Melting Pot host Michael Barnes announced on Friday November 6th that his last program would be that evening after five years on KPFK.
Off-air, Barnes said he “was done with the place and how badly it was being managed”.
Barnes is the fourth consecutive on-air host to announce a same day resignation citing new manager Leslie Radford’s mismanagement of the station.
Barnes kept it classy on the air, and here is his on-air goodbye to KPFK.
In an unsigned blast, former Pacifica IED Margy Wilkinson attacked her colleagues on the national board who assisted her in taking over national leadership in 2014 (including several she called “workables” in her notepad) accusing them of “grabbing KPFA’s money” and “redirecting it”.
The post, oddly titled “Move on KPFA” can be seen here. Continue reading Wilkinson’s Hit Piece
Berkeley– Thursday night’s Pacifica National Board meeting focused 2 of its 3 hours on the bequest to the Pacifica Foundation deposited into KPFA’s operating account in the spring of 2015 by board chair Margy Wilkinson. The conversation occurred in two parts. In the first hour of the meeting board members jockeyed around agenda items calling for the release of documentation on the bequest diversion. At the end of the hour-long agenda setting session, the document release motion ended up close to the top.
In the third hour, the board voted to release a 60 page document package about the bequest diversion to the network’s five local station boards, but in closed session and not until November 14th. Continue reading The 60 Pages They Won’t Show You
Berkeley-In last night’s Pacifica National Board meeting, held in executive session, the national board voted to order KPFA to refund to the Pacifica Foundation national office the proceeds of one of two large bequests deposited into KPFA’s Mechanics bank account by then-IED Margy Wilkinson. One of the checks (totaling at least $400,000) was donated to the Pacifica Foundation. In the spring of 2015, the “Hall Trust bequest” was characterized as a restricted gift to KPFA, but information derived from a directors inspection convinced the board of directors the gift was instead left to the Pacifica Foundation and misappropriated for the exclusive use of the Berkeley station. The funds were not deposited into the national Pacifica operating bank account where they belonged. Continue reading KPFA Ordered To Refund Bequest
The following open letter was sent by Barbara Lubin, executive director of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (www.mecaforpeace.org).
It refers to a highly publicized event in Oakland, California when MOCHA, the Museum of Children’s Art, removed a planned exhibition of art created by children in the Palestinian occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Continue reading An Open Letter from Barbara Lubin: SaveKPFA Candidate Hilmon Sorey
Snippet from October 22 Pacifica affiliates program committee. Affiliates Director Ursula Rudenberg reports being told she is probably going to lose her health insurance as of November 1st and national board members discuss. In order, the speakers are affiliates director Ursula Rudenberg, PNB member Janis Lane Ewart, PNB member Teresa Allen and Siegel-Brazon-affiliated board member Adriana Casenave. Continue reading Collateral Damage
Berkeley-8 KPFA Communications Workers of America (CWA) union members (Miguel Guerrero, Bob Baldock, Aileen Alfandary, Phillip Maldari, Sasha Lilley, Kris Welch, Brian Edwards-Tiekert and Mitch Jeserich) have failed to respond to a question from this publication about union-busting activities at sister station KPFK.
Two weeks before SAG-AFTRA enters into the biggest Pacifica labor arbitration in the past 15 years with over 20 grievances filed, the KPFA 8 affixed their name to a promotional election postcard. The postcard endorsed the re-election of Margy Wilkinson, whose appointment of Leslie Radford on her last day as Pacifica’s volunteer executive director precipitated the union crisis at KPFK. A long list of grievances with Radford were laid out by SAG-AFTRA members in a letter of no confidence, signed by 27 KPFK staff members including shop steward Christine Blosdale and Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar. Former KPFA-CWA members John Hamilton and Esther Manilla also signed the letter of no confidence alleging union busting activities. The election postcard went on to accuse listener candidates running in opposition to Wilkinson as “defending anti-union activities of previous regimes”.
When asked point blank if they were defending the anti-union activities of the currrent regime, the KPFA 8 individually and jointly refused to respond. It is extremely unusual for union members working for the same organization to seek to undermine each other during a labor action, especially so close to the beginning of arbitration. Among the issues that will be arbitrated are: Continue reading Solidarity Never
By Kim Kaufman – published in the LA Progressive on October 24, 2015
A quiet coup has taken place at Pacifica, and the results are disastrous. The National Board has failed to carry out its obligations to have elections in a timely manner. Their negligence has led to board members holding seats past the expiration of their terms. One faction now controls the local board at KPFK and the National Board. They are in the process of changing the fundamental nature of our station and the Pacifica network. It is on the brink of bankruptcy.
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| Screenshot of Google Search for “Blue Angels San Francisco 2015,” performed on 10.11.2015 |
– by Ann Garrison
This morning I resolved to write something about a plank that I lobbied to have added to the United for Community Radio/Rescue KPFA platform in KPFA’s Local Station Board election: “Updating KPFA technology so that KPFA reporters can generate news headlines and stories that challenge corporate media’s dominant narratives on the Worldwide Web.” It seems strange that I need to explain something that seems so basic to the new media universe, but I promised to give it a try.
Continue reading Rescue KPFA! Vote for Scott Olsen and the UCR 9!
Berkeley-Some communications between KPFK volunteer coordinator/amateur security guard Adam Rice and unpopular general manager Leslie Radford have been sent to this publication. The first consists of a set of instructions from Rice of actions for Radford to take as KPFK’s manager. The to do list is provided here in its entirety, with explanatory notes provided by this publication. Continue reading The To Do List
