one family member to another.<br />
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The proposed replacement program, Uprising, hosted by Sonali Kolhatkar claimed to have posted large sums of money during a one week fund drive pre-emption in Berkeley. The extravagant amounts claimed by the Save KPFA faction in a newsletter they distribute were bizarre, with receipts exceeding $11,000 an hour and close to $100,000 in one week of broadcast. Kolhatkar's show, which has been on the air in the morning in LA for close to a decade, collected an average of $2,051 an hour on KPFK during its ten fund drive broadcasts on KPFK between May 1 and May 17, 2014, never once cracking the $3,000 mark and once collecting as little as $600. The KPFK fund drive dailes for May 1-20 can be seen here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Ff5v8jwv6wz1wij7%2FKPFK%2BFund%2BDrive%2BDailies%2B5-1%2Bto%2B5-20.pdf&h=tAQHEwKek&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/f5v8jwv6wz1wij7/KPFK+Fund+Drive+Dailies+5-1+to+5-20.pdf</a>)<br />
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Long-time La Onda Bajita and Flashpoints co-host Miguel Molina exploded on-air on Friday May 23rd at 5:30pm in the closing hours of KPFA's extended fund drive. Molina reported that less than 5 days before the change was abruptly announced, interim manager Richard Pirodsky told Project Censored co-host Dr. Peter Phillips he would not be making changes prior to his departure, leading Molina to ask who exactly was making the decisions, if not Pirodsky. Molina stated the "slashing and scattering" was destroying the morale of a new group of emerging producers. Molina's complete remarks can be found here in audio and here in video. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Fflashpoints-on-kpfa-radio-may&h=3AQFnEvZC&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/flashpoints-on-kpfa-radio-may</a>), (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D1087&h=4AQFcVfYK&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=1087</a>)<br />
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The latest tumult comes only days after an eight week occupation of the foundation's Berkeley headquarters ended on May 13th after an illegitimate majority set off chaos by suddenly firing the executive director only weeks after a permanent hire and reinstating a CFO who had been let go for poor performance and workplace complaints. The re-hired CFO has still not been able to enter the headquarters without being accompanied by aprofessional mediator and the investigation report has vanished for months.<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit-wit-radio-may-11-2014&h=PAQEHZL8-&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit-wit-radio-may-11-2014</a>)<br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced a town hall meeting at: EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st.<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-82659953569525162812014-05-25T13:35:00.000-04:002014-05-25T13:35:05.098-04:00Monday Morning<div>
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Monday Morning</h2>
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May 25, 2014 at 4:00am<span class="timelineUnitContainer"><a aria-label="Public" class="passiveImg fbAudienceHover timelineAudienceSelector" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/tracy-rosenberg/monday-morning/10202115418588313#" id="js_10" role="button"><i class="img sp_IAa2ktb_meE sx_eefe7d"></i></a></span></div>
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<strong>Berkeley</strong>-Berkeley's KPFA was smoldering after an abrupt decision that dislocated a group of 6 community-based 1-hour am programs in favor of an imported program from LA. The replacement of the Morning Mix, a programming collective including Andres Soto from the Richmond Progressive Alliance, the legendary Project Censored, authors for more than 30 years of the "Censored" collections of the year's most-neglected news stories and the nation's most prominent media literacy educators, Hard Knock Radio's Davey D, a nationally known African-American reporter and commentator, Steve Zeltzer's labor program, the Poor News Network and several others, driving out of KPFA's prime time the few new Bay Area-based programs generated in the last few years. The change is also exacerbating the station's internal tensions around race, class, and gatekeeping and fraying relationships with groups like the Richmond Progressive Alliance, who have been doing some of the most impactful and effective grassroots organizing anywhere in the Bay Area signal.<br />
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Long-time La Onda Bajita and Flashpoints co-host Miguel Molina exploded on-air on Friday May 23rd at 5:30pm in the closing hours of KPFA's extended fund drive. Molina reported that less than 5 days before the change was abruptly announced, interim manager Richard Pirodsky told Project Censored co-host Dr. Peter Phillips he would not be making changes prior to his departure, leading Molina to ask who exactly was making the decisions, if not Pirodsky. Molina stated the "slashing and scattering" was destroying the morale of a new group of emerging producers. Molina's complete remarks can be found here in audio and here in video. (<a href="https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/flashpoints-on-kpfa-radio-may" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/flashpoints-on-kpfa-radio-may</a>) (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D1087&h=6AQGYkXHW&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=1087</a>)<br />
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Molina asked listener-sponsors and members of the public to come to KPFA between 7 and 8 am on Monday May 26th to support the Morning Mix staffers.<br />
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The replacement program, Uprising, hosted by Sonali Kolhatkar was claimed to have posted large sums of money during a one week fund drive pre-emption. The extravagant amounts claimed by the Save KPFA faction in a newsletter they distribute were bizarre, claiming receipts exceeding $11,000 an hour and close to $100,000 in one week of broadcast. Kolhatkar's show, which has been on the air in the morning in LA for close to a decade, collected an average of $2,051 an hour on KPFK during its ten fund drive broadcasts on KPFK between May 1 and May 17, never once cracking the $3,000 mark and once collecting as little as $600. The KPFK fund drive dailes for May 1-20 can be seen here. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/f5v8jwv6wz1wij7/KPFK+Fund+Drive+Dailies+5-1+to+5-20.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/f5v8jwv6wz1wij7/KPFK+Fund+Drive+Dailies+5-1+to+5-20.pdf</a>)<br />
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The wacky numbers may be another example of the creative accounting often in play at Berkeley's KPFA, whose books were left unreconciled for 18 months, events income was unprocessed for up to a year after receipt, and whose last permanent general manager left a $375,000 check uncashed in a desk for 15 months. Or they may indicate an attempt by a group of wealthy individuals to "purchase" the morning drive time hour in Berkeley for Kolhatkar and the program.<br />
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Some Bay Area listeners posted on Kolhatkar's website letters suggesting she ask for a different time slot on KPFA. (<a href="http://uprisingradio.org/home/2014/05/22/uprising-expands-to-kpfa-in-northern-california/#comment-969534" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://uprisingradio.org/home/2014/05/22/uprising-expands-to-kpfa-in-northern-california/#comment-969534</a>)<br />
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The latest tumult comes only days after an eight week occupation of the foundation's Berkeley headquarters ended on May 13th after an illegitimate majority set off chaos by suddenly firing the executive director only weeks after a permanent hire and reinstated a CFO who had been let go for poor performance and workplace complaints. The re-hired CFO has still not been able to enter the headquarters without being accompanied by professional mediators and the investigation report has vanished for months.<br />
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The end of the national office occupation was witnessed by a KPFA member who wrote this essay about his experiences. (<a href="http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=1076" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=1076</a>)<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. (<a href="https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit</a>)<br />
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In a somewhat uneventful national board meeting on May 22nd, both Interim ED Duncan and the re-hired CFO gave brief reports in which they indicated lack of knowledge about many of the foundation's affairs. A motion to attend to securing a general counsel absorbed much of the meeting and was prevented from being dealt with at the meeting by the illegitimate majority. The audio can be heard here. The board ran out of time and did not proceed to a closed session afterwards. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpftx.org%2F&h=TAQGNb_fO&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpftx.org</a>).<br />
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KPFA LSB member (and United for Community Radio member) Samsarah Morgan wrote this piece in April about her experiences on KPFA's local station board. (<a href="http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=414" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=414</a>)<br />
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The workplace tensions at KPFA, which have occasionally exploded into violence, most notoriously in 2008 when unpaid staffer Nadra Foster was violently arrested in the lobby in August of 2008, are the subject of this 2005 email by a paid staffer objecting to harassing signs being posted around the station by a shop steward. The email, which was submitted into discovery in a lawsuit, conceals the identity of the two, and has the employee concluding that "I feel that X was very disrespectful to me and was participating in an action that will only help to create an even more hostile workplace than we all (sic) ready have at KPFA." The complete email can be read here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fw29f029wvxg1e1v%2FHostile%2BWork%2BEnvironment.pdf&h=7AQGq-45J&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/w29f029wvxg1e1v/Hostile+Work+Environment.pdf</a>)<br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced a town hall meeting at: EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st.<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-57915533349613244472014-05-18T11:43:00.000-04:002014-05-19T11:45:03.051-04:00What Majority?<div>
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What Majority?</h2>
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May 18, 2014 at 6:23pm<span class="timelineUnitContainer"><a aria-label="Public" class="passiveImg fbAudienceHover timelineAudienceSelector" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/tracy-rosenberg/what-majority/10202079308125574#" role="button"><i class="img sp_zfcVAcBYFvQ sx_14e718"></i></a></span></div>
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<strong>Berkeley</strong>-As the first week after the TRO ruling passes, the extent of the shaky foundation of the 2014 rogue board continues to emerge. The lack of eligibility of not one, but two of the twelve directors claiming to constitute the majority of the board is unquestionable. Boards of directors of CA nonprofit organizations have only the powers and authorities vested in them by the organization's bylaws, and in this case, that's not looking like anything at all.<br />
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WPFW listener representative Tony Norman, who is currently claiming to be vice-chair of the board,certified to Pacifica that he did not hold a public office when elected to the local board in DC. That was false. Norman's position as an elected neighborhood commissioner is described by the DC Board of Elections as an elected public office and by the District of Columbia Office of the Corporate Counsel as an elected official of the District of Columbia government. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/xzleg0ix6vctdbl/Public+office.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/xzleg0ix6vctdbl/Public+office.pdf</a>) (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fk20nnn4q4bjv0cb%2Ftony%2Bnorman.pdf&h=xAQGA-YlX&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/k20nnn4q4bjv0cb/tony+norman.pdf</a>)<br />
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Pacifica's bylaws state that "no person who holds any elected or appointed public office at any level of government , federal, state, or local , or is a candidate for such office shall be eligible for election". (<a href="http://www.cosmicterror.net/bylaws/art4sec2.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cosmicterror.net/bylaws/art4sec2.html</a>)<br />
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KPFT listener representative Hank Lamb is a member of the KPFT unpaid staff and would not have been eligible to join the local or national boards as a listener delegate. Lamb's KPFT station email contact form can be seen here. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/pnuembn916spx8s/KPFT+90.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/pnuembn916spx8s/KPFT+90.pdf</a>)<br />
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The Pacifica bylaws differentiate between classes of members and do not permit station staff members, paid or unpaid, to fill listener representative positions. "Any Listener-Sponsor Member in good standing, <strong>except radio station management personnel or Foundation management personnel or staff members</strong>, may be nominated for the position of Listener-Sponsor Delegate for the Foundation radio station with which s/he is affiliated". (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cosmicterror.net%2Fbylaws%2Fart4sec2.html&h=uAQFiO0rp&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cosmicterror.net/bylaws/art4sec2.html</a>)<br />
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So what to make of these endemic bylaws violations? While they certainly indicate sloppiness in carrying out Pacifica's elections over the last few years, the more important index is that, without the invocation of an "emergency", ongoing lack of compliance with bylaws introduces real questions about board authority. Seating ineligible directors does not constitute an emergency.<br />
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A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here. (<a href="http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?page_id=662" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?page_id=662</a>)<br />
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Director Lamb, who has made previous appearances in Pacifica In Exile for his rant on the gun rights of patriots and threatening emails to network staffers, also presents the problem of multiple felony convictions. The Communications Act of 1934 allows the Federal Communications Communication (FCC) to order a party applying for a broadcast relicensure with felony convictions to show cause for why they should be granted a broadcast license. With two of Pacifica's stations in the relicensure process right now (WBAI-FM and KPFT-FM),<br />
Lambs failure to disclose his long rap sheet on his candidate statement introduces an element of risk that Pacifica's board should have (and did not) consider with advice of counsel, before risking both station's licenses. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Ftah49s3jjn3bl4i%2FPacifica%2BCandidate%2BStatement.pdf&h=UAQE9X0t5&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/tah49s3jjn3bl4i/Pacifica+Candidate+Statement.pdf</a>)<br />
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In a horrifying social media comment, KPFA local station board member Mark Hernandez (and Save KPFA member) proposed biometric surveillance at the front door of the community radio station in Berkeley before dismissing the idea as "too expensive". Biometric surveillance, which is often referred to as "face-recognition software" is one of the Orwellian devices recently floated for Oakland's Domain Awareness Center (DAC) before the Oakland City Council rolled back the proposal due to a huge community uproar.<br />
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KPFA LSB member (and United for Community Radio member) Samsarah Morgan wrote this piece in April about her experiences on KPFA's local station board. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D414&h=sAQHhPO3-&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=414</a>)<br />
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The last edition discussed Dan Siegel's unethical investigation of sexual and racial harassment charges he knew in advance to be false at Pacifica. This pattern of facilitating false charges has come up before inSiegel and Yee's legal dossier when a 2010 ruling in <em>M</em><em>oreno vs. Ostly</em> resulted in a sexual harassment claim rebounding against Siegel and Yee's client with a $1 million dollar award for defamation. The prevailing side mentioned that "the system is not to be used to bring claims that are not legitimate because you have some sort of personal vendetta". (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Foq0354df10o0q22%2FAtty%2BLabeled%2B%2527Sexual%2BPredator%2527%2BWins%2B%25241.pdf%2339%3BSexual_Predator%27_Wins_%241.pdf&h=2AQH6x_hJ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/oq0354df10o0q22/Atty+Labeled+%27Sexual+Predator%27+Wins+%241.pdf#39;Sexual_Predator'_Wins_$1.pdf</a>)<br />
