Since word has leaked out of some shall-we-say disagreements about the national board’s course of action, I’m going to take a moment to go over some of this. There is some obfuscation going on, in traditional Pacifica style, and at this point in time, the less of that the better. There are also some assertions being made that, at a minimum, need some back-up before being taken at face value. For ease of reading, I’m going to divide this into three broad sections, although some of the discussion will cross categories because the issues are inter-related. In broad strokes, the topics are a) Bankruptcy i.e. Chapter 11 Reorganization b) Summary Judgment and c) Swap/Sale of License Continue reading An Open Letter To The Pacifica Community→
Berkeley – To no one’s real surprise, a NY court ruled on October 4 that the Pacifica Foundation owed $1.8 million dollars plus attorney’s fees to the Empire State Realty Trust, the multimillion dollar real estate firm that owns the Empire State Building, where Pacifica has lodged WBAI-FM’s antenna since 1966. A 15-year contract signed in 2005, after the collapse of the World Trade Center, made antenna space in NYC a hot commodity, and featured soaring prices and a 9% annual escalation, which left the price of the rental by 2015 at more than 4 times the market value and in excess of $500,000 a year, a vast amount for a listener-sponsored radio station.
Berkeley – Clean-up work continues as the recovery of the network from the 2014 Siegel/Brazon coup enters its 7th month.
Financial statements through June 30, 2017 are available here. For the first time in recent history, the Pacifica Foundation is listed as “Current” status (rather then Delinquent status) at the California Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts, after the fiscal year 2015 audit was completed prior to the deadline. The audit report, which is also available on the www.pacifica.org website, can be downloaded here.Continue reading Current For The First Time In A While→
Berkeley – The Pacifica Foundation, which got into serious trouble with the State of California’s Registry of Charitable Trusts for delinquent audits and forfeited millions of dollars in Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding, has completed their 2015 audit in record time and before a deadline set by the state’s Attorney General. Continue reading Pacifica 2015 Audit Completed→
On July 13, a number of prominent politicians came to the steps of New York’s City Hall on WBAI’s behalf to ask the Empire State Building Realty Trust to be a good corporate citizen and negotiate in good faith with Pacifica to resolve the long-term antenna lease at quadruple the market rate.
Berkeley – Pacifica’s ticking bomb, the 15-year incredibly expensive WBAI transmitter lease at the Empire State Building, has been the center of attention, since the owners of the iconic NY skyscraper reneged on the supposed deal announced by then-IED Margy Wilkinson in December of 2014 to reduce monthly rent from $50,000/month rate to $12,000/mo and sued Pacifica for the balance of the unpaid rent for the 2014-2016 period. The deal, much to the distress of the then-PNB minority was described as “verbal”, and if it existed at all, has no legal enforceability in court. Due to traditionally bad Pacifica negotiating, this time by then-interim ED Ambrose Lane in 2005, Pacifica is locked into the lease until 2020, which was never economical, goes up by 9% per year and is currently set at 4 times the current market price for radio antenna/transmitter space in Manhattan. Continue reading The Empire Strikes Back Delayed→
Pacifica Radio Coverage of Comey Testimony – June 8
[Berkeley] – On Thursday June 8 from 10:00am to 1:00pm EDT, Pacifica Radio will provide three hours of gavel-to-gavel analysis of former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the United States Senate Intelligence Committee.
Berkeley-The Pacifica National Board met twice in the month of May, on May 11 and May 25. The meetings featured slow but steady progress intermixed with a not inconsiderable amount of disruption from the remnants of the Siegel/Brazon faction, who no longer hold a majority on the national board. Most of the board’s open sessions are point-of-order-athons, making them a frustrating listening experience for the network’s worried members. The independent board majority uses the Maestro Conference service, a popular conference call service, in order to maximize the efficiency of the meetings, but has used the service’s features sparingly and only after numerous warnings. Continue reading Today In Revisionist History→
Berkeley-On April 14, Pacifica Foundation interim executive director Bill Crosier released a copy of a document forwarded to him. The document, which had been sent to several celebrities by KPFA local board chair (and Save KPFA-affiliated Siegel/Brazonite) Carole Travis, consisted of a recruitment pitch to join the board of a new nonprofit organization “Big Tent Radio”. According to the document, Big Tent had been formed to recover the assets of the Pacifica Foundation, which include several pieces of real estate in California and Texas, five radio broadcasting licenses, an audio archive and a 220 station affiliate network. The recruitment blurb, which was forwarded by at least two confused recipients, attempted to incite the celebrities with “no time demands” and “no money demands”, and an assurance the network’s debts could be settled by collateralizing Pacifica‘s Berkeley real estate properties. The recruitment blurb said “Big Tent Radio” would make an offer to receive all of Pacifica‘s assets. Travis used the title of “Chair of the KPFA local station board” in her recruitment effort. Continue reading A Tent Too Small→
“Big Tent Radio Network”Pacifica Foundation Director Comments on Berkeley Secession Effort
Houston – Pacifica Foundation Interim Executive Director Bill Crosier addressed members of the 5-station radio network after it became known that at least one of the KPFA Local Station Board members, with others, has secretly contacted celebrities and prominent supporters of progressive causes, falsely claiming that Pacifica is “collapsing”, and asking them to be on the board of a new nonprofit organization which would seek to acquire Pacifica’s assets, or at least those of station KPFA.
