Berkeley-Armanino McKenna, the auditing firn which recently delayed Pacifica’s 2013 audit due to the inability or unwillingess of Berkeley station KPFA to provide reconciled accounting records, issued a management letter to the Board of Directors. In it, they observed that “the communications process and governance structure relating to individual divisons and the national office appears less than optimal. The overall success of the Foundation requires a collaborative operating mechanism between the national office and the individual stations. This was particularly in evidence with regard to the general lack of responsiveness during the audit from certain divisons in response to document requests from the national office”.Continue reading Auditor’s Management Letter to Pacifica Board Demands Accountability→
Berkeley-A lawsuit will be filed in Alameda County today by Pacifica Directors for Good Governance against the 12 Pacifica Foundation board members who have engaged in a series of illegitimate actions to destabilize the 65-year-old public radio network. The lead plaintiff is current board member Heather Gray, who is one of two representatives for Pacifica’s 180 program affiliate stations and is associated with WRFG (Radio Free Georgia). The 16+ page brief requests injunctive relief to protect Pacifica from adverse impacts resulting from the board majority’s illegal actions.Continue reading Pacifica Directors For Good Governance To File Suit Today→
Berkeley – Executive Director Summer Reese has a Monday morning telephone conference with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Inspector General where she will be discussing the current state of Pacifica with the agency, which is holding over a million dollars in community service grants from 2013. Another 3/4 million in 2014 grants is on the line, endangered by the inability of auditor Armanino McKenna to go forward with an audit of the foundation’s books on March 27th. Continue reading Snoop Camera and a Discussion with the CPB Inspector General→
Berkeley-A bar complaint has been filed in Pennsylvania against the vice chair of the Pacifica National Board, Tony Norman. Norman, a listener representative from the DC station, WPFW, has been criticized by some for not disclosing when he ran for the board that he was an elected commissioner in Washington DC. The bar complaint, filed in Pennsylvania as Norman is a member of the PA bar, relates to legal papers prepared by Norman on behalf of WPFW-FM’s former manager John Hughes. The WPFW local board has been wracked with conflict caused largely by extensive program changes implemented by Hughes. Eventually members of the local station board sued each other individually and Pacifica as well. Legal filings prepared by Norman on behalf of Hughes were filed without representation (or malpractice insurance) in the DC case, potentially exposing Pacifica to liability.Continue reading A Money Grab and Lots of Trouble with Lawyers→
Berkeley-The audit, an annual right of passage for most large nonprofits and a requirement for ongoing public broadcasting grant funding, has been delayed by Pacifica’s auditor due to the chaos created by the Board of Director’s power struggle with the Executive Director. Armanino Mckenna, one of the nation’s largest auditing firms, pushed back the start date on Pacifica’s audit, already somewhat late, from the planned start date of Thursday March 27th due to the inability or unwillingness of member station KPFA to provide print or electronic copies of their reconciled accounting records. Continue reading Audit Delayed, LA Staff Attempt To Remove KPFK PNB Staff Representative→
Berkeley–8 Former Pacifica National Board members from all 5 of the licensed station’s signal areas across the country have filed a complaint with the California Attorney General today. The board members request the AG’s assistance in investigating the chaotic board takeover of network, help to assure the integrity of the charity and to prevent further reckless actions by the board to destabilize the organization and/or cause the nation’s first public radio network to collapse. The non-confidential part of the complaint can be found here.Continue reading Former Board Members File Complaint With CA Attorney General→
Berkeley – The resistance to the attempt to fire executive director Summer Reese by a newly-elected board of directors despite her binding employment contract has entered it’s second week with no signs of slowing down. This morning, support volunteers were turned away due to a lack of space in the teensy office to accommodate them all.
Berkeley-The Pacifica National Board, which attempted to terminate Executive Director Summer Reese only 7 weeks after signing a 3-year contract, and still has stated no reason for the rushed vote taken with no legal consultation, is floating a familiar face as her proposed replacement: a recently-resigned manager in their own network, Bernard Duncan who was the general manager at the LA station KPFK until a few months ago. Continue reading New Executive Director May Be Resigned Los Angeles Manager→
Berkeley–At the Pacifica Radio headquarters at 1925 Martin Luther King Jr Way, the March 13th late-night attempted firing of the executive director, looks to be getting expensive. The illegitimate dismissal, which happened at a late-night meeting with no prior notification and for no stated reason, looks headed to a court room.Continue reading Network Funds To Be Used To Finance Pacifica Board Coup D’Etat→