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Siegel and Yee were sanctioned for "misuse of the discovery process" and engaging in a "charade". (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fvjwa50jnl8wrx5g%2FCourt%2BSanctions%2BPlaintiff%2Band%2BCounsel%2Bfor%2BMisuse%2Bof%2BDiscovery%2BProcess%252C%2BIncluding%2BFailing%2Bto%2BReveal%2BThat%2BRelevant%2BCell%2BPhones%2Bwere%2BDiscarded%2B_%2BElectronic%2BDiscovery%2BLaw%2BBlog.pdf&h=sAQHhPO3-&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/vjwa50jnl8wrx5g/Court+Sanctions+Plaintiff+and+Counsel+for+Misuse+of+Discovery+Process%2C+Including+Failing+to+Reveal+That+Relevant+Cell+Phones+were+Discarded+_+Electronic+Discovery+Law+Blog.pdf</a>)<br />
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Siegel testified in 2011, as a sitting board member at KPFA, on behalf of former CFO Lonnie Hicks, that Hick's firing was caused by racism. Hicks won a $440,000 settlement and Pacifica shortly afterwards lost its directors and officers insurance policy and was only able to secure coverage at 3x the price, greatly exacerbating the financial stress at the network. Siegel's deposition (in a long and short version) can be found here. Multiple board members have reported over the years that Hick's financial statements were chronically confusing and they believed him to be concealing information. The controller Hicks hired and worked with for many years was later found to have been convicted of embezzling $90,000 from a previous employer and was let go by Reese in 2012 after charging personal items on the nonprofits credit card.<br />
(<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fs24vs9uqb9gbkk4%2FHicks%2BSiegel%2BDepo%2Bpgs%2B115-117.pdf&h=NAQFYOOMh&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/s24vs9uqb9gbkk4/Hicks+Siegel+Depo+pgs+115-117.pdf</a>)<br />
(<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fpud1n61m3m7t3xm%2FHicks%2BSiegel%2BDepo%2B100317.pdf&h=LAQEnUTiH&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/pud1n61m3m7t3xm/Hicks+Siegel+Depo+100317.pdf</a>)<br />
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The court decision, if upheld on June 3rd, may also clear the way for "organizational darwinism" (as the decision to partition the network was described by attorney Dan Siegel) to prevail as the California stations may be poised to throw the weaker East Coast and Texas stations overboard by either withholding financial support or selling off the weaker units to endow the stronger ones, as some board members have publicly recommended.<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates can be found here. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit&h=lAQE8euFt&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit</a>)<br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced a town hall meeting at EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st.<br />
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<em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em><br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-31941919099194122062014-05-16T17:26:00.001-04:002014-05-16T17:26:22.226-04:00The Business of Collapse<div>
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The Business of Collapse</h2>
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May 16, 2014 at 4:31am<span class="timelineUnitContainer"><a aria-label="Public" class="passiveImg fbAudienceHover timelineAudienceSelector" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/tracy-rosenberg/the-business-of-collapse/10202064429873627#" role="button"><i class="img sp_zfcVAcBYFvQ sx_14e718"></i></a></span></div>
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<strong>Berkeley</strong>-While waiting for the next court appearance on June 3rd, disconnects between vacuous executive reports and the reality of the grim situation at Pacifica are vivid. A bizarre chair's report professes ignorance about the financial state of the network. It also states the hijacked workplace investigation report about multiple complaints against the re-hired CFO that has been in Wilkinson's sole possession since March 17th, will be released to the board after Pacifica's HR firm returns a call. Wilkinson's contention appears to be a phone call she placed in March has not been returned for two months, preventing her from releasing the report to the rest of the board. The full report can be found here. <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/ae6t4zvnbmsim7g/Gmail+-+%5BPacificaRadiowaves%5D+Fw_+Public+Chair%27s+Report+--+feel+free+to+share.pdf#39;s_Report_--_feel_free_to_share.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/ae6t4zvnbmsim7g/Gmail+-+%5BPacificaRadiowaves%5D+Fw_+Public+Chair%27s+Report+--+feel+free+to+share.pdf#39;s_Report_--_feel_free_to_share.pdf</a>)<br />
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To fill in the financial picture for the purported chair and the public:<br />
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1) WBAI's antenna/transmitter rental space on NY's Empire State Building is $150,000 past due in rent and the final payment deadline is May 23rd, after Reese negotiated an extenson in April.<br />
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2) KPFT's, whose re-licensure application has been frozen since August 1, 2013 will need to apply for a 5th consecutive waiver to operate at less than full power. The station's transmitter is entering the 8th year of its anticipated 10 year lifespan and "cannot" run at full power without risking catastrophic system failure.<br />
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3) WPFW has been fundraising for two weeks and has achieved only 15% of its goal, presenting a disastrous scenario for the next few months.<br />
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Behind the scenes, hints are being made about "corporate restructuring" of the national headquarters. Restructuring is likely to futher destabilize the accounting system, which has recently had to deal with a year's worth of missing event income at KPFA, a KPFK bookkeeper filling out other people's tax returns on KPFK's accounting computers, piles of unreconciled books, and more than half of 2012 income booked at the various stations being placed in "suspense accounts" by auditor Armanino McKenna, meaning local records did not clearly indicate where the money came from.<br />
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A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D981&h=XAQFCb4f8&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=981</a><br />
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An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=bAQHf8h06&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=91</a><br />
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Reese spent May 14th testifying at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on behalf of Pacifica in the case filed by SAG-AFTRA after Wilkinson gave final approval to personnel changes that had not been signed off on by the union local. SAG-AFTRA had agreed not to file at the time of Reese's attempted firing on March 13th, but reneged and filed at the NLRB two weeks after Reese's termination.<br />
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An interview with Reese can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D429&h=HAQGRiWOr&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=429</a><br />
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The court decision, if upheld on June 3rd, may also clear the way for "organizational darwinism" (as the decision to partition the network was described by attorney Dan Siegel) to prevail as the California stations may be poised to throw the weaker East Coast and Texas stations overboard by either withholding financial support or selling off the weaker units to endow the stronger ones, as some board members have publicly recommended.<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit&h=nAQENS5T8&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit</a><br />
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New documents emerging revealing some of the tangled history that led to the current crisis. In order to shed light on the path to network breakup; some selected "wayback machine" documents will be released from time to time in order to allow the public, station members and journalists acess to information.<br />
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This first archive addresses two very current players in the 2014 Pacifica destabilization. In 2008, volunteer programmer Nadra Foster (who had been with the station for more than 14 years), was arrested violently in KPFA's lobby after management called the police. The event shocked many, and happened a year after the unpaid staff organization was derecognized, a traumatic event for a workplace with a long history of volunteerism. GM Lemlem Rijio sent an email to then-corporate counsel Dan Siegel (now the attorney for the rogue board majority) about a letter signed by 56 staffers upset at the Foster arrest and the preceeding derecognition, which might have provided an avenue for resolving the issue without the use of police. The September 8, 2008 email has Rijio saying "all this because I derecognized the unpaid staff organization". Rijio specifically mentions Voices of the Middle East producer Shahram Aghamir who was newly elected as a staff representative on KPFA's LSB, having gotten the highest number of votes ever recorded for a KPFA staff candidate, as opposing her actions. The email can be found here. <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/mhny52ofw90m2hb/No+confidence.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/mhny52ofw90m2hb/No+confidence.pdf</a><br />
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A month later, on October 11, 2008, Rijio again emailed Siegel, this time filing formal complaints of sexual and racial harassment against "Aghamir and co", now expanded to include national board member Joe Wanzala and local board member Tracy Rosenberg. Rijio's complaint said the board members were criticizing her "because she was a black woman", not due to concerns by more than a 1/4 of the station's staff about volunteers being arrested and jailed. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Figagp92aa5c5yjw%2FRijio%2BComplaint.pdf&h=XAQFCb4f8&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/igagp92aa5c5yjw/Rijio+Complaint.pdf</a><br />
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Corporate counsel Siegel failed to disclose or divulge the earlier email of September 8, 2008. The email confirmed no sexual or racial harassment had taken place and Rijio's concerns were about the impact of the open letter on her attempt to land the managerial job permanently and wanting to smother criticism of the derecognition of the unofficial bargaining unit for volunteers. Unethically Siegel proposed to investigate the bogus charges, while<strong> concealing his knowledge that they were false.</strong><br />
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Pacifica eventually admitted the charges were bogus, apologized to the three, and re-recognized the Unpaid Staff Organziation. Rijio was let go after she was found to be hiding a $375,000 check in her desk drawer for 14 months. Wanzala and Aghamir say a Google search on their names still reveals the false sexual harassment charges against them.<br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced more town hall meetings:<br />
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One on May 17th at the Marcus Garvey building at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland <a href="http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa</a><br />
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One at EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpfa.org%2Fevents%2Fkpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian&h=XAQFCb4f8&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian</a><br />
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A second document goes back to 2005, when news reporter Brian Edwards-Tiekert (and current member of the rogue board majority) left a printout of an email he wrote at a station communal printer. The misplaced email referred to "dismantling the local station board" and "making his enemies responsible for the problems to come" (presumably the financial problems). The elected station boards had been in existence for less than 2 years at the time of their proposed dismantling. The email can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F4cse6t24y7byslj%2FEdwards-Tiekert%2B.pdf&h=9AQGgbDuv&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/4cse6t24y7byslj/Edwards-Tiekert+.pdf</a><br />
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What has recently come to light is an NLRB complaint Edwards-Tiekert filed claiming he was being discriminated against by the finding of the letter.<br />
Then Pacifica counsels Howard, Rice Nemorovski wrote a scathing letter that resulted in the immediate dismissal of the charges. The letter states "Edwards-Tiekert's charges are simply elements of his political infighting with various members of the board and management at KPFA. He continues to abuse board processes for ends completely unrelated to the purposes of the Act. The factual allegations and legal theory put forth by this party are insulting nonsense". <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Ft3032vlt4szubav%2FNLRB%2BTiekert%2B2005.pdf&h=vAQGR2UHJ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/t3032vlt4szubav/NLRB+Tiekert+2005.pdf</a><br />
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Years later, the pattern of abusing board processes to prevent transparency and accountability hasn't let up a whit.<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-46888270053884513402014-05-16T12:25:00.003-04:002014-05-16T12:25:30.278-04:00Court Order<a href="http://www.savekpfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Order-denying-PJ-granting-TRO.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.savekpfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Order-denying-PJ-granting-TRO.pdf</a>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-50082298119567082972014-05-14T08:08:00.002-04:002014-05-14T08:08:37.793-04:00A Morning After at Pacifica National Headquarters<div>
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A Morning After</h2>
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May 14, 2014 at 4:51am<span class="timelineUnitContainer"><a aria-label="Public" class="passiveImg fbAudienceHover timelineAudienceSelector" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/tracy-rosenberg/a-morning-after/10202052123485975#" role="button"><i class="img sp_zfcVAcBYFvQ sx_14e718"></i></a></span></div>
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<strong>Berkeley</strong>-A day after issuance of a 3-week temporary restraining order, a fairly remarkable meeting happened at the Pacifica national headquarters on May 13, 2014.<br />
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With about seven "occupiers" in residence, and after the departure of executive director Reese in the AM in deference to the court order, the three staffers brave enough to come into work eventually met with purported chair Margy Wilkinson. The three women, who according to their own reports, have experienced severe harassment during the 7 week occupation, with community members present and bearing witness, laid into Wilkinson about their distress about the rehire of former chief financial officer Raul Salvador after 5 workplace complaints were filed, and talked in detail about KPFA's obstruction of their work towards the completion of the audit, as well as their concerns about retaliation from the board majority. An eyewitness who didn't want to be identified, reported "I think all three of the women who came in were in tears at one point or another at the very idea that she would force them to work under Raul Salvador again. When Margy asked about the audit, the staff also let her know in no uncertain terms that KPFA is the problem. Margy tried to say she wasn't going to talk to them about it, but they didn't let her evade the issue with all of us there. It explains a lot of why Summer felt she needed to go in there to protect her staff, and to protect the organization."<br />
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The upshot is that the national headquarters closed early at 2:00pm Pacific and there are apparently more meetings scheduled tomorrow. Workers, occupiers and rogue board members all have left the building for the day.<br />
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A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D981&h=DAQH9W-cT&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=981</a><br />
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An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=0AQEqqKL2&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=91</a><br />
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The court decision, if upheld on June 3rd, may also clear the way for "organizational darwinism" (as the decision to partition the network was described by attorney Dan Siegel) to prevail as the California stations may be poised to throw the weaker East Coast and Texas stations overboard by either withholding financial support or selling off the weaker units to endow the stronger ones, as some board members have publicly recommended.<br />
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The deadline for Texas station KPFT to apply for its 5th consecutive low-power waiver from the Federal Communications Commission while delaying re-licensing until it solves the transmitter problems, is May 27th, or 14 days from today.<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit&h=KAQGvfSt5&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit</a><br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced more town hall meetings:<br />
