Audio

Update On Missing Payroll

Leave a comment

 

This clip from Pacifica’s finance committee has CFO Sam Agarwal explaining the delayed payroll on May 15th. The snip also includes some general discussion from the meeting including:

— Payroll update

—  WPFW restricted funds

—  Proposal regarding programming issues at stations with financial shortfalls

—  Major deficiencies in 2015 accounting records. “For the past two years, we don’t know what the balances are that the stations owe to the national offices or what in turn  we owe to other entities”

— Whether it is alarmist to invoke the threat of bankruptcy

—  Steep drop in WPFW income in 2016

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Witch Hunts Redux

Leave a comment

 

dove

Berkeley-Houston’s KPFT, usually the quietest and smallest of Pacifica’s five radio stations, exploded into witch hunt mode this week after a dust-up about frequently absent board member Maria Elena Castellanos trying to “rescind” her resignation a month after submitting it. After the Siegel/Brazon majority in Houston supported the absurd claim, the board doubled down and proposed suspending 4 members of the independent faction for six months for sending emails advocating that Castellano’s resignation couldn’t be taken back a month afterwards per Pacifica’s bylaws – which state board seats become vacant upon the occurrence of a resignation. The targeted board members include Bill Crosier, the former president of the Houston Peace and Justice Center, George Reiter, a professor of physics at the University of Houston, long-time KPFT volunteer Teresa Allen and Prison Show producer Hank Lamb, a former Siegel/Brazonite who broke with the faction in July of 2014 after telling them to “cut the crap” and calling for Margy Wilkinson’s removal as board chair.
Continue reading Witch Hunts Redux →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Striking Out Solvency

1 Comment

dove

Berkeley-At Thursday’s national board meeting, the majority spent most of the meeting passing a resolution instructing station management to “run their operations more productively” by such actions as calling credit card donors whose credit cards don’t go through and encouraging past donors to renew. Houston listener rep Bill Crosier attempted to amend the resolution to also address the content being broadcast. He proposed rolling back program changes in the last 12 months that generated less net fund drive revenue than the pre-change content. Continue reading Striking Out Solvency →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Legal Bills For Procedural Quibbles

Leave a comment

dove

Berkeley-In bicoastal court appearances this week, Pacifica relied on procedural feints to further delay hearings on two requests for injunctive relief filed against them by their own members. In Northern California, Yeakey vs. Pacifica requests the removal of 7 national board members whose elected terms expired in December of 2015 and who were not re-elected, and the removal of two Pacifica affiliate representatives who are not affiliated with current Pacifica affiliated stations. The complaint can be seen here. In New York, Young vs Pacifica requests the seating of national board representatives from WBAI-FM who have been prevented from voting or participating on the national board for four months by the Siegel/Brazon majority faction. The East Coast complaint can be seen here.  Continue reading Legal Bills For Procedural Quibbles →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

No Defense

Leave a comment

dove

Berkeley-Unofficial corporate counsel Dan Siegel and his law firm responded to the Yeakey Vs Pacifica lawsuit, which requests the removal of two affiliate directors whose stations do not have current affiliate contracts with Pacifica and the removal of the 7 current members of the board of directors whose elected terms ended in December of 2015, by postponing a hearing on the merits of the case and demanding a bond of $50,000 from the two listeners who filed the suit. A bond request requires documentation of how the defendants would face a loss of that amount or more were they not to prevail in the case, which Siegel and Yee did not provide. The complaint can be seen here.
Continue reading No Defense →

Audio

Claim of Mystery Lawsuit at WPFW

Audio Leave a comment

 

The election committee meeting of April 18 ended strangely with WPFW local board member Eric Ramey saying a lawsuit had been filed, weeks ago, against WPFW and presumably the Pacifica Foundation. At least 4 national board members on the call indicated they knew nothing about the matter.

Update: WPFW local station board member Eric Ramey provided this as a follow-up statement in response to requests for documentation.

“I was informed earlier the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is investigating.  In addition the justice department will investigate to determine if any FCC violations have occurred. Accordingly I will invoke the 5th and remain silent”.

Update: David Levine, WPFW’s 2015 local election supervisor until the PNB cancelled the DC election,  was contacted by telephone and stated he did not sue WPFW, threaten to sue WPFW, cause papers to be served on WPFW’s general manager or trigger any investigation by CPB, FCC or DOJ.

Local station board member Eric Ramey has indicated he is unwilling to speak further on the matter and was chastised by PNB member Nancy Sorden who asked him to consult with her prior to speaking freely in Pacifica’s streamed meetings saying “we’re all on email at the same time we are on the phone”.

She added “Could you agree to staying open to hearing those reminders and cautions and if you are not sure email ahead of time
or during the meeting?”

Continue reading Claim of Mystery Lawsuit at WPFW →

Articles

Civil Liberty Alert: Listener-Funded Pacifica Radio Under Siege In N.Y. And D.C.

6 Comments

 

opednews

By John Ervin

(Posted at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Civil-Liberty-Alert-Liste-by-John-Ervin-Civil-Liberties_Civil-Liberties_Pacifica_Radio-160404-143.html

Civil Liberty Alert: Listener-Funded Pacifica Radio Under Siege In N.Y. And D.C.

When it comes to dissidence and democracy, nobody does it better than KPFK, KPFA, WBAI and their sister stations in DC and Houston, and more than a hundred eighty affiliates. Continue reading Civil Liberty Alert: Listener-Funded Pacifica Radio Under Siege In N.Y. And D.C. →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Who Cares About A Court Order?

Leave a comment

dove

Berkeley-Pacifica filed a postponement request one day before a scheduled hearing on a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to restore voting rights for WBAI’s PNB delegation and seat elected staff delegate Kathryn Davis. The complaint can be seen here. Pacifica asked for time to secure legal representation in the State of New York and the hearing date was rescheduled to April 29th. According to the plaintiff’s attorney Gary Carlton, a temporary restraining order staying any Pacifica meetings barring voting rights for elected WBAI delegates is in effect until Pacifica appears in court or files an objection and both the meeting notice for an April 13th WBAI local station board meeting and last night’s Pacifica National Board meeting can be characterized as ignoring a court order by the Siegel/Brazon board majority. Continue reading Who Cares About A Court Order? →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Two Lawsuits And A Judgment

Leave a comment

dove

Berkeley-It was a busy week for the Pacifica Foundation in the New York court system as two new lawsuits were filed against the radio network, a judgment was entered and a complaint was temporarily withdrawn. On April 7th, a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO)  will be heard In New York City to restore voting rights for WBAI’s PNB delegation and seat elected staff delegate Kathryn Davis. The complaint can be seen here. Continue reading Two Lawsuits And A Judgment →