Sunday, February 17, 2019

Houston, we have a problem...


KPFT's LSB Sticks Its Tongue Out At Pacifica
Tells Maxie Jackson Where He Can Get Off

A few representative samples from the KPFT LSB Meeting of 13 February

Limitless entertainment, mirth and bonhomie abound...

Pacifica's Future of Infinite Promise...! —'indigopirate'

12 comments:

  1. Little birdie with access to the system tells me there is a BIG doubt that quorum will be made for three elections: two listener, one staff. Who knew things could be so complicated?

    This Thursday the PNB meets at the call of director Outraged Lark and his outraged accomplices. We can all enjoy their public interrogation of the National Elections Supervisor, Reneeeeeeee Penaloza. As she's also the Local Elections Supervisor for KPFA, KPFT, and KPFT, she won't be able to fall back on the excuse that the info got mangled passing up the chain/dropping down the sewer. (Once that is disposed of they go private, to rip each other apart with info presented by legal counsel.)

    The following Thursday the PNB meets again, this time called by director Ice Maiden Aaron and her Scientologist drones. They've assembled the assembly to dissemble on Pacifica's debts and increasing lack of cash. The failed and currently failing fund-drives at KPFA, KPFK, & WBAI are sending a chill through the corridors of powerlessness. Those in the know are looking to borrow in the summer (after the FY2018 audit) to pay off FJC before declining listener support makes juggling the creditors unsustainable.

    The Thursday after is a return to normality, the regular monthly PNB.

    No rest for the wicked – especially wicked Scientologists.

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    1. Thanks for the info/rumors.

      From whom would they hope to borrow? With what collateral?

      ps: Please don't associate Ice Maidens with Ms Aaron. No offense, but eww...

      ~ 'indigo'

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    2. The new lender? Who knows, but the broker for the FJC loan, Marc Hand (whose company also gave FJC an award last year) is on the case, and will soon present options to the PNB. The hope of the Scientologists is that it will be sufficient that (1) all the audits (general and pension) have been done, (2) NETA can declare to a potential lender that the bookkeeping and management accounting functions are under control, and (3) adequate collateral is available.

      This hope, however, received blows at Monday's PNB Audit Committee:

      – first, the auditor said the current FY2017 audit won't be ready until April at the earliest (the original expectation was November last year). One can estimate that the earliest the FY2018 will be completed is August, but with holidays and info delays it's better to think October. Then, breathlessly, if they have the will, they, or someone else, can start on the FY2019 audit.

      – second, ED Jackson said that Business Managers should be appointed at the three stations lacking them: KPFT, WPFW, and WBAI. (In typical unicorn politics style, neither he nor anyone else spoke of the cost, where the $$$ would come from, or the need to put this cost in station budgets.) But wasn't NETA supposed to be doing everything for Pacifica, and magically saving lots of money at the same time? Well, another blow came at the end of last year: NETA, finding out what they'd got themselves into, insisted on amending the contract, so (1) only taking on the CFO role for three months, and (2) declining the offer to provide station Business Managers. This has made it easier for NETA to extricate themselves when the contract expires, after two years, in September 2020; by happenstance this benefits Pacifica, by stopping it being completely dependent upon NETA.

      – oddly the elections came up, with Ice Maiden Aaron saying that, as of Friday, quorum hadn't been achieved in any election (then 29 days down, 18 days to go to 5 March).

      And the collateral? For any new loan it will almost certainly be on the current basis: a value-to-loan ratio of 3:1, so almost $10m, all the Foundation's property, collateralized for the $3.265m currently borrowed from FJC.

      Note that the first quarterly interest payment from Pacifica's general account is due the very end of December this year; the current interest charge is 8.5%, so, for the privilege of this FJC loan, listeners currently pay $277,525 pa, $69,381 per quarter, to tread the water.

      Finally, a correction, I typed 'KPFT' twice: Ms Reneeeeeee is LES for KPFA, KPFK, and KPFT.

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    3. Forgot to mention another blow from Monday: the auditor strongly indicated that the FY2017 financial statements will be given what he called "a scope limitation". No surprise, as May 31 last year the FY2016 auditor did the same (surprisingly, Pacifica's first), using as their language "a qualified opinion". An auditor issues this warning because some of the quantities in the financial statements cannot, in the jargon, be said to be 'true and fair', and these feed through to necessarily affect both the net income statement and the balance sheet (and the cash flow statement).

      NETA have tried their best to avoid this eventuality, but, as the Audit Committee heard at their previous meeting, NETA could spend more time trying to patch things up and still get a scope limitation, so what would be the point of delaying the audit even more?

      The auditor made no mention of the 'going concern' test. Why? Because everyone knows the answer: the last two auditor's reports carried a "substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern", so with the current facts why would this one be different?

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  2. Kathy Davis is now (Tuesday morning) extolling the spirituality of the Incan culture, omitting any reference to their practice of child sacrifice.

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    1. WWere she not as ignorant and morally bankrupt as she gas proven herself to be, Kathy Davis would have stayed fired. Instead, of course, they gave her a spot on the PNB.

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    2. She got the spot because the other two Indy staff members weren't interested. There is one seat reserved for a staff member from WBAI so it was either her or the JUC staff candidate.

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  3. Which LSB meeting is this? They have 2 non-functioning local boards for the price of one.
    This is...Hey Quit sticking your tongue out at me...Sorry Chris. I love how people cite their contacts
    with Maxie as if they have influence because His Majesty Maxie III actually takes the time to talk
    to them. Some of them really have a major issue with Bankruptcy Bill Crosier. No matter what the
    topic, they never fail to take a shot at him. I have to go now. I have my own KPFT LSB meeting over at
    Denny's.

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  4. Kathy also spotted a hole left by Robert Knight, squeezed herself into it—using his girlfriend as a veil of legitimacy—and talked Reimers into allowing her to do a weekly "tribute" show. As I expected, the actual purpose soon became clear: the girlfriend disappeared and it became another show for Kathy to spew her phony spirituality and sell her wares/services.

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  5. I see WBAI is doing 4-7K a day during the current pledge drive. Lopate isn't raising shit, so to speak.
    KPFA's pledge drive is starting out slow. First day (Tuesday 2/19) was only $23K. They need to raise about $33K a day to make goal and weekends are notoriously low performing, but the 3/2 Saturday is Grateful Dead day, which usually does better. Today so far according to the screen in the phone room is trending even lower than yesterday. And I don't know how K, W or T are doing...

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    1. WBAI's poor performance is not surprising since they are repeating the same tired,old infomercials over and over. For example, they frequently repeat an old Guns and Butter informercial (including Tiny Bates) from two years ago.

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    2. Not to menion the one featuring nutrionis Gwen Scott live on the phone throughout. I believe WBAI was still on Wall Street at that time...

      ...and Scott was still alive. WBAI burns copies of the three DVDs as it ells them.

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