[PEN-L:9757] KPFA Staff Reenters Facility

[meisenscher <meisenscher@xxxxxxx>]

Saturday, July 31, 1999

 KPFA Staff Begins
 Station Site
 Inspection and
 Cleanup

 KPFA's production and
 engineering staff re-entered
 the building today, after armed
 security guards were
 withdrawn. They were
 accompanied by Berkeley city
 officials (including the mayor,
 vice-mayor, and city manager)
 and inspectors from fire and
 building departments. It was
 immediately determined that
 there had been damage to the
 property while it was occupied
 by Pacifica and the staff was
 locked out. The alarm system
 and door entry system were
 non-functional, there was glass and debris in several rooms, and the front
 doors were broken and could not be opened. The fire marshall set a cap of 10
 people in the building maximum until the doors can be repaired and opened.

 In addition, it appears there has been damage, perhaps due to lack of
 maintenance, to KPFA's transmitter, which is now emitting a weaker and
 distorted signal of material being transmitted via the lines Pacifica once said
 were not being installed. The transmissions seem to be coming from Pacifica's
 juke-box popular music station, KPFT in Houston, to which scab station
 manager Garland Ganter and scab engineer Bob Cham have apparently
 returned.

 Pending further evaluation of equipment damage, and repair of the building and
 and transmitter, there are no immediate plans to resume local broadcasting.

 Fineman Quits Pacifica PR Account

 KPFA's two-week old relationship with public relations company Michael
 Fineman and associates has ended. A recorded announcement began late
 today at Fineman's phone, saying their work for Pacifica has been completed.
 As at least one reporter was told he would be called back late today, and then
 got the recorded announcement, Fineman's work seems to have ended
 abruptly. Fineman's phone has been flooded with irate calls from KPFA
 supporters, there has been daily picketing outside his office building, and a
 number of visits to his office itself.

 .......

 Pacifica Fails To Come Up With Announced Offer
 At Mediation

 The Pacifica Foundation has made an end run around the mediation process
 and has gone straight to the press with an ultimatum to the KPFA community,
 the eleven-member KPFA steering committee said. The committee, comprised
 of union and non-union staff, community members and local management,
 emphasized that KPFA staff will not be rushed back into the station,
 especially when the sale of the station is still on the table.

 The steering committee remain committed to resolving this crisis and returning
 to the station. However, one and a half hours into mediation today, Pacifica
 had yet to offer its proposal to the mediator or to the KPFA steering
 committee. In fact, Pacifica¹s negotiating team seemed surprised by the offer
 that Dr. Mary Frances Berry put out to the media.

 They are disrespecting the mediation process, disrespecting the mediator, and
 even disrespecting their own mediating team, said KPFA Local Advisory Board
 member and steering committee representative Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi.

 The Steering Committee?s initial reaction to the Pacifica ultimatum is that
there
 are three major concerns:

      Sale of station. The sale of the station is still on the table; we cannot
      allow Pacifica to sell 50 years of free speech radio to the highest
bidder.
      We demand that Dr. Berry and the Pacifica board members sign a
      binding legal document stating that KPFA and KPFB have not and will
      not be sold.
      Accountability. The same people who led us into this crisis are still in
      power and are still unaccountable to the local community.
      Prevention. Unless we take this time to responsibly address the
      underlying issues, we have no assurance that the same thing won't
      happen again.

 When Pacifica makes its proposal to the KPFA steering committee in
 mediation--which it has yet to do -- the steering committee will discuss it
with
 our constituencies. The committee represents thousands of people in the
 KPFA community, and, unlike Pacifica, is accountable to its constituents.

 The committee would like to thank the incredible community of listeners in the
 Bay Area and the supporters of free speech radio throughout the country who
 have tirelessly organized to defend this priceless public resource. It is only
 because of their support and vigilance that Pacifica was stopped yesterday
 from selling KPFA immediately and that the negotiating process might finally
 become a serious one.

 The Steering Committee will hold a press conference on Friday at 9 a.m. in
 front of KPFA, 1929 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley. Bay Area station
 supporters continue to mobilize for the Saturday July 31, 11 a.m. mass march
 and rally at U.C. Berkeley's Sproul Plaza.

Excerpted from <www.savePacifica.net/index.htm>