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One on May 17th at the Marcus Garvey building at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland <a href="http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa</a><br />
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One at EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpfa.org%2Fevents%2Fkpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian&h=IAQFN1yyZ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian</a><br />
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<em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em><br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-35188395271135446922014-05-13T11:11:00.002-04:002014-05-13T11:11:57.945-04:00Three Week Narrow Restraining Order Granted<strong>Berkeley</strong>- Alameda Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou issued a temporary restraining order today pending a new preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for June 3, 2014 at 9am in Department 15. The restraining order states ""Pending the hearing on the order to show cause (on June 3rd), Reese is enjoined from entering, remaining, blocking ingress into or egress from, or the passage of persons into and out of PFR's national office at 1925 Berkeley Way. The court at this time, limits the temporary restraining order to Summer Reese herself. PFR has not identified Does 1-100 and each of them, their agents, employees and representatives and all persons acting in concert or participating" with her, nor has it provided any information that would allow anyone seeking to enforce this order who these individuals may be. PFR may seek to expand the scope of this temporary restraining order upon a showing that those individuals are trespassing at the national office or committing a nuisance or disorderly conduct"<br />
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The full temporary ruling can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F609la5sdxzti0ax%2FOrder-denying%2BPJ-granting%2BTRO.pdf&h=NAQGnXKAz&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/609la5sdxzti0ax/Order-denying+PJ-granting+TRO.pdf</a><br />
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A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D981&h=WAQEx0lCP&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=981</a><br />
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The narrow ruling did not substantively address the underlying issues and focused exclusively on Reese's physical presence at the nonprofit's headquarters. It will be in effect until June 3rd, with a PDGG opposition due to the court on May 20th. Upcoming hearings will include the June 3rd hearing as to whether the restraining order will continue past that date, a June 12th hearing on whether to remove Siegel and Yee as Pacifica's legal representative in the matter going forward, and the PDGG legal complaint in toto.<br />
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The ruling indicated that at this time, the court is not yet convinced that the PDGG directors will prevail in the long-term, which is the legal standard that must be met to merit the issuance of a preliminary injunction. The underlying legal case will continue to trial or settlement, with the temporary restraining order up for reconsideration on June 3rd.<br />
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The specific focus of the ruling leaves many matters up in the air for a while longer, including breach of fiduciary duty charges against the rogue board majority, the status of the terminated/rehired CFO with numerous workplace complaints and a hijacked workplace investigation report, several sets of contested board minutes, the questionable status of the board officers, and the long-term status of Reese and whether she is entitled to injunctive relief due to being fired for failing to disclose a social security number, and what the economic impact of that inadequately-noticed termination will be on the struggling nonprofit.<br />
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An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=rAQEBGwIA&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=91</a><br />
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The court decision, if upheld on June 3rd, may also clear the way for "organizational darwinism" (as the decision to partition the network was described by attorney Dan Siegel) to prevail as the California stations may be poised to throw the weaker East Coast and Midwest stations overboard by either withholding financial support or selling off the wekaer units to endow the stronger ones, as some board members have publicly recommended.<br />
<br />
A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit-wit-radio-march-30th&h=8AQEbAe3C&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit-wit-radio-march-30th</a><br />
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Management instability will continue with the interim executive director appointed by the rogue board majority describing his tenure in the position as "just a few months" and the board having no search process for a replacement convened or underway, opening the prospect of at least one more proposed interim executive director appointment following Duncan, if no corrective action is taken eventually by the court.<br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced more town hall meetings:<br />
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One on May 17th at the Marcus Garvey building at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unitedforcommunityradio.org%2F%3Fp%3D946&h=xAQHQVoSt&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.unitedforcommunityradio.org/?p=946</a><br />
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One at EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st.<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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<span class="photo "><img alt="" class="photo_img img" src="https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10320584_10202045637923840_3897385376660414715_n.jpg" title="" /></span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-25661333800390314882014-05-09T15:01:00.003-04:002014-05-09T15:01:30.717-04:00EX-CFO Chases Away Payroll Vendor<div>
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May 9, 2014 at 11:19am<span class="timelineUnitContainer"><a aria-label="Public" class="passiveImg fbAudienceHover timelineAudienceSelector" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/10202017431978709/#" id="js_1" role="button"><i class="img sp_yDPiW61Tb3e sx_721aa4"></i></a></span></h2>
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<strong>Berkeley</strong>- Former chief financial officer Raul Salvador has reportedly so upset payroll vendor Paychex Inc with daily harassing phone calls and emails, that the East Bay payroll processing firm has pulled the plug on Pacifica's payroll account and is currently refusing to issue payroll checks for the upcoming payroll on May 15th. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/uxjfutjaeb0m40s/Payroll+Problem+Alert.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/uxjfutjaeb0m40s/Payroll+Problem+Alert.pdf</a>) (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/p8672euqhn9p8z4/E122Paychex_letterhead.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/p8672euqhn9p8z4/E122Paychex_letterhead.pdf</a>)<br />
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The failure of the payroll processing company to issue checks opens up a cascading series of disasters, as the firm automatically processes a variety of deductions and additions, including federal and state taxes, garnishments, union dues, seniority bonuses and pension payments. At least 3 of the 5 Pacifica stations have no full-time bookkeeper on site, even if one person could manually calculate and issue all of the required checks. Payroll failure can be expected to result in new National Labor Relations Board grievances at all 4 unionized units as well as greatly distressing 161 employees who expect to be paid and paid on time.<br />
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Salvador's attacks on the payroll vendor follow a series of letters issued on law firm Siegel and Yee's letterhead, first by board member Jose Luis Fuentes (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fa5c2esgh7be66ob%2FPaychex_letter_3-28-14.pdf&h=9AQHwhE2G&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/a5c2esgh7be66ob/Paychex_letter_3-28-14.pdf</a>) (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Ffede3ba8p5lfe51%2Ffuentes_email.pdf&h=lAQFfmyjW&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/fede3ba8p5lfe51/fuentes_email.pdf</a>) And then by Oakland mayoral candidate Dan Siegel, (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Ffanvmp5a9we5sgh%2FSandra_Cain.pdf&h=OAQG_gQJ5&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/fanvmp5a9we5sgh/Sandra_Cain.pdf</a>). Both letters implying that the firm was serving as Pacifica's general counsel, although they have not been appointed to that position and have no authority to send letters to the firm's vendors instructing them to do anything. Pacifica has had no general counsel since the resignation of Terry Gross of Gross, Belsky and Alonzo at the end of March.<br />
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The ongoing reckless behavior of the board majority, in addition to causing distress and confusion to vendors and employees, who may be faced with delayed compensation from these latest stunts, points to a pattern of risking institutional failure in the pursuit of an agenda of dissolution and the forced sale of one or more units to endow the rest.<br />
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A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fpage_id%3D662&h=jAQGFjrOC&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?page_id=662</a>)<br />
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The CFO position reports directly to the executive director and to the board of directors. Several PDGG directors tried repeatedly to discuss the possible failure to issue the payroll at the May 8th national board meeting and the ex-CFO and the Siegel law firm's destructive actions, but were not allowed to by the board majority.<br />
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Little was accomplished at the 4 hour national board meeting, which largely consisted of another shutdown by the board majority of any meaningful discussion. To briefly summarize: (the open session audio is available here (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fkpftx.org%2Farchive.php&h=RAQECUZ69&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://kpftx.org/archive.php</a>) and the closed session audio is not available):<br />
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A continuing breach of order point regarding the occupation of the chair position by Margy Wilkinson and refusal to draw lots by the board majority despite the 11-11 tied vote for board chair since February of 2014 was voted down again. KPFA staff rep Brian Edwards-Tiekert attempted to argue that the purported chair's ruling that the point was "dilatory" could not even be discussed.<br />
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Documents emerging that vice-chair of the board Tony Norman certified falsely that he held no elected public office (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fk20nnn4q4bjv0cb%2Ftony%2Bnorman.pdf&h=9AQHwhE2G&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/k20nnn4q4bjv0cb/tony+norman.pdf</a>) and was ineligible for Pacifica board service from December of 2010 to March of 2014 (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fxzleg0ix6vctdbl%2FPublic_office.pdf&h=6AQHd4fhL&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/xzleg0ix6vctdbl/Public_office.pdf</a>) were ignored by the board majority.<br />
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A motion to compel the distribution to the full board of the certified workplace investigation report on the numerous complaints against the former CFO was moved to closed session, where it was never discussed. Wilkinson hijacked the report on March 17th and has not disclosed its contents to the board of directors nor to the 5 staffers who filed the complaints.<br />
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Requests to provide the board with the letter of retainer between the law firm Siegel and Yee and the Pacifica Foundation were refused. Requests to provide the board with any contractual documents signed with a contractor to run the 2014 delegates election were refused.<br />
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In the closed session of the board meeting, which again proceeded with no agenda in violation of open meeting requirements, two incorrectly reported motions were corrected in 2-month old meeting minutes and then further corrections were shouted down and the remaining errors in the March 6, 2014 minutes were passed into the record. No other work was conducted.<br />
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Pacifica-In-Exile readers are strongly encouraged to donate to their local stations. If the May 6th preliminary injunction request is granted, there will be a need to settle out the new lawsuits and labor grievances, meet equipment needs, and repair the havoc of the past few months. All 5 station websites (wbai.org, kpfk.org, wpfw.org,kpft.org, kpfa.org) as well as pacifica.org, can process online donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<br />
<br />
Your support will help to avert a threatened break-up of the network and keep all 5 radio major-market licenses non-commercial and non-corporate for the long run.<br />
<br />
The <em>PDGG vs. Pacifica </em>complaint can be found here in a 137-page full complaint (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F2t8jah3fdykrr0l%2FPDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf&h=DAQFSvg5z&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf</a>) , a 24-page Memorandum of Points and Authorities (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fvl5ggcll8tyfum8%2FMemorandum_of_Points_and_Authorities.pdf&h=wAQE6YfL0&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum_of_Points_and_Authorities.pdf</a>) and a 70 page response (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F499g11zz54glvk2%2FSR_TRO_Opposition.pdf&h=KAQFZaPDP&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/499g11zz54glvk2/SR_TRO_Opposition.pdf</a>) to the Siegel and Yee TRO requesting court permission to call the police into Pacifica's headquarters. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F264o97gmwl6cb6n%2FRequest_for_TRO_to_Evict_From_The_National_Office.pdf_&h=hAQGuEsJM&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/264o97gmwl6cb6n/Request_for_TRO_to_Evict_From_The_National_Office.pdf_</a>)<br />
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An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=WAQF6nwuy&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91</a>)<br />
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KPFA local station board member and Oakland community activist Samsarah Morgan wrote about her perceptions after a year on the board here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D414&h=AAQGGFi_F&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=414</a>)<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit-wit-radio-march-30th&h=CAQGeiFFZ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit-wit-radio-march-30th</a>)<br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced more town hall meetings:<br />
<br />
One on May 17th at the Marcus Garvey building at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpfa.org%2Fevents%2Fkpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa&h=eAQF8uOCZ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa</a>)<br />
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One at EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpfa.org%2Fevents%2Fkpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian&h=5AQFXu2EI&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian</a>)<br />
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Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is".<br />
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Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since March 17th.<br />
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###<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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<span class="photo "><img alt="" class="photo_img img" src="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1907634_10202017505820555_8874703877173806223_n.jpg" title="" /></span></div>
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-32390492056205362692014-05-07T08:36:00.002-04:002014-05-07T08:36:54.041-04:00Hearing Day <strong>Berkeley</strong>-Various aspects of the <em>PDGG vs. Pacifica </em>lawsuit package (now expanded with a Siegel and Yee restraining order request and cross-complaint) were heard in Alameda Superior Court on the morning of May 6th. In a lengthy hearing, 5 witnesses testified. KPFA programmer Brian Edwards-Tiekert was the only witness for the Siegel and Yee side, and told a couple whoppers on the witness stand, including misquoting bylaws about telephonic meetings and asserting board member service at Pacifica is compensated when it is not. There were 4 witnesses for the PDGG side including 2013-2014 board member Richard Uzzell, Reese, national office senior accountant Joyce Black and 2013 PNB member Tracy Rosenberg.<br />
