7:00pm - 9:15pm
[I was stuck outside for quite awhile so the notes are minimal - ed. ]

The 500 capacity Hotel Trade Council union hall on West 44th St. was filled to standing room only with another 100 or so people waiting outside to get in chanting "put it on the radio." An attempt to bring audio outside was unsuccessful.

Directors present:
George Barnstone, Carol Spooner, Dave Fertig, Ray Laforest, Jabari Zakiya , Leslie Cagan, Rob Robinson, Pete Bramson, Janice K. Bryant, Teresa Allen, Marion Barry, Bert Lee, James Ferguson
Not present:
Dick Gregory, Wendell Johns

• Agenda review, meeting rules:
There is a parliamentarian (knowledgeable in Robert's rules).

• Board Chair's Comments:
Chair Cagan welcomes everyone. Informs that there are people outside waiting to come in and asks people to rotate out and allow that diversity is considered when getting people in.

• Interim Executive director report:
The chair reports that the iED Joanne Meredith has resigned amicably to help make way for the person who will be a part of the next stage of Pacifica's development.

• Update: Lawsuits, grievances and severance arrangements:
The chair makes requests for grievances in writing and for a review of all severance arrangements.

• Finances:
Interim treasurer Zakiya reports on what he's been able to access in the past couple of weeks. There is $2.8 million debt 90days overdue, most of which is owed to the high priced lawyers and pr firm hired by the hijackers.

by Jeff Fox ( posted on http://nyc.indymedia.org/ )

The individual stations actually have had decent financial health over the last 2 years bringing in $12 million, which considering actual operating expenses, would make for a $1 million surplus. The problem is that the swelling Pacifica national office spent most of the money on it's own operations instead of taking care of the stations.

There are 664 past due accounts within the Pacifica Foundation.

Board secretary Spooner presents an offer from a an anonymous doner to hire an accounting firm to do a 2 week accounting of the finances beginning immediately. The board votes to accept. (Ferguson and Lee vote against)

Discussion of the removal of the money from the KPFA bank account by the national office. The account was set up for donations earmarked specifically for KPFA operating expenses (national office was not paying any bills). The funds were eventually frozen by Wells Fargo and then removed by Pacifca because, although it utilized a Pacifica PIN number, the local signatories were not authorized by Pacifica. Recently interim treasurer has made the money from the account again accessible to KPFA.

Boardmember Barry derails the meeting briefly by speaking out of turn and trying to override the chair in order to address moot points.

Because the issue of the still in effect boycott is central to Pacifica's finances, boardmember Bramson reads from statement representing many Pacifica listener's nationwide as to what needs to by accomplished before the boycott is lifted:

- Bring back the fired and banned at WBAI and eventually the other stations
- Lift the gag rule.
- Remove the current station managers (hudge, yet brief cheers from crowd)
- Settle the Pacifica National News stringers strike

Boardmember Ferguson then reads a "staff" statement that claims that many of the striking PNN stringer are not legitimate because the current PNN staff are "union workers" and calls for an investigation as to the identity of the striking stringers. [ this is bullshit -ed]

A finance committee is formed comprised of practically all the board members present.

• The committee to look into matters at WBAI, now approved by the judge, still needs one member from the hijackers contingent who selects boardmember Ferguson.

• In the meeting wrap-up the chair reminds people that tomorrow's session will be crowded and that in order to allow others to be able to get in, people who are able may want to listen to the webcast on wbix.org. A listener shouts out "put it on the radio!." The crowd slowly takes the cue, and being the end of the meeting allows itself a powerful outburst and chant. It really rocked. Hijacker appointed interim station manager at WBAI is present and says he'll try. [jeeze, you'd think it be easy enough for these pros]

see you tomorrow...

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Another meeting report at: http://www.ominous-valve.com/pacific.html