PACIFICA FOUNDATION MISSION STATEMENT: http://www.pacifica.org/about_mission.php
"SOMETHING'S HAPPENING!" ON THE WEB
KPFK can be heard streaming live online at http://www.kpfk.org/ and click on 'Listen Live.' Times are Pacific Time. Program times for "Something's
Happening!" are approximate but close and "Monday night" is legally Tuesday morning et seq.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Any program information not included in the program guide - guests, websites, contact information, music and comedy breaks, etc. can be found later
at http://www.somethingshappening.com and click on 'what happened?' Thanks to Sha Tahmasebi for redesigning and maintaining the website.
AUDIO ARCHIVES
"Something's Happening!" (and the Sunday 'Alan Watts') are available for listening on demand for 60 days after broadcast. Go to www.kpfk.org and click
on 'Audio Archives.' Be sure to use the handy search engine to list only the program (s) you are interested in listening to. "Something's Happening!" and "Alan Watts" are not downloadable because they contain program material which is not owned by Pacifica.
BEHIND THE SCENES
You are a voter for the ongoing KPFK Station Board Election if you donated $25 to KPFK between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019. Donations for premiums do count.
If you donated $50, then your spouse or other household member is also eligible to vote.
If you have a question, or need an e-ballot or a paper ballot for yourself, your spouse and/or other household member, please contact King Reilly 323-839-0985 or KingReilly@roadrunner.com.
You have to mail your paper ballot by Sat., Oct. 12 or your e-ballot by Oct. 15. The deadline for having your email vote/paper ballot received is Tues., October 15, 2019.
There's a big battle going on at the National Board level about WBAI and reorganization of the Pacifica governance. Things are changing every day so I hesitated to even link you to a place which isn't one-sided and huge, much less two places. KPFK is
part of Pacifica and shares its debt, but is staying healthy, but not out of the battle Pacifica is waging for existence of all 5 stations.
The battle is complex and intense - the national board is split 11 to 11 on the WBAI plan - there is so much detail that I hesitated to send out a giant news addition but Diane suggested that some of you will be VERY interested and for that reason I should
put an addendum to "Behind the Scenes" at the END of this Program Guide which will provide some detailed info, some of the arguments, and be easy to disregard if you're not interested.
"FUND DRIVE SCHEDULE"
We will be making some changes in program times and maybe programs with the aim of keeping the phones ringing and also keeping our regular programming in tact as much as possible. We will be frequently starting
Thom Hartmann earlier than usual so we can do quick fundraising breaks while avoiding missing too much of his show.
ALAN WATTS SUNDAYS 8-9AM
October 13
One Hour Watts-athon featuring "Morals in a Floating World" 3-disc set.
From Pacifica Radio Archives, 1 (800) 735-0230, www.pacificaradioarchives.org
MONDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 14
FUND DRIVE SCHEDULE
Remember we didn't broadcast class #1 - it was an academic-administrative organizing class.
Stand by while Danny introduces air tight cases and conclusions then blows them apart relentlessly.
Also these recordings weren't meant for radio - just for students to review. We have improved
the sound somewhat but it isn't 'hi fi.'
12-1:30 Danny Sheehan, "The JFK Assassination"
#4, October 8 2012: 'Oswald: The Lone Gunman'
1:30-3 Danny Sheehan, "The JFK Assassination"
#5 October 10, 2012 'The Warren Report'
www.danielpsheehan.com
His website: www.romeroinstitute.org An Interfaith Center for Law and Public Policy
3-6 The Thom Hartmann Program
Thom's Website: http://www.thomhartmann.com
For free daily Newsletter listing dozens of links to websites, documents, videos, and articles
pertaining to the day's broadcast sign up on Thom's website.
TUESDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 15
FUND DRIVE SCHEDULE
NOTICE: Gary's important film "Healing AIDS Naturally" is available for free viewing at the Progressive Radio Network Website: prn.fm
12-1 Gary Null :Progressive Commentary Hour - New Perspectives on Cancer that Explain Why the War on Cancer has Failed"
Dr. Thomas Cowan is a long-time holistic and complementary and alternative medical doctor who practices in San Francisco. He is a former vice president of the Physicians' Association for Anthroposophic Medicine
based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, and was a founding member of the Weston Price Foundation. His practice incorporates nutrition, homeopathy, anthroposophic medical theory and botanical herbs. He also operates a family-run biodynamic organic. Dr Cowan
writes the column "Ask the Doctor" for the magazine Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts and has authored several books including "Vaccines, Autoimmunity and the Changing Nature of Childhood Illness." His most recent release a couple weeks
ago is "Cancer and the New Biology of Water: Why the War on Cancer has Failed and What that Means for More Effective Prevention and Treatment." We will be speaking with Dr. Cowan about how these new emerging discoveries about certain unusual properties of
cellular water may force us to completely rethink the causes for our ongoing epidemic of cancer. His websites are DrCowansGarden.com and HumanHeartCosmicHeart.com
FREE DOWNLOAD: http://prn.fm/progressive-commentary-hour-new-perspectives-cancer-explain-war-cancer-failed/
1-2 The Gary Null Show - 10.08.19
Advice from Veteran Voices of Protest to Young Climate Activists
By Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD
Finally there are noticeable stirrings of a world awakening to the plight of civilization and a livable planet. After fifty years of false starts, a diverse community of independent voices are finally being heard
en masse, such as Chris Hedges. Jane Goodall, Bill McKibben, Guy McPherson, Vandana Shiva, and more recently Greta Thunberg, Jamie Mangolin and other environmental youth leaders. We are being warned that our Western lifestyle as individual consumers, trapped
in the fangs of neoliberal capitalist mythologies of infinite progress and development, are having an astronomically detrimental impact upon our earth's finite resources and ecological diversity. Ultimately, as the MIT's Limits of Growth report warned 47 years
ago, continuing business-as-usual will have dire consequences. Unfortunately there is no concerted collective international effort to deal with humanity's rate of consumption and addiction to economic growth
DOWNLOAD ESSAY AND/OR AUDIO: http://prn.fm/gary-null-show-10-08-19/
2-3 The Gary Null Show - 10.10.19
The Gary Null Show is here to inform you on the best news in health, healing, the environment. People who eat more meals at home have lower levels of harmful PFAS in their bodies, When studying immune cells, environment
matters, Polysaccharides as potential anticancer agents-A review of their progress, Too much vitamin B can cause hip fracture, Green tea extract delivers molecular punch to disrupt formation of neurotoxic species.
FREE DOWNLOAD: http://prn.fm/gary-null-show-10-10-19-2/
3-6 The Thom Hartmann Program
Thom's Website: http://www.thomhartmann.com
For free daily Newsletter listing dozens of links to websites, documents, videos, and articles
pertaining to the day's broadcast sign up on Thom's website.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 16
FUND DRIVE SCHEDULE
12-1 Dave Emory, "For the Record #1086 - Fascism: 2019 World Tour, Part 1"
Beginning an overview of burgeoning fascism around the world, this program commences with further documentation of the operation and heritage of fascism in Ukraine.
We begin with discussion of a Kyiv legal decision maintaining that the C14 militia of the Svoboda organization is not a neo-Nazi organization.
A lawyer for C14 asserts that the group, while nationalist, is not neo-Nazi in nature and labeling it a neo-Nazi group hurt its "business reputation".
The Kyiv City Commercial Court agreed, ruling that Hromadske TV couldn't establish that C14 - a group named after David Lane's "14 words" white supremacist slogan - was actually a neo-Nazi group. As a result, Hromadske
TV has to retract its tweet and pay 3,500 hryvnyas ($136) in court fees for C14.
This despite the fact noted in the article below that: " . . . . [C14's] own members have admitted to joining it because of its neo-Nazi ideology . . . ."