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The hearing largely revolved around issues of meeting notices, contracts/offer letters and the issue of Reese's lack of a social security number, which is the stated reason for the motion to fire her from Siegel and Yee associate Jose Luis Fuentes.<br />
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The judge agreed to review all of the pleadings and issue her decision as quickly as possible. Nothing was released on the court's website at press time.<br />
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For those who want to take a look at all of the legal filings to date: here is a cheat sheet.<br />
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April 4th PDGG - Original Complaint <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F8u7340q7vy4uq77%2FCase%2BHG14720131.pdf&h=GAQG5uOTr&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/8u7340q7vy4uq77/Case+HG14720131.pdf</a><br />
Request for Injunction PDGG <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/ik2km35b5988eji/Injunction+Request+-+Amended.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/ik2km35b5988eji/Injunction+Request+-+Amended.pdf</a><br />
Memorandum of Points and Authorities PDGG <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fvl5ggcll8tyfum8%2FMemorandum%2Bof%2BPoints%2Band%2BAuthorities.pdf&h=uAQEAWxY0&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf</a><br />
April 15th PDGG - Amended Complaint <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F2t8jah3fdykrr0l%2FPDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf&h=YAQG1rxMo&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf</a><br />
Siegel - Opposition to Preliminary Injunction <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Frsj3an8o9fox1zo%2FResponse%2Bto%2BPreliminary%2BInjunction%2BRequest.pdf&h=AAQGGFi_F&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/rsj3an8o9fox1zo/Response+to+Preliminary+Injunction+Request.pdf</a><br />
Siegel - Request for TRO to Evict from National Office <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F264o97gmwl6cb6n%2FRequest%2Bfor%2BTRO%2Bto%2BEvict%2BFrom%2BThe%2BNational%2BOffice.pdf&h=-AQElxZbX&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/264o97gmwl6cb6n/Request+for+TRO+to+Evict+From+The+National+Office.pdf</a><br />
April 30th PDGG Reply Brief <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fjxud95xpjzi9zub%2FApril%2B30%2BPDGG%2BReply%2BBrief.pdf&h=3AQEB6XhW&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/jxud95xpjzi9zub/April+30+PDGG+Reply+Brief.pdf</a><br />
Siegel Cross-Complaint for Monetary Damages from Summer Reese <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F4qu7b6u2ere137a%2FCross-Complaint%2Bfor%2BMonetary%2BDamages.pdf&h=YAQG1rxMo&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/4qu7b6u2ere137a/Cross-Complaint+for+Monetary+Damages.pdf</a><br />
Reese - Opposition to Request for TRO <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F499g11zz54glvk2%2FSR%2BTRO%2BOpposition.pdf&h=sAQFFnk7R&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/download/499g11zz54glvk2/SR+TRO+Opposition.pdf</a><br />
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The 5 Pacifica stations went into fund drive this week, with reasonably positive numbers so far. Pacifica-In-Exile readers are strongly encouraged to donate to their local stations. If the May 6th preliminary injunction request is granted, there will be a need to settle out the new lawsuits and labor grievances, meet equipment needs, and repair the havoc of the past few months. All 5 station websites (wbai.org, kpfk.org, wpfw.org, kpft.org, kpfa.org) as well as pacifica.org, can process online donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<br />
<br />
Your support will help to avert a threatened break-up of the network and keep all 5 radio major-market licenses non-commercial and non-corporate for the long run.<br />
<br />
A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fpage_id%3D662&h=JAQEQinyp&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?page_id=662</a><br />
<br />
An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=iAQH0uiR4&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91</a><br />
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A community forum held at the Berkeley Federation of Universalist Unitarians (BFUU) discussed the current situation last Sunday and is available on video. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D916&h=SAQGXUTbU&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=916</a>. The crowd was overwhelmingly opposed to the actions of the rogue board majority. Listener Daniel Borgstrom wrote about the forum and the last local station board meeting here. <a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=924" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=924</a><br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced more town hall meetings:<br />
<br />
One on May 17th at the Marcus Garvey building at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpfa.org%2Fevents%2Fkpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa&h=BAQET5sZT&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa</a><br />
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One at EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st.<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpfa.org%2Fevents%2Fkpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian&h=AAQGGFi_F&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian</a><br />
<br />
Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is".<br />
<br />
Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since March 17th.<br />
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###<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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<span class="photo "><img alt="" class="photo_img img" src="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10262242_10202003007298101_1235575372664732655_n.jpg" title="" /></span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-16092247220013572562014-05-06T09:09:00.001-04:002014-05-06T09:09:04.348-04:00You're Not Who You Say You Are<div class="_4_j6 _4f_z">
<div class="_4_j7">
<strong>Berkeley</strong>-In an action that could be cause for disbarment, Oakland attorney Dan Siegel today issued a letter to Pacifica's payroll vendor stating he is the counsel for the Pacifica Foundation. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/fanvmp5a9we5sgh/Sandra+Cain.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/fanvmp5a9we5sgh/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>Sandra+Cain.pdf</a>) The position of general counsel for the foundation is one selected by the entire Pacifica <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">National Board. No such decision has been made by the board's own declaration. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/c0bqna4yefj2k47/pacifica.org_documents_pnb_exec_140414.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/c0bqna4yefj2k47/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>pacifica.org_documents_pnb_exec</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>_140414.pdf</a>)</span></div>
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<span>The 5 Pacifica stations went into fund drive this week, with reasonably positive numbers so far. KPFK booked $99,000 in their first four days and KPFA booked $85,000. Numbers are not yet available from the non-California stations. Pacifica-In-Exile readers are strongly encouraged to donate to their local stations. If the May 6th preliminary injunction request is granted, there will be a need to settle out the new lawsuits and labor grievances, meet equipment needs, and repair the havoc of the past few months. All 5 station websites (wbai.org,kpfk.org, wpfw.org, </span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>kpft.org, kpfa.org) as well as pacifica.org, can process online donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<br />
<br />
Your support will help to avert a threatened break-up of the network and keep all 5 radio major-market licenses non-commercial and non-corporate for the long run.<br />
<br />
A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here. (<a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?page_id=662" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?page_id=662</a>)<br />
<br />
Tomorrow, May 6th at 9:00am, the preliminary injunction request in <em>PDGG vs. Pacifica </em>will be heard in Alameda Superior Court in Department 15 with Judge Ioana Petrou. It will be followed at 10:00am by a hearing on the Siegel and Yee request to evict the national office. The opposition filing on the Siegel and Yee eviction request was filed on May 5th and can be found here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F499g11zz54glvk2%2FSR%2BTRO%2BOpposition.pdf&h=5AQFXu2EI&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/499g11zz54glvk2/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>SR+TRO+Opposition.pdf</a>)<br />
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The <em>PDGG vs. Pacifica </em>complaint can be found here in a 137-page full complaint (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F2t8jah3fdykrr0l%2FPDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf&h=CAQGeiFFZ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf</a>) and a 24-page Memorandum of Points and Authorities<br />
(<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fvl5ggcll8tyfum8%2FMemorandum%2Bof%2BPoints%2Band%2BAuthorities.pdf&h=CAQGeiFFZ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>Memorandum+of+Points+and+Author</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ities.pdf</a>)<br />
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Project Censored's Mickey Huff and Peter Phillips, volunteer programmers at the station whose program airs Friday mornings at 8:00am released this statement on May 2nd discussing the important role of volunteers like themselves in KPFA's mission, linking some of the recent struggles to the possibility of Cointelpro-style infiltration, and suggesting mediation for the entire Pacifica National Board. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D916&h=eAQF8uOCZ&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=916</a>)<br />
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An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here<br />
(<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=oAQGKYg6w&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=91</a>)<br />
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Pacifica in Exile tries to document some of the bizarre behavior manifesting in the rogue board majority, most of which passes under the radar screen of listener sponsors who have no access to the flurry of emails between board members. Having passed on a few emails in the last edition, here are some updates. KPFT listener-sponsor representative Hank Lamb, whose stirring recitation of National Rifle Assn talking points was sent out on a public list-serv, is a convicted felon, having served a 16-month prison sentence in Southern California in the 90's. This means two of the twelve directors that comprise the rogue majority have significant criminal records, which would probably prevent Pacifica from qualifying for bonding, as some directors have suggested be done in the past. It also brings up a larger question whether background checks are in order for board volunteers and whether candidates should be required to disclose material facts to voters, such as felony convictions, when they stand for election. (Lamb did not).<br />
KPFA local station board member and Oakland community activist Samsarah Morgan wrote about her perceptions after a year on the board here.<br />
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The national committee elections process, already months overdue (it should have been done in February), was thrown into disarray after a board member violated the secret ballot protocol by sending their electronic ballot to other board members rather than to the election teller. A member of the board majority was apparently running their ballot by the officers and LA board member Lydia Brazon - and accidentally sent it to the whole board. KPFA and KPFK board members Janet Kobren and Kim Kaufman had tried unsuccessfully to get the board to allow committee candidates to address the whole board to present their qualifications for the posts they have requested, but were denied by the officers.<br />
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A complaint filed by 8 former national board members with the CA Attorney General can be found here. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/dph6u4ov1woed9x/Attorney+General+Complaint+Non-Confidential.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/dph6u4ov1woed9x/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>Attorney+General+Complaint+Non-</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>Confidential.pdf</a>)<br />
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KPFA news anchor John Hamilton is moving to San Diego and vacating his part-time job at KPFA. We wish him well in his new endeavours. Hamilton's position avoided layoff in early 2011 after KPFA posted operating deficits of almost $600,000 the two previous years by the use of an Employment Development Department job-sharing program, which allowed members of the KPFA news department to temporarily reduce their working hours and get reimbursed by the State of California for the pay difference between their modified schedules and their normal schedules. The program has been in effect ever since, and Hamilton's departure should cause it to terminate as the vacancy is being advertised indicating KPFA no longer needs Employment Development Department subsidization to pay its payroll. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cpb.org%2Fjobline%2Flisting.php%3Flisting_id%3D15130&h=aAQHhJwnW&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.cpb.org/jobline/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>listing.php?listing_id=15130</a>)<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit-wit-radio-march-30th&h=ZAQEaXtYB&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>https://soundcloud.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>tracy-rosenberg/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>twit-wit-radio-march-30th</a>)<br />
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A community forum held at the Berkeley Federation of Universalist Unitarians (BFUU) discussed the current situation last Sunday and is available on video. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D897&h=GAQG5uOTr&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=897</a>) The crowd was overwhelmingly opposed to the actions of the rogue board majority. Listener Daniel Borgstrom wrote about the forum and the last local station board meeting here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D924&h=-AQElxZbX&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=924</a>)<br />
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KPFA's Community Advisory Board announced more town hall meetings:<br />
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One on May 17th at the Marcus Garvey building at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland (<a href="http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-meeting-liberty-halljubilee-westmarcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-oa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.kpfa.org/events/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>kpfa-west-oakland-town-hall-mee</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>ting-liberty-halljubilee-westm</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>arcus-garvey-bldg-1485-8th-st-</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>oa</a>)<br />
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One at EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale on June 21st. (<a href="http://www.kpfa.org/events/kpfa-radio-media-community-town-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-allian" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.kpfa.org/events/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>kpfa-radio-media-community-town</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>-hall-meeting-saturday-june-21</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>-2014-1-3pm-eastside-arts-alli</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>an</a>)<br />
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Attorney Alan Yee of Siegel and Yee misquoted Internal Revenue Service code USC 26 Section 6109 (c) in the injunction reponse filed by the rogue board majority. Looking to buttress their claim that Reese was never hired as the executive director, Yee printed a list of citations lifted directly from a "find law" page located in a google search without verifying if the IRS citation on the page was correct. It wasn't. Here is the correct citation:<br />
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<em>"26 USC 6109(a)(3) Furnishing number of another person Any person required under the authority of this title to make a return, statement, or other document with respect to another person shall request from such other person, and shall include in any such return, statement, or other document, such identifying number as may be prescribed for securing proper identification of such other person.</em><br />
