LAB-Oratory,

an Unofficial LAB Meeting Report

by

Gregory Wonderwheel

The KPFA Local Advisory Board (LAB) met on Wednesday, June 14, 1999, at 7:00 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center one block north of the station. Present for the meeting were LAB members Max Blanchette, Andrea DuFlon, Steve Lustig, Louis Sawyer, Carol Spooner, and LaVarne Williams. Absent were Sherry Gendelman, Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, Leona Jacobs-White, Jay Imani, and Pele de Lapp. (Lauren Ayres resigned at the May meeting.) LaVarne chaired the meeting. To keep the minimum number of LAB members at twelve or above, two new members were elected on an interim basis until LAB elections are completed; they were John Sheridan of Berkeley and Mark Hernandez of Fresno. (Carol, LaVarne, and Max were elected on the same interim basis at the May LAB meeting.)

As part of introducing himself, Mark Hernandez told about some of the politics surrounding KFCF's parent board, The Fresno Free College Foundation (FFCF). Factions with different perspectives on the Pacifica crisis are vying for dominance of the FFCF Board. One group, which is a minority at present, is pressing for a recall vote of opposition members and appears to be promising more hours of community access than are available as political chips to get support from community groups. All very analogous to the Pacifica crisis itself. Mark asked if you have friends in the KFCF listening area to please contact them to join KFCF and make their interests known to the Board.

Carol Spooner reported on the Pacifica Board of Directors meeting in Washington D.C. (See her article in this issue.) From what I gathered, even with an impending hearing on an injunction Mary Berry and her minions were still obnoxious and obstreperous, and failed to observe basic parliamentary rules of order as required by Pacifica's By-Laws. Suffice it here to say the Pacifica Board of Directors can be summed up in one word: dysfunctional.

Carol Spooner also reported briefly on the pending lawsuits with questions and discussion from the listeners. The injunction hearing in the LAB member's lawsuit (also known as the Siegel & Yee suit for the law firm handling the case) will be heard on June 23rd and probably will have been completed as this issue goes out. Listen for info on the air or visit the websites for an update. The injunction seeks to have the at-large members of the board removed for being illegally elected because they did not follow the requirements of the Pacifica By-Laws for a secret ballot. Also the injunction raises the issue of the number of legitimate directors that may be seated. California Non-Profit Law (Corporations Code section 5151) requires that non-profit organizations spell out the minimum and maximum number of directors and that the minimum and maximum number cannot be changed without a vote of the members of the corporation. The LAB suit, of course, is all about who are the members of the corporation. The Pacifica By-Laws fail to set forth a minimum and maximum number of directors as required both by law and the Articles of Incorporation. Also the Pacifica Board is currently packing the Board with additional at-large directors.

Curt Gray presented a report on the Election Committee's efforts to get the election of the LAB underway. A time-line has been adopted to begin the nomination period around July 9 and have it open for 45 days. Meetings in various listener areas are planned. After a two-week period to process and prepare the election materials the 30-day election and campaigning period will begin. At the end of that 30-day period the ballots will be counted. This should be completed by the first week of October. There are several committees that are coordinating the efforts: Nominating, Campaign, Balloting, Staff Support, and Fundraising. Donations to pay for the election are needed. Curt estimated the cost of sending out ballots to approximately 22,000 listeners at $11,000.00. Send contributions to _____________. Many more volunteers also are needed to make the election successful. Please call David Green, the Election Coordinator, at (510) 841-6761.

How to coordinate the election efforts with the staff and Program Council was discussed. Communication is being developed. It was recognized by all that on-air support in the form of announcement "carts" and staff discussion will be crucial in getting nominations and return of ballots. Max, Andrea, and LaVarne volunteered to attend the next Program Council meeting to provide information and request support for the election process.

The meeting ended with comments from those in attendance. This writer expressed appreciation for the LAB's work and expressed hope that the renewed enthusiasm of the LAB will be directed to renewing commitment to the purposes of the LAB as set out in the Communications Act (section 396(k)(8)(B)): to independently review and make recommendations regarding the station's programming goals, the service provided by the station, and policy decisions of the station.

The next meeting of the LAB will be Wednesday, July 12, 2000, at 7:00 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, one block North of the station.

 

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