It's a sign of how far along the mainstreaming of Ukraine's neo-Nazi groups is in Ukraine: If you call the open neo-Nazis "neo-Nazis", they can sue you and win.
As the article also notes, C14's youth cadre is funded by the Ukrainian government: " . . . . Nevertheless, C14 has received state funding for two years running from the Ministry of Youth and Sport to conduct "national-patriotic
education" courses at summer camps for the country's youth. . . . ."
In FTR #907,we noted the profound presence of the Ukrainian fascists in the United States, as well as their operational connections to the Third Reich. In FTR #1072, we noted the Ukrainian youth cadre in the U.S.,
and its affiliation with the OUN/B milieu in Ukraine.
Our next story fleshes out these connections, noting: ...
Next, we highlight the fascist ascent in the Baltic states. ...
After review of Carl Lundstrom's financing of the Sweden Democrats, as well as Lundstrom's central role in financing the Pirate Bay site (which hosted WikiLeaks, courtesy of Julian Assange's fascist associate Joran
Jermas/Israel Shamir), we delve into the operations of Lundstrom's associates.
Utilizing the anti-immigrant theme utilized with great effect by fascists around the world, the Sweden Democrats are gaining ground on the Swedish political landscape.
Key points of discussion include: The Nazi origins of the Sweden Democrats; the Waffen SS background of one of the party's founders; networking of the Sweden Democrats with fascists and reactionaries in other
countries, including the U.S., France
For a complete, annotated, written description of this program go to:
http://spitfirelist.com/for-the-record/ftr-1086-fascism-2019-world-tour-part-1/
You can subscribe to the comments made on programs and posts-an excellent source of information in, and of, itself -- http://feeds.feedburner.com/SpitfireListComments
Dave Emory's entire lifetime of work is available on a flash drive. The new drive is a 32-gigabyte drive that is current as of the programs and articles posted by early 2016. Link: http://www.kfjc.org/donate/index.php
Dave's website: http://www.spitfirelist.com
1-1:30 Chris Hedges, "On Contact"
Originally heard Sundays, 12:30pm
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLagVUKF7CUTRiG64CklL1AN0mbmNaETfp
1:30-2:30 The Ralph Nader Radio Hour
With a Constitutional crisis afoot, we continue our discussion of impeachment with Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein. And, Ralph welcomes Middle East
policy expert, Hassan El-Tayyab, to fill us in on what's going on with the humanitarian tragedy that is the war in Yemen.
Initially heard on KPFK Mondays 2 pm
http://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com
3-6 The Thom Hartmann Program
Thom's Website: http://www.thomhartmann.com
For free daily Newsletter listing dozens of links to websites, documents, videos, and articles
pertaining to the day's broadcast sign up on Thom's website.
THURSDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 17
FUND DRIVE SCHEDULE
12-1 Alan Watts, "Thusness" part 3 of 5
"This odd word, translating the Sandkrit 'tathata' is used in Mahayana Buddhism
to suggest how things look to a Buddha, to one who has experienced
Enlightenment or liberation and is, therefore, called a Tathagata - one who comes
(or goes) thus, just like that! The sense of this nonsense in Buddhist philosophy
and its practical demonstration in Zen." (AW)
All info: http://www.alanwatts.org
2:00-3:00 Caroline Casey, "Visionary Activist Show:"
The wedding of spiritual magic and compassionate social activism with host Caroline Casey.
From KPFA. Caroline's Website: http://www.coyotenetworknews.com
3-3:15 Z Budapest Reads the Tarot on Trump
Z has been practicing for decades and is the daughter of a witch and creator of the Susan B Anthony Coven and
the Women's Spirituality Forum.
She was arrested for 'fortune telling' in the 1960's which resulted in her release and the elimination of the andi-fortune
telling law.
The reading is online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfwA_mZ6gNQ&t=216s
Her website: www.zbudapest.com
3:30-5 The Thom Hartmann Program
Thom's Website: http://www.thomhartmann.com
For free daily Newsletter listing dozens of links to websites, documents, videos, and articles
pertaining to the day's broadcast sign up on Thom's website.