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<em>26 CFR 301.6109-1(c) Requirement to furnish another's number. “If the person making the return, statement, or other document does not know the taxpayer identifying number of the other person, and such other person is one that is described in paragraph (b)(2)(i), (ii), (iii), or (vi) of this section, such person must request the other person's number. The request should state that the identifying number is required to be furnished under authority of law. When the person making the return, statement, or other document does not know the number of the other person, and has complied with the request provision of this paragraph (c), such person must sign an affidavit on the transmittal document forwarding such returns, statements, or other documents to the Internal Revenue Service, so stating”</em><br />
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The employer penalty is $50, usually described in legal lingo as a <em>de minimu</em>s burden i.e. "not much". The penalty, which the IRS never assessed Pacifica in 2012 when Reese was placed on payroll, is the sole employer consequence for failure to submit an employee's social security number after submitting an affidavit that the request was made.<br />
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Pacifica's board was told this in February of 2013 by their corporate counsel and would have been told so again in February 2014 had they allowed the corporate counsel to address the board.<br />
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Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is".<br />
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Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since March 17th.<br />
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###<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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<br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-68115261339473274892014-05-01T09:54:00.001-04:002014-05-01T10:07:38.398-04:00The Ideological Struggles of Jose Luis Fuentes and Hank Lamb<div style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><img height="106" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=1cd6e113dc&view=att&th=145b64ad05bbeb16&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_hunmf5yw0_145b6498779f5def&zw&atsh=1" width="181" /><br /> The Ideological Struggles of Jose Luis Fuentes and Hank Lamb</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Berkeley</b>-Reply briefs were filed today in <i>PDGG vs. Pacifica</i>. The documents include declarations from plaintiff Heather Gray, one of 2 board members representing Pacifica's 180 affiliated stations (WRFG in Atlanta, Georgia,) and national employee Weiling Thai, the pension and benefits administrator. The final set of filings can be found </span></span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/jxud95xpjzi9zub/April+30+PDGG+Reply+Brief.pdf" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/jxud95xpjzi9zub/April+30+PDGG+Reply+Brief.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">. The hearing for a preliminary injunction will be at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1501501711" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">9:00am</span></span> in Department 15 of the Alameda Superior Court. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found </span></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><img align="left" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEikeV6nVv94xK73tHntR7BhTzalo38YRJtwyUJySwNYfWZk0D6fAcfJNRmtkAaD02FzM1v8a0fxo3wlAtmsPJGli7af6y-SU6oE-0B_F2nl_sLfp4Ay0MFtRudcj68eHuvQkQIS_m-0lN3WRBU0NVBh12nSZUqsodqL1ktx=s0-d-e1-ft(3)(3).jpg" width="225" />Another bizarre email from Siegel and Yee associate attorney Jose Luis Fuentes has surfaced. Written in February, the email references attorneys "running away" and suggests they "stay out of the kitchen". The email incoherently warns people in glass houses should not throw "peddles" and references an unnamed ideological struggle Mr. Fuentes believes himself to be engaged in. In the interests of transparency to listener-members, the entire email is excerpted below.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mr Fuente's employers, Dan Siegel and Alan Yee, claim to be representing the Pacifica Foundation in the <i>PDGG vs Paci</i>fica lawsuit, a TRO request for police to assault the national office the court did not grant, and a countersuit requesting financial damages.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mr. Fuentes had previously replied to concern about a board meeting scheduled for the first day of Passover, by stating "he did not regret the bombing of the King David Hotel". (A 1946 bombing in Jerusalem by the right-wing Zionist militia, the Irgun). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>From: Jose Luis Fuentes [mailto:<a href="mailto:jlf499@gmail.com" target="_blank">jlf499@gmail.com</a>]<br /> Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2014 8:33 PM<br />To: Carolyn Birden<br />Cc: Margy Wilkinson; H Lamb; Richard Uzzell; Luzette King; PNB<br />Subject: Re: PNB meeting on 2/20<br /><br />I suggest that folks who want attorneys present donate 20,000 to Pacifica so we can hire attorneys that bring their A game to our meetings. Ms. Virtue (of Garvey, Schubert and Barer - Pacifica's FCC attorneys) brought her A game to our meeting and did not run away. Mr. Gross (Terry Gross of Belsky, Alonzo and Gross, Pacifica's former corporate counsel who resigned) did not bring his A game but he understood that it was best not to run away since he had clean hands. I expect attorneys that advise us to bring their A game. I suggest that if people cannot stand the heat in the kitchen to stay out. I suggest that people who live in glass house not to throw peddles {sic}. We are engaged in an ideological struggle and we must keep it there. Anything less is libertarian indulgence that eats away at the collective life.<br /><br />Sent from my iPhone</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mr Fuentes is reported to have bullied and threatened several attorneys at the meeting including Mr. Gross, Ms. Virtue and DC-based labor lawyer Cathy Harris. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A FAQ about the events of the last 75 days can be found </span></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?page_id=662" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A forum held by the Berkeley Unitarian Universalists congregation on April 27th was captured on video and the video can be viewed </span></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=897" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=897" target="_blank">here.</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=897" target="_blank"></a></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=897" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> The forum attracted 50-60 people and all but two expressed support for the on-going national office occupation. It can also be viewed on </span></span><a href="http://noliesradio.org/archives/81504" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://noliesradio.org/archives/81504" target="_blank">No Lies Radio</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://noliesradio.org/archives/81504" target="_blank"></a></span><a href="http://noliesradio.org/archives/81504" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and on </span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcGuunuPKhw" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Youtube.</span></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcGuunuPKhw" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #222222;">Summer Reese provided this</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/7pe5ga3k5pd6uun/Report+of+the+Executive+Director+April+27+2014.pdf" target="_blank">Report From The Executive Directo</a></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">r for the month of April with lots of information about the state of the network.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">All 5 Pacifica stations go into fundraising mode in May and Pacifica-In-Exile readers are strongly encouraged to donate to their local stations. If the <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1501501712" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">May 6th</span></span> preliminary injunction request is granted, there will be a need to settle out the new lawsuits and labor grievances, meet equipment needs, and repair the havoc of the past few months. All 5 station websites (<a href="http://wbai.org/" target="_blank">wbai.org</a>, <a href="http://kpfk.org/" target="_blank">kpfk.org</a>, <a href="http://wpfw.org/" target="_blank">wpfw.org</a>, <a href="http://kpft.org/" target="_blank">kpft.org</a>, <a href="http://kpfa.org/" target="_blank">kpfa.org</a>) as well as <a href="http://pacifica.org/" target="_blank">pacifica.org</a>, can process online donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Your support will help to avert a threatened break-up of the network and keep all 5 radio major-market licenses non-commercial and non-corporate for the long run.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found </span></span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit-wit-radio-march-30th" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">KPFA local station board member and Oakland community activist Samsarah Morgan sized up the situation </span></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=414" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is". </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1501501713" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">March 17th</span></span>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Just a few minutes ago, KPFT listener representative Hank Lamb shared his views on gun control on a Pacifica discussion board. Lamb is a member of the rogue board majority and has expressed frequently his desire to break up the network by doing a commercial license swap in New York. (Printed with the author's spelling errors). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span name="H Lamb">H Lamb</span> </span></span><a href="http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1311182&ctx=mail" style="color: #222222;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">via</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <a href="http://yahoogroups.com/" target="_blank">yahoogroups.com</a> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span alt="Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 10:10 PM" title="Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 10:10 PM">10:10 PM (13 minutes ago)</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #777777;">to <span dir="ltr" name="PacificaRadiow.">PacificaRadiow.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>I am pro-gun. The 2nd Amendment does not say guns, it says arms. Arms are anything used for offense or defense. Hpw cam people comtrol a government when the enforcers of that government (military and militia) have a tremendous advantage that mere firearms would be near impossible to overcome that advantage with. It is an invitation to abuse citizens, sent by citizens that allowed it. A military (well regulated regulars and militia) is necessary to maintain a free nation among other nations, so in order to maintain control of a government by its citizens they must have the right to keep and bear arms. It is the very reason for the Second Amendment.<br /><br />Just to say a nation has a right to have an army which is the popular Leftist view is purely nonsense and would never need to be among our Amendments. We already had a long established army, a well regulated militia. It was pawful already amd most obviously necessary. If citizens were not allowed to have weapons, the British would still be here. They tried on many occasions to disarm the populace. Those folks, seeing theor weapoms as the only means of gaining and insuring freedom, once having acheived it, codified the right for all persons.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Hank</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #888888;">Tracy Rosenberg</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">Executive Director</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">Media Alliance</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">1904 Franklin Street # 818</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">Oakland CA 94612</span><br />
<a href="http://www.media-alliance.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.media-alliance.org</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #1155cc;" value="+15108329000">510-832-9000 x303</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #1155cc;" value="+15106846853">510-684-6853</a><span style="color: #888888;"> Cell</span><br />
<a href="mailto:tracy@media-alliance.org" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">tracy@media-alliance.org</a><br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-59934244005023297392014-04-30T18:57:00.001-04:002014-04-30T18:57:05.936-04:00Robert Knight Funeral<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/DFdHgLZVQxM" width="459"></iframe><br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-63423182169184356772014-04-28T07:16:00.002-04:002014-04-28T07:16:36.964-04:00When In Doubt.....Call The Police<strong>Berkeley</strong>-On Monday morning, Siegel and Yee, claiming they represent the Pacifica Foundation despite no evidence of a letter of retention or a vote of the board, are rushing into court to seek an order to send the police to clear out the Pacifica national headquarters. The request, while not yet calendered in Department 15, will supposedly be heard <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">between 9 and 9:15am. The request states the Berkeley Police Department, despite numerous entreaties by Wilkinson, has refused to attack without such a court order. Police were last called to Martin Luther King Junior Way in 2008, when unpaid staffer Nadra Foster was declared a "trespasser" by KPFA management and police were called to hog-tie and remove her. Foster's wrist was severely sprained in the melee and she later received a settlement from the Berkeley Police Department. </span><br />
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On Tuesday April 29th, an ad-hoc group called the "Coalition Against The Corporate Takeover of KPFA and Pacifica" plans a press conference and protest in front of Siegel and Yee's offices at 499 14th Street at noon. The group is demanding Siegel's firm "get their conflicted hands off of KPFA and Pacifica" and declares "it is time to call a halt to this wrecking operation."<br />
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The State Bar of California responded to a bar association complaint against Siegel associate Jose Luis Fuentes by commenting "civil remedies would have to be sought, such as dismissing Mr. Fuentes from the board". The amended <em>PDGG vs. Pacifica </em>complaint can be found here in a 137-page full complaint (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F2t8jah3fdykrr0l%2FPDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf&h=TAQGl99tE&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf</a>) and a 24-page Memorandum of Points and Authorities (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fvl5ggcll8tyfum8%2FMemorandum%2Bof%2BPoints%2Band%2BAuthorities.pdf&h=wAQEke0GH&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>Memorandum+of+Points+and+Author</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ities.pdf</a>). <br />
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A FAQ about the events of the last 75 days can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fpage_id%3D662&h=SAQET84My&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?page_id=662</a><br />
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The request for police intervention attempts to blame the delayed audit on the national office occupation, instead of unreconciled books at the KPFA unit, which is the reason field work scheduled for March will not begin until May. National office accounting staff are currently doing the backed-up reconciliations for KPFA after accounting records the station refused to hand over on March 13th were finally extracted by GM Richard Pirodsky a month later.<br />
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An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=fAQHcZlsT&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=91</a><br />
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Today's specially-called PNB meeting was boycotted by the majority, but allowed discussion on critical matters the majority faction has kept off the agenda for months. Rather than deal with issues, the majority has created chaos with personnel issues and driven off legal counsel. A total of 9 PNB members along with the Executive Director Summer Reese, participated in the meeting. Reese provided this Report From The Executive Director. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2F7pe5ga3k5pd6uun%2FReport%2Bof%2Bthe%2BExecutive%2BDirector%2BApril%2B27%2B2014.pdf&h=bAQF7oW3D&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/7pe5ga3k5pd6uun/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>Report+of+the+Executive+Directo</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>r+April+27+2014.pdf</a>)<br />
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A March 31st interview with Reese at the occupied Pacifica national headquarters can be viewed here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D429&h=HAQHJSxOT&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=429</a><br />
