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BULLETIN - PACIFICA LAWSUITS SETTLED! 12-13-01 |
From: Carol Spooner wildrose@pon.net Subject: UPDATE - Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board Date sent: Thurs Dec 13, 2001 December 13, 2001 PACIFICA LAWSUITS SETTLED! Dear Friends, An "official" announcement will come from the plaintiffs in the 4 lawsuits soon. We were all so tired at the end of 2 days at the court (14 hours on Tuesday & another 6 hours on Wednesday) working with the judge, our lawyers, the defendants & their lawyers, to come to a settlement agreement -- and with planes to catch, phone calls to make, going in to KPFA for on-air statements, etc., etc., etc., -- we just couldn't put together a joint statement. The full text of the settlement agreement is posted at www.savepacifica.net. But, you've probably heard the news. The lawsuits are settled! I am deeply happy -- feeling almost serene for the moment. Everything that we could have accomplished through the legal process, I believe we did accomplish -- I believe we got everything we need in order to restore Pacifica. "We" now have control of the Pacifica Foundation Board of Directors. By "we" I mean that we now have at least a 9 to 6 majority of dedicated, vibrant, intelligent people of good will who are committed to restoring Pacifica to fulfillment of its mission at all 5 Pacifica stations. That means lots of work ahead to solve many serious problems facing the Foundation and each of the 5 stations. But, with the help of many people -- staff, producers, volunteers, listeners, LAB members, managers -- everyone who cares -- I believe we can begin a great work in progress. As Leslie Cagan said on KPFA today -- "we believe the door is now wide open & we all need to step through it." I'm in a celebratory mood. Tomorrow & the next day and for the next 15 months, I'll be rolling up my sleeves as a member of the "interim board" (chosen by the KPFA LAB) to help get the job done. And I know there will be pain and trouble along the way -- but nothing I believe is insurmountable. The interim board will have 15 members -- 5 appointed by the outgoing board majority (we should know within a few days who they will be) -- 5 members appointed by the former board dissidents minor (an announcement will be made in the next couple of days as to who they will be) -- and 5 members chosen by the current LABs. The 5 chosen by the LABs will include 4 chosen by LABs that joined the LAB lawsuit (all by Houston) and will be people we know are dedicated to the restoration of Pacifica. The Houston LAB may choose someone more aligned with the former board majority, but that remains to be seen. A brief summary -- we worked out a way to override the "veto" power the FORMER board majority wanted to retain on the interim board -- there will be 3 ways to pass a motion: (1) by 2/3rds majority of all present & voting, (2) by "balanced majority", i.e., one vote from each of the 3 appointed groups, and (3) by simple majority, ratified by Judge Sabraw. We feel very confident after working with Judge Sabraw throughout the settlement conference that he will approve any reasonable action by a board majority, and would not attempt to substitute his judgment for that of the board majority unless we started attempting to act in an irresponsible way without reasonable process. While all of us would have preferred a simple majority rule -- without necessity of approval from Judge Sabraw -- after working with the Judge for 14 hours on Tuesday, we all felt confident that (1) he understands the unique and important purposes of Pacifica (2) he understands that major changes will be needed swiftly to restore financial stability and to address the crises that have undermined public support for the Foundation, and (3) that he believes in majority rule & would only overturn a majority vote if we did something stupid and obviously harmful to the foundation -- which we will not do.. We have so many people to thank -- but right now, I most want to thank Taylor Carey from the California Attorney General's office, who backed our suit unequivocally & who eloquently expressed to the judge the unique value of Pacifica and its importance to the preservation of free speech rights and political dialogue in our country. Mr. Carey's support throughout this battle -- and Attorney General Bill Lockyer's support -- made an essential difference to our being able to carry the day & to convince the judge to work with us to achieve a settlement that truly would permit the restoration of this national treasure. Also, thanks to all the lawyers for all the plaintiffs -- they have been a magnificent team! Terry Gross and Adam Belsky of Gross & Belsky (for the listeners' suit), Tim Fox of Kerr & Wagstaffe as well as Gene Majesky & Alex Teu of Ropers & Majesky (for the directors Moran/Cagan/Bramson), Ken Frucht (for directors Robinson & Kriegel), and Dan Siegel of Siegel & Yee for the LAB suit. And thanks to Robbie Osman and Barbara Lubin (of Friends of Free Speech Radio), Directors Tomas Moran, Pete Bramson, Leslie Cagan, and LAB Chairs Dave Adelson (KPFK), Sherry Gendelman (KPFA), and Miguel Maldonado (WBAI) -- who went through these grueling negotiations together with me and whose wisdom, courage and humor are indescribable. I know you will all have many questions. I will try to answer more of them soon. But for now, I can say that I sincerely believe we have created the opportunity we needed ... and now we will just have work together to make the Pacifica we all want a reality. Finally, most of all, thank you to the thousands of listeners across the country who supported us, never let down, never gave up -- have been constant, faithful and true. We could never have done this without you. Blessings on all your Good Works, Carol Spooner (P.S. -- Our outstanding legal bills for the listeners' lawsuit will be about $100,000. Please see addresses at the bottom of this message to help us pay them off. Thanks.) ### A HOPI ELDER SPEAKS "You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered ... Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation? Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader." Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the ones we've been waiting for." Oraibi, Arizona Hopi Nation ### ### Important -- We can't do this without you! "LISTENERS' LAWSUIT" LEGAL FUNDS There are 2 funds supporting the listeners' suit -- tax-deductible & non-tax deductible. If you don't itemize your taxes or don't need the deduction, please choose the non-tax deductible option in order to save us a small administrative overhead fee. Thanks! NON TAX-DEDUCTIBLE gifts to our legal fund can be made payable and mailed to: Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board |
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