============================================================================================
BEHIND THE SCENES PART 2
(pro and con arguments)
Press Release: Pacifica Restructuring Project:
For information regarding this release, please contact Carole Travis at: 312-925-5913
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Pacifica Restructuring Project (PRP) announced today that it has released a comprehensive set of bylaws amendments designed to reform the current governance structure of the Pacifica Radio Founda-tion. The
PRP, an ad hoc group consisting of both current, as well as former members of the national Board of Directors of Pacifica, is proposing these reforms after witnessing the decline of the network over the past two decades.
They came to this decision because, they stated, "We have concluded, after serving on these boards, that the current bylaws have crippled Pacifica management's ability to address serious issues such as the changing
media landscape, the changing fundraising paradigm of younger generations, and the ne-cessity for first rate programming to inform, educate and inspire listeners and supporters in this critical time."
They added, "Pacifica Radio, once one of the most important resources for progressive movements and listeners, must remain a viable source of information in these troubling times."
To remedy the problem "We are proposing rational changes to the current Bylaws that would bring the foundation closer to the normal operating governance of other 501c3 organizations."
Under the new structure the Pacifica National Board of Directors would be (11) members--reduced in number from twenty-two (22) to eleven. Five (5) of the Directors would be elected directly by the members at each
of the five Pacifica radio stations. In addition, six "At-Large" directors will be chosen for their skills and leadership in areas including alternative media and movement work, financial plan-ning and fundraising work, and their commitment to Pacifica's peace
and justice mission since its es-tablishment in 1949. The initial group of these at large directors includes a former president of the United Auto Workers, the publisher of the Progressive magazine, a former executive director of the National Lawyers Guild,
a prominent civil rights attorney, a prominent African-American historian, and a skilled finance analyst.(Their biographies and photos are attached.)
Local Station Advisory Boards, will be replaced by Community Advisory Boards whose mission would be to reach out to the communities being served in the signal area and bring listener concerns and views to station
management.
On Monday, September 16, the PRP is emailing a petition to each member of the foundation asking for their support in putting these bylaws changes to a vote, first by the current Board of Directors, and then by
a vote of the membership.
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September 10
Dear WBAI Member -
On Monday morning, October 7, the new interim Executive Director of Pacifica, John Vernile, secretly flew from California to New York and, without warning, shut down WBAI. He wiped its programs off the air, fired
its staff, ordered them out of the building, and changed the locks on the door. (Zack Fink covered the response to the shutdown on NEWS1-TV.)
Pacifica justified the abrupt shutdown in a press release issued that day. It said the closure
"was necessitated by the serious and persistent financial losses at WBAI."
And the vice chair of Pacifica's board of directors, Sabrina Jacobs, added:
"As soon as financially and logistically possible, a plan will be drawn up to
address how we can rebuild our NY station into a vibrant local going operation."
But both statements are false. What is true is that the shutdown of WBAI is the culmination of a decade-long plan -- hatched by KPFA's directors, its station manager (Quincy McCoy), and several powerful donors
and supporters -- to swap or sell WBAI 's broadcast license for an estimated $50-$100 million and use the proceeds to refurbish KPFA. The pretext for the sale? WBAI's alleged financial meltdown.
However, if the meltdown failed to occur, the plotters would help it along -- as they are now doing. For example, why in the world did they decide to shut down WBAI right in the middle of a fund drive, which would
have generated $300-400,000 dollars in revenue? Why were they so happy to flush that money down the drain, even though the whole network is close to bankruptcy and desperately needs every penny?
The answer is simple. Shutting down WBAI's fund drive will render it as financially destitute as they claim it is. Not to mention that -- by wiping WBAI's programs off the air -- they hope to drive away its loyal
listeners (and their financial support), which would further shred WBAI's bank account. The end result would be to make WBAI so financially bereft that the KPFA faction can go into court and (truthfully) tell the judge: "See for yourself, Your Honor. WBAI
is totally hopeless. We have to sell or swap its signal in order to save the network."