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The public session included discussion of a process for selecting a new corporate counsel, a 5-year strategic plan for Pacifica, opportunities for increasing Pacifica's membership and donations, plans for stabilizing WBAI, candidate statements for contested national committee seats and a motion regarding conflicts of interest for paid staff on the finance committee. The executive session included corrections to the closed session minutes of February 7-10, 2014 and fixing an unauthorized report-out from an April 17 meeting. Open session audio is currently posted on kpftx.org, and if that audio file is taken down, can also be accessed here (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Fsets%2Fapril-27th-pacifica-national&h=3AQFHlgEI&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>https://soundcloud.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>tracy-rosenberg/sets/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>april-27th-pacifica-national</a>)<br />
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A complaint filed by 8 former national board members with the CA Attorney General can be found here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fdph6u4ov1woed9x%2FAttorney%2BGeneral%2BComplaint%2BNon-Confidential.pdf&h=fAQHcZlsT&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/dph6u4ov1woed9x/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>Attorney+General+Complaint+Non-</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>Confidential.pdf</a>)<br />
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A public town hall at the Berkeley Federation of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU) attracted about 60 people on Sundayafternoon who spoke out on the radio network's crisis. KPFA Local Station Board chair Carole Travis, who spoke on behalf of the board majority said "<strong>We were surprised. We didn't think Reese had this much support</strong>". The crowd was overwhelmingly in support of the occupation and opposed to the reckless actions of the board. Travis's comment reflected the Save KPFA tendency to personalize issues and understand that Reese's support is not a popularity poll, but a set of beliefs about Pacifica's needs for stable management, fair hiring and firing procedures, and increased financial transparency.<br />
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KPFA listener-sponsor Daniel Borgstrom published a report from the last KPFA local station board meeting where he documented the entire public comment session consisted of speakers opposed to the actions of the rogue board majority, despite claims to the contrary by the Save KPFA campaign slate. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D874&h=SAQET84My&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=874</a>)<br />
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A Community Advisory Board-sponsored forum at the South Berkeley Senior Center last month was also 90-95% overwhelmingly supportive of Reese.<br />
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<span>All 5 Pacifica stations go into fundraising mode in May and Pacifica-In-Exile readers are strongly encouraged to donate to their local stations. If the May 6thpreliminary injunction request is granted, there will be a need to settle out the new lawsuits and labor grievances, meet equipment needs, and repair the havoc of the past few months. All 5 station websites (wbai.org, kpfk.org, wpfw.org,</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span> kpft.org, kpfa.org) as well as pacifica.org, can process online donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<br />
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Your support will help to avert a threatened break-up of the network and keep all 5 radio major-market licenses non-commercial and non-corporate for the long run.<br />
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A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit-wit-radio-march-30th&h=vAQEOgoTu&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>https://soundcloud.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>tracy-rosenberg/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>twit-wit-radio-march-30th</a><br />
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KPFA local station board member and Oakland community activist Samsarah Morgan sized up the situation here. <a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=414" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=414</a><br />
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Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is".<br />
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Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since March 17th.<br />
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<span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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<span class="photo "><img alt="" class="photo_img img" src="https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/v/t1.0-9/1558383_10201950009253183_3738122581165412788_n.jpg?oh=5d1d2822c20d64def8b5f7590c0a5dfc&oe=53E025DD" title="" /></span></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-83214765231948565532014-04-27T21:56:00.001-04:002014-04-27T23:33:27.597-04:00New Boss Same As The Old Boss and Back To Court Again <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><img height="106" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=1cd6e113dc&view=att&th=1459cfe04ad060a0&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_huglpy940_1459cfd60e14dd02&zw&atsh=1" width="181" /><br /> New Boss Same As The Old Boss and Back To Court Again With Oakland Mayoral Candidate</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Berkeley</b>-Disputed IED Bernard Duncan instructed California station manager Richard Pirodsky to transfer $85,000 from Berkeley station KPFA <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_804666510" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday</span></span> to assist with network bills. Approximately $40,000 of the transfer is shared services income due from KPFA for the months of March and April and the other $45,000 constitutes an additional levy to support the month-end payrolls at WBAI and WPFW and United Health Care benefits for workers at the Houston, DC and New York stations, as well as the national office, who all use the same benefit package. WPFW was unable to fund their portion of the benefits package at month-end. The funds transfer averts a catastrophic loss of benefits, where SAG/AFTRA has already hauled Pacifica in front of the National Labor Relations Board for April staff changes at WPFW claimed to be in violation of the bargaining unit's contract.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">KPFA's financial statements, when mathematical errors were corrected, showed a $50,000 loss at the end of January and an immediate post-fund-drive surplus of $93,000 at the end of February. The station will be starting its May fund drive effort in a week and a half from a tight cash flow position. Monthly operating expenses are $240,000. The budgetary goal for the May fund drive was set at $745,000. The two previous fund drives topped out at $690,000 in October and $643,000 in February.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A FAQ about the events of the last 75 days can be found </span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?page_id=662" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img align="left" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh-2Z7CRWzQvw6yGiDLtek5B1pqd462Kn86gTlrNPyMfW1WS7vk5TR4Ole_RReJJ9IvCQ9q34w77HJRkRMfsmVJvn8Gt033uwbUk7pa_-yT13dDdXW9GG0zEmS1ReOBrzdYbPKsUHn2l00FG0CM1KYsVZMmgA=s0-d-e1-ft(7).jpg" width="300" />The law firm of Siegel and Yee, headed up by Oakland mayoral candidate Dan Siegel, engaged in a flurry of legal activity on behalf of the rogue board majority today. The board is hauling Pacifica into court <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_804666511" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Monday</span></span> morning to try to get Judge Petrou to issue the board majority a temporary restraining order. According to their filing, the Berkeley Police Department refused to accede to a request to assist with a forcible removal from the national office of the foundation's executive director without a restraining order issued by Alameda Superior Court. The filing contains notable falsities including an assertion that the annual audit was delayed by the national office occupation, rather than by KPFA's inability to provide reconciled books, as emails between the national office and auditing firm Armanino Mckenna published in PIE demonstrated. There is a similarly bizarre assertion that Pacifica cannot process donations due to the occupation of the national office, although all 5 stations have processed hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations since <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_804666512" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">March 17th</span></span>, including a network-wide national fundraiser for the Pacifica Archives on April 15th. So despite Siegel and Yee's assertions, interstate commerce appears to be unimpeded.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Siegel's firm was apparently retained by the rogue board majority during a secret conference call by half the board on April 14th on a number they refused to give to 45% of the board. The rogue majority reported that they discussed "conflicts of interest" during the illegal meeting. Siegel and Yee also filed a response to the <i>PDGG vs Pacifica </i>board of directors lawsuit. Siegel and Yee assert Ms, Reese was in fact never hired as the permanent executive director of the Pacifica Foundation (it is unclear why the board acted to fire Reese in March if they believe the previous board did not hire her). The filing also asserts that the PDGG board members may not sue the foundation due to lack of standing, a very odd claim since Siegel himself sued the foundation as a board member and his firm has represented Pacifica board members suing the foundation numerous times in the past 15 years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Siegel and his firm made a third filing, countersuing Reese specifically for monetary damages of an unspecified amount for continuing to abide by her employment contract after the board breached it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">All three filings are available for download and review. </span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/264o97gmwl6cb6n/Request+for+TRO+to+Evict+From+The+National+Office.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Request for Temporary Restraining Order,</span></a><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/rsj3an8o9fox1zo/Response+to+Preliminary+Injunction+Request.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Response to PDGG vs Pacifica</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">, </span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/4qu7b6u2ere137a/Cross-Complaint+for+Monetary+Damages.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cross-Complaint for Monetary Damages</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found </span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" target="_blank">here</a></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">KPFA listener-sponsor Daniel Borgstrom </span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=874" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">published a report from the last KPFA local station board meeting </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">where he documented that the entire public comment session consisted of speakers opposed to the actions of the rogue board majority, despite claims to the contrary by the Save KPFA campaign slate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The 9 PDGG directors have called a special board meeting for April 27th to address falsified minutes and the on-going lack of corporate counsel, but are not sure their colleagues in the majority will attend the meeting. The amended <i>PDGG vs. Pacifica </i>complaint can be found here in a </span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">137-page full complaint</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and a </span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">24-page Memorandum of Points and Authorities</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A public town hall meeting is being held in Berkeley by the local Unitarian congregation the same day. The <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_804666513" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Sunday</span></span> afternoon forum will be from 2pm-4pm on April 27th at the Berkeley Federation of Unitarian Universalists 1924 Cedar Street in North Berkeley. More information about the event is available </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/247826882067211/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">. A video archive should be available after the event. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">All 5 Pacifica stations go into fundraising mode in May and Pacifica-In-Exile readers are strongly encouraged to donate to their local stations. If the <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_804666514" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">May 6th</span></span> preliminary injunction request is granted, there will be a need to settle out the new lawsuits and labor grievances, meet equipment needs, and repair the havoc of the past few months. All 5 station websites (<a href="http://wbai.org/" target="_blank">wbai.org</a>, <a href="http://kpfk.org/" target="_blank">kpfk.org</a>, <a href="http://wpfw.org/" target="_blank">wpfw.org</a>, <a href="http://kpft.org/" target="_blank">kpft.org</a>, <a href="http://kpfa.org/" target="_blank">kpfa.org</a>) as well as <a href="http://pacifica.org/" target="_blank">pacifica.org</a>, can process online donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Your support will help to avert a threatened break-up of the network and keep all 5 radio major-market licenses non-commercial and non-corporate for the long run.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In Reese's 20 months in the ED position, Pacifica reduced litigation by 70% and had only one new lawsuit filed (a dispute between members of the DC local station board who sued each other.) Members of the current board majority are both plaintiffs (Benito Diaz) and defendants (Tony Norman) in that lawsuit. In the 5 weeks since the attempted termination, the Wilkinson/Duncan acting/interim combo and the 2014 board majority has acquired three new lawsuits and an NLRB action. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A complaint filed by 8 former national board members with the CA Attorney General can be found </span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/dph6u4ov1woed9x/Attorney+General+Complaint+Non-Confidential.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit-wit-radio-march-30th" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A March 31st interview with Reese at the occupied Pacifica national headquarters can be viewed </span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=429" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">KPFA local station board member and Oakland community activist Samsarah Morgan sized up the situation </span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=414" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_804666515" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">March 17th</span></span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #888888;">Tracy Rosenberg</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">Executive Director</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">Media Alliance</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">1904 Franklin Street # 818</span><br />
<span style="color: #888888;">Oakland CA 94612</span><br />
<a href="http://www.media-alliance.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.media-alliance.org</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #1155cc;" value="+15108329000">510-832-9000 x303</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #1155cc;" value="+15106846853">510-684-6853</a><span style="color: #888888;"> Cell</span><br />
<a href="mailto:tracy@media-alliance.org" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">tracy@media-alliance.org</a></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-48711419839267563362014-04-23T13:57:00.001-04:002014-04-23T13:57:05.079-04:00Rudderless Pacifica Back in Front of Labor Relations Board<div style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12.22px; text-align: center;">
