- The Folio Yellow Sheet -

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Pacifica Gets Out of Dodge (Berkeley)

Late in the night of January 5th, under cover of darkness, with no word of warning to KPFA staff or listeners, Pacifica slipped out of their Berkeley offices next door to KPFA. Pacifica is registered in the State of California as a non-profit corporation. They are off to Washington D.C. after having been based in this State for 50 years. What effect this move will have on Pacifica’s non-profit tax situation is not yet known. The California Legislative Audit Committee is already investigating Pacifica for its actions over the summer of 1999. Who knows what else will turn up as they dig into Pacifica’s financial records? Only a few in Mary Berry’s inner circle know what secrets lie there.

The day after the move, Lynn Chadwick said the corporation decided it would be better to not give advance notice of their plans, not even to the station staff next door. "We didn’t want to announce it to anybody, we wanted a smooth transition -- It’s pretty normal with lots of businesses to move at night." Aileen Alfandary, the news co-director for KPFA said "I think it's clear that they turned tail and ran after the heat they received last summer. Personally, I feel good riddance. They arrested us and they locked us out." Tomas Moran, one of three new members of the Pacifica National Board who happens to be from the KPFA area, is concerned. "I was hoping that it was a decision that had been made in the heat of the crisis," Moran said. "Moving the headquarters when KPFA is in crisis ... this is not a good time, in the middle of the uncertainty."

Sherry Gendelman, a KPFA Local Area Board member, called Pacifica's leaving "a terrible blow -- Pacifica is putting itself inside the Beltway; no protests there. Pacifica has created such acrimony, distrust and hard feelings in the community -- It sickens me that it has sunk to this level -- It just indicates Pacifica intends to abandon the principles on which it was founded." Gendelman will be there to welcome Pacifica when it opens its offices on January 18th.

The Folio wonders how Pacifica can afford to pay rent on new offices when they squandered so much money on the lockup and occupation of KPFA. It’s only been a few years since KPFA’s listeners built a beautiful new building for Pacifica to share with KPFA. The Folio’s contact in Washington D.C. says, "How many staff people were there in the Berkley Pacifica Foundation offices? I don't think WPFW can handle very many more people and I'm not sure there is that much extra space in the building to lease." Larry Bensky clarifies and confirms -- "To my knowledge, the Berkeley Pacifica office had in it Chadwick, an assistant to Chadwick (Vanessa Ransom), Gene Edwards, development director Cheryl Garner- Shaw, an assistant to G-S whom I never met, Maria Acosta-Colon, who was supposedly raising money for national programming, and for a while the public relations person, who was laid off during the crisis. That's seven people. The LA finance office has at least four people working in it. In addition there were at least half a dozen consultants working at one time or another. No one outside of the ruling clique on the board knows who they are, how much they are paid etc." Bensky offers this observation as well, "There is very little room in the WPFW/Pacifica network news floor of that building. I haven't been there in three years, but there might be some more available space on another floor."

The Folio’s D.C. source offers this bit of information: "Concerning a D.C. Pacifica office, Pacifica fundraisers visited several wealthy donor types in the Washington D.C. area in the past six months asking for

large donations to build a D.C. Pacifica building. A woman I know, who has a family foundation and gives to progressive causes, says they pitched it to her this summer, but she doesn’t give money for buildings."

Word is also spreading in Washington concerning the move of the Pacifica National offices. This from Frank Ahrens in the January 11th Washington Post; "West Meets East Quietly and Suddenly - The troubled Pacifica Foundation radio network has moved its headquarters from Berkeley, Calif., to Washington. The leftist public network, which has five stations across the country, has been besieged by a nasty labor struggle over the past year, pitting the foundation's board of directors against its employees." Mr. Ahrens continues, "The conflict has included the firing of longtime air personalities and frequent censorship of its own news programs that have tried to cover the troubles. WPFW (89.3) here in Washington has been among the most egregious censors. The network says it has moved east to put its staff closer to federal agencies and public-interest groups based here. But consider this: Last summer there was a 10,000-person free-speech march against Pacifica in Berkeley. Here in the District of Columbia, WPFW has been relatively unbothered. Do the math."

Finally, thanks to Doug Henwood, author, frequent contributor to the Nation and host of a weekly politics and economics show on WBAI, we have this insight into the possible truth of the move. "A Pacifica source who wishes to remain anonymous says the standard spin - that the move of the national office from Berkeley to D.C. is a sinister plot to escape all the Bay Area troublemakers - is all wrong. Said source says it's really a sign of the total collapse of the Pacifica national strategy. Most of the national staff will be laid off to help pay down the debt incurred in the KPFA fight." As Henwood says, "We’ll see." The Folio will be following this move closely.

 

Late Word on the February Pacifica Board Meeting

Pacifica has decided to hold their February National Board Meeting in Washington D.C. There is no word yet on the venue for the February 25th - 27th meeting. This, of course, is subject to last minute change.

 

The Continuing Adventures of Mary Berry

As proof of the value of education, we offer this opportunity to educate a university professor. As it turns out, a Dr. Adrienne Sims of the Women’s Resource Center of the University of California at Riverside, has invited Mary Berry to be the keynote speaker at WOMEN'S CONFERENCE 2000. Interested Pacifica listeners and sponsors are letting Dr. Sims know just who Mary Berry is. If you would care to offer her some insights into Mary Berry’s true character you can call Dr. Sims at: (909) 787-3337 or E-mail her at: drasims@ucrac1.ucr.edu . You may also want to write to:

The Women’s Resource Center, University of California, Riverside
260 Costo Hall
Riverside, CA 92521-0211
(909) 787-3337
http://www.students.ucr.edu/wrc/



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Written for the Yellow Sheet by:

  Michael Costello 
  North Bay for KPFA

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