NOTE: Another reason for the abrupt shutdown may be that Pacifica just had an election. The plotters may well fear being voted off the board and replaced by directors who are against selling WBAI. Since balloting
ends October 15, and results will be announced on November 1, they could not afford to wait - and decided to strike while still in power. This appears to be the case, since the plotters have already begun maneuvering behind the scenes to declare the election
invalid.
OF course, the plotters are not wrong to say that WBAI has financial problems. But all of Pacifica's stations have financial problems. In fact, KPFA is probably in more financial trouble than WBAI. The last cash
flow report issued by Pacifica showed KPFA with negative cash flow of more than $400,000 over the past 24 months. But you won't see that in Pacifica's teary-eyed press release about how sorry it is to throw WBAI under the bus (a press release, by the way,
that was written by the KPFA plotters).
In addition to KPFA's $400,000 shortfall, its listener membership -- which generates 90% of its income - has seriously declined. Since 2003, the station has lost more than half of its members, and a quarter of
its income. And in the eight years from 2008 to 2016, KPFA lost over $1.9 million, and will report a loss for 2019.
But at WBAI, the reverse is true.
WBAI's membership (alone among the 5 Pacifica stations) is actually going up. That being the case, wouldn't it make more sense for the plotters to sell KPFA to save the network? Or even to sell WPFW, which actually
paid less in central services in 2018-2019 than WBAI did? It would make sense, if they cared more about saving the network than saving their own a**es.
The financial pretext for closing WBAI is even more suspect when one realizes that the cost of shutting down WBAI will require the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars to fulfill employee severance requirements,
unsettled labor lawsuits, the salaries of two employees whom the FCC requires to be "in control of the air" at the station, and the cost of the transmitter lease at $14,000 a month - while not a penny of income will be available to offset those costs from
a shut down WBAI.
So it may actually cost more to close WBAI than to keep it running
But that doesn't bother the plotters. They have their eyes on the prize - the $50-$100 million windfall they expect to pocket when they sell WBAI.
But ... why do I keep saying that the plotters want to sell WBAI, when they publicly denied it in their press release? Do I disbelieve them? Uh, yes. Because they have already admitted elsewhere that they do want
to swap or sell WBAI. They also say that they want to "set the stations free," by which they mean break up the Pacifica network, which even its enemies have failed to accomplish in over 60 years of trying. How ironic, then, that the breakup may now be accomplished
by Pacifica's supposed friends.
However, before WBAI can be swapped or sold, and the network dismembered in order to "set the stations free," Pacifica's bylaws must be changed. That is because, as they now stand, they make it virtually impossible
to swap or sell a station, let alone "set the stations free." So the plotters have created a vehicle for changing the bylaws. They call it the "Pacifica Restructuring Project." You have probably received an email from the Restructuring Project recently, asking
you to sign a petition to change the bylaws. Their proposed changes would abolish our Local Station Boards, water down the right of members to elect the people who run the network and, most important, transform Pacifica's system of governance from elective
to mostly appointive (with the appointers being themselves).
They want to do this, they say, because Pacifica has problems. (No kidding.) But to solve those problems, they want you to appoint them as bosses -- answerable not to the listeners, but only to themselves. They
claim that this is the only way to Make Pacifica Great Again. (Not a bad slogan. Somebody should use it in a political campaign.)
But before we agree to exchange Pacifica's democratic system of governance for an autocracy, we should all remember Winston Churchill's exasperated remark: "Democracy is the worst form of government except for
all the others."
If the "Pacifica Restructuring Project" is able to un-democratize Pacifica, its leaders will no longer have to worry about, let alone pay attention to, its thousands of pesky listeners, who foolishly believe (who
have the nerve to believe!) that they deserve a say in who controls the network that their millions of dollars in donations keeps on the air.