<b><img height="106" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=1cd6e113dc&view=att&th=1458d13317c8485f&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_huc6qgqy0_1458d12bf05f9b36&zw&atsh=1" width="181" /><br /> Rudderless Pacifica Back in Front of Labor Relations Board</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Berkeley</b>-SAG/AFTRA has filed a complaint at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Pacifica Radio, for unilateral contract modifications and bargaining in bad faith with the union local at WPFW-FM in Washington DC. Acting/interim/disputed chair Margy Wilkinson approved the seeming contract violations at an April staff meeting when presented by WPFW's general manager Michele Price. The complaint report can be seen </span></span><a href="http://www.nlrb.gov/case/05-CA-125853?order=ds_activity&sort=asc" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><img align="left" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiuwJ_vtv9rNnMq_X_5cR8yGr2AE_x4Uaxja5g5lxG93uFCi8Gquy1A8d6nh2VKLjoHrXyfPNUYfdDKBkVz5rhGFYyV80O8wqctAuHvFPft202Le_AFh38Y3MK9ntK7RiwvhcgxgBQlzHZ5NVeku0gKn2DRPLCK=s0-d-e1-ft(2).jpg" width="240" />The full board of directors has not been notified of the grievance more than two weeks after it was filed at the National Labor Relations Board. One of the conditions attached to Summer Reese's contract as executive director was that the board be informed of all pending litigation and grievances *immediately*. Wilkinson has also continued to hold privately the workplace investigation report Pacifica ordered to address hostile workplace complaints filed against the recently rehired CFO. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Temporary/interim ED Bernard Duncan has not returned from Los Angeles to the Berkeley headquarters after falling ill 3 days into his first week of employment. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found </span></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" target="_blank">here</a></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" style="font-family: Arial;" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Pacifica's financial situation continues to be extremely perilous, driven largely by severe cash shortfalls at the local stations. DC station WPFW is down to $4,000 in its operating account with no clear way to pay the end of the month payroll and WBAI has about $250,000 in unpaid bills piled up. KPFT in Houston faces a March 27th deadline to get up to full power after 4 FCC extensions. Station managers are improvising without clear guidance from national about how to meet their obligations without enough cash on hand. Slow progress is being made on the overdue bank reconcilations at KPFA, but recent financial reports presented by the local board treasurer at the last two local board meetings both contained math errors and overstated earnings. The new audit completion date is anticipated to be no sooner than the end of June. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A FAQ about the events of the last 75 days can be found </span></span><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?page_id=662" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The PDGG directors have called a special meeting for <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1930097811" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">April 27th</span></span> to address falsified minutes and the on-going lack of corporate counsel, but are not sure their colleagues in the majority will attend the meeting. The amended <i>PDGG vs. Pacifica </i>complaint can be found here in a </span></span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">137-page full complaint</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and a </span></span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/Memorandum+of+Points+and+Authorities.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">24-page Memorandum of Points and Authorities</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A complaint filed by 8 former national board members with the CA Attorney General can be found </span></span><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/dph6u4ov1woed9x/Attorney+General+Complaint+Non-Confidential.pdf" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/dph6u4ov1woed9x/Attorney+General+Complaint+Non-Confidential.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found </span></span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/twit-wit-radio-march-30th" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is". The explanation of how Wilkinson assumed the chair seat on the basis of a mis-marked ballot can be heard</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/tracy-rosenberg/cerenes-explanation" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> here. </span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1930097812" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">March 17th</span></span>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Daniel Borgstrom who accompanied Reese on her St. Patrick's Day return to work, wrote about his experiences </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=772" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">here. </span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #888888;">Tracy Rosenberg</span><br style="color: #888888;" /><span style="color: #888888;">Executive Director</span><br style="color: #888888;" /><span style="color: #888888;">Media Alliance</span><br style="color: #888888;" /><span style="color: #888888;">1904 Franklin Street # 818</span><br style="color: #888888;" /><span style="color: #888888;">Oakland CA 94612</span><br style="color: #888888;" /><a href="http://www.media-alliance.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.media-alliance.org</a><br style="color: #888888;" /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #1155cc;" value="+15108329000">510-832-9000 x303</a><br style="color: #888888;" /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #1155cc;" value="+15106846853">510-684-6853</a><span style="color: #888888;"> Cell</span><br style="color: #888888;" /><a href="mailto:tracy@media-alliance.org" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">tracy@media-alliance.org</a></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-56968894780751788682014-04-17T20:38:00.000-04:002014-04-17T20:38:00.412-04:00Robert Knight September 6, 1949 – April 16, 2014<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span>It is with profound sorrow that we announce the death of Robert Knight, Senior Correspondent, Investigative Reporter, Host and Producer of Earthwatch and the <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_204927725" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Five O'Clock</span></span> Shadow on WBAI, Pacifica Radio in New York on Wednesday, 16 April 2014, in the Bronx. He succumbed to complications following treatment for an illness.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Robert Knight</span></i></b><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 18pt;">September 6, 1949 – April 16, 2014</span></i></b><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Robert Knight</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> was the anchor of the daily <b><i>“<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_204927726" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Five O’Clock</span></span> Shadow”</i></b> investigative newsmagazine, and host of the weekly free-form radio series <b><i>“Earthwatch:</i></b><i> Transterrestrial Radio with Robert Knight”</i>on New York Pacifica station WBAI-FM. He was a former correspondent for Comedy Central’s <i>“The Daily Show”</i>, the Public News Service, where his reports have been heard on hundreds of public, commercial and community radio stations. He anchored Pacifica’s nationally syndicated investigative news program <i>“Flashpoints,”</i> its national election series <i>“Informed Dissent”</i> and Pacifica Radio’s live bicoastal coverage of President Obama’s Afghanistan War speech at West Point. He was also a regular WBAI News contributor and occasional host of <i>“Wake Up Call”.</i></span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Most recently, Knight produced the two-hour investigative historical documentary, <i>“<b>The Sweet Science of Racism in Haiti,”</b></i> one of WBAI’s most popular locally-produced public affairs premiums.</span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Along with Dennis Bernstein, Knight was a cofounder of the groundbreaking investigative news series <i>“Contragate”</i> (later renamed <i>“Undercurrents”</i>) – which provided daily exposés of the clandestine and military operations surrounding the wars in Central America and elsewhere. He also served as WBAI’s News Director, “Wake Up Call” morning show host, and as a successful fundraising copywriter for the station. Knight served as a correspondent for Pacifica National News, Free Speech Radio and National Public Radio, and been broadcast on WNYC, WLIB, KPFA, WEVD, WABC, WAMC, and WMCA, among other stations.</span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">As an international correspondent, Knight traveled to five continents, reporting from such hot spots as Nicaragua (where he covered the <i>contra</i> war), Colombia (where he reported to the international drug complex), Libya (where he visited the home of Muammar Khadafy), North and South Korea (where he covered nuclear and reunification issues), and Panama – where his interviews with Manuel Noriega and coverage of the 1989 US invasion earned him the prestigious <i>George R. Polk Award.</i></span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">In addition to the <i>Polk Award</i>, Knight’s work also won the <i>Jesse Meriton White Award for International Reporting</i>, the <i>Ethical Culture ‘Man of the Year’ Peace Award</i>, the <i>“Madre Padre” Award</i> (presented to “a few good men” by MADRE, the international feminist human rights organization), the <i>Humanist Journalism Award</i> (presented by the Rev. Joseph Ben-David, a colleague of Hannah Arendt), the <i>News Reporting Award</i> presented by Asian-Americans for Equality, and the <i>National Association of Black Journalists’ Radio Reporting Award</i> for his documentary series on covert activities in apartheid South Africa.</span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Knight’s domestic reportage includes travels to Tulia, Texas, where he covered the false arrests of most of the town’s African American population on fabricated drug charges, and to Albany, New York, where his reporting contributed to reform of the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws.</span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Knight also made television appearances, including <i>“Like It Is”</i>, with Gil Noble and <i>“Tony Brown’s Journal.”</i> and news anchoring on <i>“International News Net”.</i> He hosted a televised town hall discussion with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the Schomberg Center for Research into African Culture. He was also interviewed by Harold Channer on <i>“Conversations with Harold H. Channer”</i></span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">His writing has been published in <i>Esquire, Essence, New York Magazine, SPY, SPIN, Newsday</i>. The New York <i>Daily News</i>, Los Angeles <i>Times</i>, Washington <i>Post</i>, Baltimore <i>Sun</i>, <i>The Guardian</i>, and the Premiere Edition of <i>Civil Rights Journal</i>, published by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights – among others.</span><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Send your comments, stories, photos and tributes to <a href="mailto:theknightreport@gmail.com" target="_blank">theknightreport@gmail.com</a>.</span></i><span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-8035889787632954482014-04-15T00:33:00.000-04:002014-04-17T00:33:15.715-04:00Amended Complaint Filed<div class="_4_j7">
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Berkeley-On April 15th, Pacifica celebrated a 65th broadcasting birthday, many of us filed our taxes, and Pacifica Directors for Good Governance (PBGG) filed an amended complaint in the <em>PBGG vs. Pacifica</em> suit. The amended complaint can be found here in a 137-page full complaint (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/PDGG_2014-04-15_pp001-137.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/2t8jah3fdykrr0l/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>PDGG_2014-04-15_pp00<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">1-137.pdf</span></a><span class="text_exposed_show">) and a 24-page Memorandum of Points and Authorities. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fvl5ggcll8tyfum8%2FMemorandum%2Bof%2BPoints%2Band%2BAuthorities.pdf&h=qAQGw4Hx4&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.mediafire.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>download/vl5ggcll8tyfum8/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>Memorandum+of+Points+and+Author</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ities.pdf</a>).</span><br />
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<br />The preliminary injunction request, which will be heard on May 6th in Judge Petrou's courtroom, asks for the breach of executive director Summer Reese's contract to end, for the court to declare the Chief Financial Officer position vacant and subject to an open hire process, and enjoin the board participation of three officers and board members Fuentes and Lamb, for violations of the corporations code, the Pacifica bylaws, EEOC and labor law.<br />
<br />The Pacifica National Board has not yet retained an attorney for the foundation after former counsel Terry Gross resigned on March 27th. Only one of the 12 defendant directors has retained individual counsel, Margy Wilkinson, who hired Alan Yee, the law partner of Dan Siegel and employer of current board member Jose-Luis Fuentes. The board has outstanding litigation in Washington DC - <em>Ball vs. Hughes - </em>and ongoing needs for legal advice on personnel and real estate matters, as well as broadcast law and regulation.<br />
<br />Reese appeared on-air at KPFK on the much-loved late night Roy of Hollywood program on April 16th. You can listen here. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Finterview-with-pacifica&h=sAQGSsLI5&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>https://soundcloud.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>tracy-rosenberg/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>interview-with-pacifica</a><br />
<br />An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here .<a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=91" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://2014.supportkpfa.org/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=91</a><br />
<br />The interim executive director appointed by the rogue board majority, former KPFK general manager Bernard Duncan, appeared on-air during the birthday festivities. Duncan mentions that he had been hired for "a few months because he knows what's going on". A few minutes later, he states that he "needs to figure out what is going on." The full interview can be heard here. <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpfa.org%2Farchive%2Fid%2F101941&h=2AQH6AHzk&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.kpfa.org/archive/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>id/101941</a><br />
<br />The rogue board has still not released minutes from any open session meeting all year and has not released closed session minutes from meetings on February 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 20th, March 6th and 27th, or April 3rd. The fiscal 2013 audit has been delayed for more than 7 months after the end of the fiscal year. $1.5 million dollars in Corporation for Public Broadcasting Funding is being held back. Houston station KPFT's license expired in August of 2013. WBAI's license expires in June of 2014.<br />
<br />The next board meeting is Thursday night, April 17th at 5:30 pacific.<br />
<br />A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here.<br />
<br />Current Magazine, the industry paper for public broadcasting, posted up one of the videos from the first day of the national office occupation. It can be found here. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit-wit-radio-march-30th&h=KAQEVbi12&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>https://soundcloud.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>tracy-rosenberg/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>twit-wit-radio-march-30th</a><br />
<br />Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is".<br />
<br />Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since March 17th.<br />
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<br /><span><em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em></span><br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-88070493409547496632014-04-15T00:00:00.000-04:002014-04-17T00:34:14.875-04:00Brecht Forum is Closing<span class="field-content">Reactions Pour in to Brecht Forum Closing</span> <br />
<a href="https://indypendent.org/2014/04/15/reactions-pour-brecht-forum-closing" target="_blank">https://indypendent.org/2014/04/15/reactions-pour-brecht-forum-closing</a><br />
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Brecht Forum was going to be sharing space with WBAI at 388 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. <br />
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<em>Note: For all who are interested, </em><a href="http://brechtforum.org/"><em>Brecht Forum</em></a><em> will hold a public meeting this Wednesday 4/16 7:30 pm at the </em><a href="http://www.thecommonsbrooklyn.org/"><em>Brooklyn Commons</em></a><em> to discuss the decision to close and begin a dialog about how the project may move forward in a different form.</em>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-39388639453557127952014-04-13T13:08:00.000-04:002014-04-16T13:27:29.622-04:00Carol Spooner: Statement on Current Crisis and the Future of Pacifica<h1>
Carol Spooner: Statement on Current Crisis and the Future of Pacifica</h1>
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<span class="meta-date-url">Posted on</span> <span class="entry-date">April 11, 2014</span><span class="meta-author-url">, By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?author=2" title="View all posts by webweaver2">webweaver2</a></span> </span> </div>
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<strong>I strongly support Summer Reese in her position as Executive Director of Pacifica and in her efforts to preserve and protect the network and five Pacifica stations and their mission, and to prevent the total collapse of Pacifica into bankruptcy court, pay-off its debts, clean-up the corruption and financial mess, and rebuild. </strong><br />
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<a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Carol-Spooner.jpg"><img alt="Carol Spooner" class="size-medium wp-image-573" src="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Carol-Spooner-218x300.jpg" height="300" width="218" /></a><br />