Their strategy - no secret from anyone who reads their public statements - is simple and straightforward. (1) Shut down WBAI. (2) Change the bylaws so that WBAI can be sold. (3) Use the sale proceeds from WBAI
to refurbish KPFA. (4) Break up the network by "setting the stations free." This has long been a cherished project of the faction that runs KPFA, so it is no surprise to learn that virtually all 9 principals (bosses? chiefs? czars?) of the "Pacifica Restructuring
Project" are ... from KPFA.
What is the latest news on WBAI's status?
Right now, the fate of WBAI hangs by a thread called a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order). As soon as WBAI was shut down on Monday morning, a quick-acting group of WBAI staff and listeners rushed into New York Supreme
Court to ask for a temporary restraining order reversing WBAI's shutdown. They were successful and Judge Frank P. Nero issued the order that same day. His order stays and reverses the shutdown of WBAI, allows the staff back into the building, forces return
of the computers that the KPFA plotters took away, and re-establishes regular WBAI programming. However, the judge's order ends October 18, when WBAI's defenders - and the KPFA faction that wants to sell it -- will face off in court.
Amusingly, the KPFA faction is attempting to discredit Judge Nero and his order. They claim that (1) he is conflicted because he appeared on some WBAI programs in the past; and (2) as a New York judge, he has no
jurisdiction in this matter because Pacifica is headquartered in California. Which is like saying that a New York policeman has no power to arrest a drunken driver in Brooklyn because the driver is a resident of California. Actually, there is more than sufficient
Pacifica nexus in New York to allow a New York judge to issue a TRO to prevent "irreparable harm" to New York citizens
Initially, the Pacifica plotters ignored Judge Nero's order. But after WBAI filed a Contempt of Court complaint against them yesterday afternoon, the locks were changed back and the staff was allowed into the station.
I don't know whether the computers were returned. And as I write this (1:30am, October 10) Pacifica still has not redirected the transmitter signal back to WBAI. So the station is still broadcasting a patchwork of odds and ends from KPFA.
Should you show up in court on October 18?
If you wish to show solidarity and community support for WBAI, you might want to show up for the October 18 hearing. Will it help? Maybe - because although judges try to be objective, they also count noses. The
hearing will be held at 60 Centre Street, in Manhattan, Room 315, Judge Frank P. Nero presiding.
P.S. The quick-acting WBAI heroes who successfully petitioned the
judge for a TRO are:
CAROLYN McGUIRE, Chair of the WBAI Local Board;
HARVEY EPSTEIN, Listener Member of the Pacifica Foundation and WBAI;
ARTHUR SCHWARTZ, Staff Member of the Pacifica Foundation and WBAI;
MIMI ROSENBERG, Staff Member of the Pacifica Foundation and WBAI;
JAMES SAGURTON, Director of the Pacifica National Board;
ALEX STEINBERG, Director of the Pacifica National Board
Copyright © 2019 SteveBrownOnBoard, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in receiving my reports on WBAI and Pacifica matters.
Our mailing address is:
SteveBrownOnBoard
127 W 83rd Street
New York, NY 10024
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September 17
A NEW DAY IS COMING FOR PACIFICA!
You can help make it happen
September 17, 2019
Dear Pacifica Radio Members of KPFA, KPFK, KPFT, WBAI, or WPFW,
I am part of the Pacifica Restructuring Project. We are proposing new Bylaws for Pacifica that will significantly streamline Pacifica's governance structure. (See below for a list of who we are.)
One of the major difficulties Pacifica has faced over the years is an unwieldy and contentious governance system that has crippled its management in addressing serious issues such as the changing media landscape,
the changing fundraising paradigm of younger generations, and the necessity for first rate programming to inform, educate and inspire listeners and supporters in this critical time.
With a 22-member National Board of Directors and five 24-member Local Station Boards, Pacifica has not been able to respond effectively.
Quite frankly, Pacifica stations have not produced local or national boards of directors capable of addressing these issues without such destructive polarization that management cannot make and carry out plans
of action without the board countermanding those plans or stifling them or micromanaging them to the point of complete breakdown and inefficacy.
To fix this problem we are proposing new Bylaws to change the Pacifica governance structure. Under the new structure the Pacifica National Board of Directors would be reduced in number from 22 to 11 members. Five
of the Directors would be elected directly by the members at each of the five Pacifica radio stations, and 6 "At-Large" Directors would be elected by the board itself. The "At-Large" directors would be chosen for their skills and leadership in areas including
alternative media and movement work, financial planning and fundraising work, and their commitment to Pacifica's peace and justice mission and purpose since its establishment in 1949. The five Local Station Boards at the five stations would be dissolved and
the current members would be encouraged to join each station's Community Advisory Board (CAB). The CABs are required by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and would operate under their requirements which you can read here.
Today, facing mounting debt (on account of hard decisions not taken years ago, and because of declining listenership), Pacifica will sink below the waves if it does not make a major course correction in its structure
and leadership.
We ask for your help in making this happen.
If your station membership is current, you can help by signing the Petition to the Pacifica Board of Directors to hold a membership vote to approve the new Bylaws here.
If your membership is not current, you can still help by going to your station website and donating $25 or more on line, then come back and sign our Petition. (Be sure to save your receipt in case there is any
glitch in processing your membership.)
KPFA KPFK KPFT WBAI WPFW
Once the Petition is signed by at least 1% of the Pacifica membership, including listener and staff members at KPFA, KPFK, KPFT, WBAI, and WPFW, or about 450-600 signatures, it will be submitted to the Pacifica
Board of Directors. They will then vote on whether to approve the proposed Bylaws. Whether or not the Board approves them, the proposed Bylaws will then be put to a vote of approval of the Members and, if a majority of a 10% quorum of the Membership votes
to approve them, then they will become the new Pacifica Bylaws!
:
We have put more detailed information on the web:
The full text of the Proposed Amended and Restated Bylaws
An "Executive Summary" of the proposed Bylaws
A comparison of the old Bylaws and the proposed new Bylaws
Frequently Asked Questions
Biographies of the proposed Transition At-Large members of the Board of Directors
Facebook page under construction where we will post updates as well.
Thank You!
Carol Spooner
Former Pacifica National Board Member (2002-2004)
Former KPFA Local Station Board Member (1999-2004)
The Pacifica Restructuring Project is the work of three current Pacifica Board members, Bill Crosier, Donald Goldmacher, and Mansoor Sabbagh; four former Pacifica Board members, Sherry Gendelman, Carol Spooner,
Akio Tanaka, and Carole Travis; former Chair and current Vice-Chair of the KPFA Local Station Board Susan da Silva; and former President of the Pacifica Foundation Peter Franck.
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PACIFICA IN EXILE: (Sept. 28) "It's Not Free Speech Radio Anymore"
https://pacificainexile.org/archives/2736
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PACIFICA IN EXILE: (October 9) 'Supreme Court of New York Stops Pacifica's Attack on WBAI"
https://pacificainexile.org/archives/2750
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OCTOBER 11:
VERY SERIOUS DEVELOPMENTS AT PACIFICA
October 11, 2019
Dear Pacifica Radio Members of KPFA, KPFK, KPFT, WBAI, or WPFW,
As you may have heard, last Monday Pacifica's interim Executive Director, John Vernile, went to WBAI in New York City. He laid off the employees, and cancelled local programming, replacing it with curated programs
from all around the network called "Pacifica Across America." You can listen to it online at www.wbai.org.
Understandably, many WBAI listeners are upset and do not understand what happened or why.
The Pacifica National Board will be voting tonight or very soon on whether to ratify Mr. Vernile's actions -- the PNB appears to be split down the middle -- 11 to 11. They are being inundated with upset and angry
messages from WBAI listeners. They also need to hear from the rest of us who do not want to lose our stations or see the whole Pacifica Network go down.