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Carol Spooner<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I believe those Pacifica directors who voted to fire her without cause weeks after her contract was signed acted with gross abuse of their authority and have recklessly and/or intentionally placed Pacifica in grave peril. Some of them may just be acting out of cluelessness and factional malice. But others of them are not clueless, including Dan Siegel’s “SaveKPFA” allies at KPFA — Margy Wilkinson, Brian Edwards-Tiekert and Jose Luis Fuentes — and Lydia Brazon at KPFK and Cerene Roberts at WBAI. I’ve heard speculation and rumors about what their ultimate “end game” intentions may be, but whatever that is they are clearly attempting to force Pacifica into a position where desperate deals may have to be made that may not preserve and protect Pacifica’s mission.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">It is true that in August 2012 I circulated the outlines of a plan for an “amicable divorce” at Pacifica — by doing a signal swap for WBAI (which is in the commercial band) with another station down the dial in the NYC area and using the cash generated to endow an independent Pacifica national programming service as well as five independent nonprofit radio stations set up by the local boards at the five signal areas. You can read it</span> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/nxcau5c" target="_blank"><span style="color: #105e55;">here:</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black;">I still think that may be the best way forward, but reasonable people can disagree about that. I know that Summer Reese disagrees.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"> What is not subject to reasonable disagreement is that firing the Executive Director, in breach of her contract, exposes Pacifica to serious risk of total collapse with little or no opportunity for an orderly resolution to its difficulties.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> As a side note, it’s easy to get lost in the cast of characters who have been involved in Pacifica, so I don’t blame Eric Jacobson for his confusion and mistaken characterizations of me and my role at Pacifica in his article <a href="http://2014.supportkpfa.org/?p=543" target="_blank"><span style="color: #105e55;">here</span></a>. I served on the Pacifica National Board for 3 years — from January 2002 through January 2005 — first on the “interim” Pacifica Board for 2 years after our lawsuit was settled removing the old corporatizing board. During that time I chaired the committee that re-wrote the bylaws creating a democratic Pacifica with a voting membership. I then served for one year on the first elected board, after which I retired from any formal role at Pacifica.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Since then I’ve sent out occasional email commentaries over the years, and have supported those candidates who I believed were best suited to ending the enervating factionalism and rebuilding Pacifica for the “beacon of the Left” that it should be and needs to be in these times.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><i>Carol Spooner is a retired attorney living in Santa Rosa. She can be reached at <a href="mailto:wildrose@pon.net"><span style="color: black;">wildrose@pon.net</span></a></i></span></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-11127445716623551212014-04-12T12:17:00.002-04:002014-04-12T12:36:24.496-04:00The InterlopersBerkeley-Pacifica board member Jose-Luis Fuentes responded to an attorney's letter asking the board to ease up on pressuring and threatening employees by saying "interlopers will not be tolerated". Fuentes previously attempted to have Pacifica payroll processing data illegitimately sent to his employer, the law firm Siegel and Yee, on March 28th.<br />
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S<span class="text_exposed_show">outhern California attorney James De Maegt wrote on behalf of 8 network employees describing them as caught in the middle of a dispute and asked members of the board to allow them to perform their jobs without undue interference and for members to cease and desist from berating, bullying and harassing employees. De Maegt's letter stated "Repeated demands to perform actions which employees have stated appear to them to be contradictory to the law and inappropriate must cease until the matters in question are heard by a higher authority"</span><br />
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Fuentes' response is below. The full exchange with the complete text of the letter can be found here. (<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/download/ksbn5cfii0h4e5o/Interlopers.doc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>download/ksbn5cfii0h4e5o/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>Interlopers.doc</a>). PIE is not releasing the names of the affected employees to protect their privacy. It's not clear what contracts Fuentes was referring below to inducing breaches in. The employees in question are non-union at-will employees.<br />
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From: jlf-gmail [mailto:jlf499@gmail.com]<br />
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Sent: Friday, April 11, 2014 3:44 PM<br />
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To: 'Jim DeMaegt'; pnb@pacifica.orgSubj<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ect: RE: Pacifica Foundation Board of Directors<br />
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Mr. DeMaegt,<br />
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Your communication with the Pacifica National Board is illusive {sic}. . Please let us know if you are communicating with the PNB as the attorney for "x,x,x,x,x,x,x".<br />
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I do not need to caution you against interfering with Pacifica Foundation Radio contractual relationship {sic} or inducing a breach of Pacifica’s contract with “x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x”<br />
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I am placing you on notice that Pacifica will not tolerate interlopers interfering with Pacifica’s contractual relationship with “x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x”.<br />
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Jose Luis FuentesBoard Director, Pacifica Radio FoundationKPFA Local Station Board Listener Delegate 499 14TH Street, Suite 300Oakland, California 94612<br />
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KPFA's local station board meeting will be meeting on Saturday April 12th at the North Berkeley Senior Center at Hearst and Martin Luther King Jr Way in Berkeley. Public comment will begin promptly at 11:00am. Jose-Luis Fuentes and disputed board chair/IED Margy Wilkinson are expected to be in attendance.<br />
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Yesterday, PIE printed an email from board member Lydia Brazon to former CFO Raul Salvador written on January 6, 2014, 4 days after Salvador was not offered permanent employment by the 2013 board of directors after completing a troubled probationary period. Brazon told Salvador to mislead the executive director as to his whereabouts and assured him he would be rehired, although delegates had not yet elected members to the 2014 board. Brazon's email can be found here (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fdownload%2Fngc2z3j4k12i3h8%2Fbrazon%2Bemail.pdf&h=SAQEu464i&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.mediafire.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>download/ngc2z3j4k12i3h8/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>brazon+email.pdf</a>).<br />
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Today former WNAI director Nia Bediako, a member of the Justice and Unity Caucus/Save KPFA faction that breached Reese's contract, threatened PIE with federal prosecution for distributing Brazon's email to the network's members.<br />
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"I don't know how "Pacifica In Exile" got Director Lydia Brazon's email but I'd like to bring to your attention: The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) [18 U.S.C. Sections 250-2521, 2701-2710], which was signed into law in 1986, amended the Federal Wiretap Act to account for the increasing amount of communications and data transferred and stored on computer systems. The ECPA protects against the unlawful interceptions of any wire communications--whether it's telephone or cell phone conversations, voicemail, email, and other data sent over the wires. The ECPA also includes protections for messages that are stored--email messages that are archived on servers, for instance. Now, under the law, unauthorized access to computer messages, whether in transit or in storage, is A FEDERAL CRIME".<br />
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<em>(Largeness and redness provided by Ms. Bediako).</em><br />
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An open letter signed by hundreds of the network's staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese's contract can be found here. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D91&h=CAQFdOl9k&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=91</a>)<br />
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A new interview with Reese on Monday April 7th aired on the "Just Peace" program at WRFG-FM, Radio Free Georgia in Atlanta and can be found here. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Fapril-7th-interview-summer&h=kAQHlaVOf&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>tracy-rosenberg/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>april-7th-interview-summer</a>).<br />
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Los Angeles public interest attorney Eric Jacobson wrote this detailed piece on the crisis precipitated by the abrupt attempted firing of Reese 6 weeks into the 2014 board's term. (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F2014.supportkpfa.org%2F%3Fp%3D543&h=4AQF_ZTFc&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://2014.supportkpfa.org/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?p=543</a>).<br />
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The ongoing description of Wilkinson as "disputed" or "alleged" board chair is due to Wilkinson's receipt of only 11 votes out of 22. The explanation for the use of a spoiled ballot to break the tie in Wilkinson's favor is caught on tape here (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Fcerenes-explanation&h=vAQFlea9V&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>tracy-rosenberg/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>cerenes-explanation</a>) . In a race with only two candidates, a "5th place vote" is not considered a countable vote as there are only first and second positions in a two-person race. Longer clips are available here and here (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Fthe-rules-we-dont-follow-pnb&h=5AQGEdkeL&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>tracy-rosenberg/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>the-rules-we-dont-follow-pnb</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Fmore-disputed-chair-election&h=zAQEkd47v&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>tracy-rosenberg/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>more-disputed-chair-election</a>).<br />
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"Losing" candidate George Reiter, a physics professor at UT-Houston, can be heard explaining the customary procedure on one of the longer clips.<br />
<br />
"If the first place votes are a tie, then we count the second place votes. If the second place votes are tied, then we flip a coin".<br />
<br />
Except they didn't.<br />
<br />
The rogue board has still not released minutes from any open session meeting all year and has not released closed session minutes from meetings on February 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 20th, March 6th and 27th, or April 3rd. The fiscal 2013 audit has been delayed for more than 7 months after the end of the fiscal year. $1.5 million dollars in Corporation for Public Broadcasting Funding is being held back. Houston station KPFT's license expired in August of 2013. WBAI's license expires in June of 2014.<br />
<br />
A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe and produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates can be found here. (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ftracy-rosenberg%2Ftwit-wit-radio-march-30th&h=RAQESnnTF&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>tracy-rosenberg/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>twit-wit-radio-march-30th</a>)<br />
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Disputed chair Margy Wilkinson is reported to have said with regard to Reese's attempted firing; "it isn't illegal until someone says it is".<br />
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Reese has continued to report to work at the national headquarters since March 17th.<br />
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###<br />
<br />
<em>Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.</em><br />
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<span class="photo "><img alt="" class="photo_img img" src="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10245520_10201853146751681_562109668532442514_n.jpg" title="" /></span></div>
Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-73932463635344890682014-04-12T10:00:00.000-04:002014-04-12T12:34:57.134-04:00Letter to the PNB from Jim DeMaegtFrom: Jim DeMaegt [mailto:jdemaegt@sbcglobal.net<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>] <br />
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2014 7:43 PM<br />
To: pnb@pacifica.org<br />
Cc: jdemaegt@sbcglobal.net<br />
Subject: To: Pacifica Foundation Board of Directors<br />
<br />
James P. DeMaegt<br />
ATTORNEY AT LAW<br />
500 500 W. Queen Street, Suite 2<br />
Inglewood, California, 90301<br />
<br />
(310) 673-4302 <br />
<br />
April 10, 2014<br />
<br />
To: Pacifica Foundation Board of Directors (pnb@pacifica.org),<br />
Members: Rodrigo Argueta, Carolyn Birden, Lydia Brazon, Jim Brown, Adriana Casenave, Janet Coleman, Benito Diaz, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Jose Luis Fuentes, Heather Gray, Kim Kaufman, Luzette King, Janet Kobren, Hank Lamb, Janis Lane-Ewart, Tony Norman, Laurence Reyes, George Reiter, Cerene Roberts, Manijeh Saba, Richard Uzzell, Margy Wilkinson and Bernard Duncan and Raul Salvador.<br />
<br />
Regarding the Employees:<br />
XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX<br />
<br />
The above-named employees of Pacifica Foundation Radio are caught in the middle of a dispute between members of the Board of Directors of Pacifica Foundation Radio which is currently being litigated in Alameda Superior Court in Case # HG14720131. A hearing on a preliminary injunction against 12 members of the Board of Directors has been set for May 6, 2014.<br />
<br />
Until this hearing proceeds, the legality of several recent actions by the Board of Directors is in question and many documents required to assess the veracity of statements by some members of the Board are missing and unavailable.<br />
<br />
In this situation, a hostile workplace environment has been created in which members of the Board of Directors and senior employees, who may or may not have been hired legally, repeatedly berate, bully and threaten subordinate employees to take potentially illegal and irreversible actions in an atmosphere of uncertainty.<br />
<br />
Under Pacifica Foundation organizational rules the employees cited above are not directly supervised by the Board of Directors. The current legal dispute between members of the Board of Directors has brought great confusion to the employees regarding the present chain of command and the authenticity and powers and responsibilities of each of the alleged supervisors in Pacifica Foundation and many employees do not know for certain who their direct supervisors currently are and what their powers and responsibilities are. Since the case is now in court the employees do not expect to have that clarified until the injunction request is heard on May 6th. <br />
<br />
All members of the Pacifica Foundation Radio Board of Directors and the two employees named above whose status is legally disputed by 41% of the board, must be instructed to cease and desist threatening the above-mentioned employees starting now and until the May 6th date for a hearing on a preliminary injunction. <br />
<br />
The employees of Pacifica must be allowed to perform their jobs in their customary fashion without undue interference from the above-mentioned parties. Repeated demands to perform actions which the employees have stated appear to them to be contradictory to the law and inappropriate must cease until the matters in question are heard by a higher authority. <br />
<br />
The employees wish to serve the best interests of Pacifica Foundation Radio going forward and hope the Board of Directors will resolve their conflicts in a court of law as soon as possible. <br />
<br />
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to a prompt response on this issue. <br />
<br />
____________________<br />
James P. DeMaegt<br />
<br />
cc: Der Manouel Insurance, Holman Human ResourcesAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2082497242956776294.post-84071751666661223382014-04-11T20:04:00.000-04:002014-04-16T20:04:54.867-04:00Fired director battles board for control of KPFA parent organization<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_25546564/fired-director-battles-board-control-kpfa-parent-organization" target="_blank">http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_25546564/fired-director-battles-board-control-kpfa-parent-organization</a>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08936175630995527213noreply@blogger.com0