You can reach them by email at pnb@pacifica.org
Some background info: In April of 2018 Pacifica took out a $3.25 million loan to payoff a judgment against Pacifica for WBAI's unpaid rent for their broadcast tower on top of the Empire State Building and to break
the lease. That loan is secured by everything Pacifica owns, and it comes due in full on April 1st, 2021. So far, there is no clear plan to come up with the funds to pay it off. In that context, Pacifica's move to stop the financial bleeding at WBAI makes
painful sense.
Here is a message I sent to the PNB this morning. Perhaps you could use it for some ideas for your own messages in support of Mr. Vernile's actions.
Dear PNB Members,
I urge you to vote to support John Vernile's very painful, difficult and courageous actions at WBAI last Monday.
I believe the best hope for Pacifica now is strong and stable executive leadership with a cohesive board to back him up. The lender (on the $3.25 million loan) is watching Pacifica carefully, and very worried about
their loan, I am sure. Seeing that strong action has been taken to stop the bleeding at WBAI, and seeing that the board supports that action, would be reassuring to them. Then, I believe John Vernile would have a reasonable chance to negotiate with them about
extending the term of the loan. Without that, I would not be surprised to see them foreclose on their loan (as is their right under multiple conditions we have not been able to fulfill so far).
We, the whole network, have done our best for WBAI. It wasn't enough, and has exhausted the reserves and resources that are necessary to get the rest of our stations on a better footing.
The audits tell the story, and I'm sure the lender carefully reads them. As of the last audited financial statements (9/30/17) WBAI owed $4 million in inter-division payables to the National Office and the other
Stations. That included unpaid Central Services and other funds advanced to WBAI to cover expenses. WBAI's total net deficit as of that date was ($6.6 million), including $2.36 million in accrued rent. You can see for yourself here: https://www.pacifica.org/finance/audit_2017.pdf
Ten years before (as of 9/30/07) WBAI's interdivision payables were $502,389, and they had a net deficit of ($99,603). See for yourself here: https://www.pacifica.org/finance/audit_2007.pdf
That is a total loss of $7.1 million over the past 10 years at WBAI.
The individual station info is in the "Supplemental Information" at the back of the audits.
Both Hurricane Sandy and the Empire State lease took a terrible toll on WBAI.
The rest of the network did the best we could to help WBAI ... the national office cut everything they could, and more. I say more because for a couple of years there they didn't have the staff or money to do critical
things like do the audits (the 2017 audit was filed 2 years late!).
We (the rest of the network) sold the National Office building (paid for by KPFA listeners as part of the mortgage on the KPFA building). We (the rest of the network) loaned them money. We (the rest of the network)
picked up as much of the slack as we could with national expenses and increased Central Services payments. We (the rest of the network) got them a new transmitter. And, finally, we (the rest of the network) mortgaged the KPFA, KPFK, and KPFT buildings (and
everything else we own, including intellectual property at the Archives, all our furniture, fixtures, equipment, etc.) to get the loan to payoff Empire State and break the lease.
But our financial condition continues to deteriorate across the network. Listenership and donations continue declining. We have to change. We have to keep WBAI on the air with programs from elsewhere, while we
strengthen the rest of our stations. Then, if the lender gives us a couple more years, we can reinvest in WBAI and bring back local programming ... stronger and better I hope.
So, again, I strongly urge you to support John Vernile. Our lender is watching. It is important for any negotiations with them that John have the strong backing of his board for stabilizing Pacifica and turning
things around. Without that, I really do fear that all will be lost.
Best wishes and many thanks,
~Carol Spooner
(PNB Member 2002-2004)
That's All Folks!
Roy rtuckman (at) kpfk.org
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Something's Happening | | rtuckman@kpfk.org | Something's Happening, KPFK, 3729 Cahuenga Blvd. West,
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Something's Happening | | rtuckman@kpfk.org | Something's Happening, KPFK, 3729 Cahuenga Blvd. West,
North Hollywood, CA 91604
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