August 2009
August 31, 2009
About 80 people attended the community meeting on August 21st (see below). Here are some excerpts:
So far, the Board has given no indication that they got the message. We will post more soon.
Also, see article in La Voz, El Partido Democrático Del Condado De Yakima (Espanol)
August 23, 2009 - The Community Speaks
For 4 hours the community spoke out Friday night describing the disaster that has descended upon their radio station and the terrible abuses perpetrated by the Board Chair and Executive Director. Here's a report sent us yesterday:
The forum hosted by Sister Guajardo, from TACS, Technical Assistance for Community Services, was a resounding success for the community in the battle to save Radio KDNA. She is conducting an investigation into the KDNA controversy and will prepare a report for the NCEC Board of Directors. For this we have to thank NCEC board member Mary Rita Rhode and one of our Friends of KDNA who helped secure a grant from the Yakima Valley Foundation.
Approximately 80 people, including the NCEC Board of Directors attended the forum to share their grievances about the management of the radio. After each comment from a community member one of the board was asked to repeat back to the group what the board member had heard to insure the community that they were listening. What an ordeal this must have been for them.
Only one poor soul spoke in favor of the administration. The rest of the comments were pointed and very negative. More then once a community member pointed at Mr. Lobos and said you and Maria Fernandez are the problem. Another commented that this had turned into a clique of "comadres" controlling the station because a number of women on the board, among the recently hired temp staff, as well as Maria Fernandez herself, belong to group calling itself Latinas for Social Justice and concluded, “Where is the justice?
Another community member commented, “Radio KDNA is a public radio that belongs to the community. We are not in Russia or China for you to control the radio like you are.”
If the Board members have any dignity at all, they will voluntarily resign before the community kicks them out.
We will be posting audio clips from the forum soon.
August 21, 2009 - KDNA, Running Out of Money?
Note: You are probably learning about this before the Board of Directors. Since they haven't announced any meetings since April, and they hadn't seen a financial report since July 2008, it seems they are happily ignorant of the financial crisis that is coming over the horizon. Perhaps someone could let Board members know that they can always come to www.kdna.fm to learn about what is happening at "their" radio station?
Once we came to understand that for the last 13 months the NCEC/KDNA Executive Director was too busy harassing, intimidating, abusing, and bullying KDNA permanent staff to have time to devote to raising any money, we started to worry (like a lot of others) about KDNA’s financial health. We gave up on asking Jorge Lobos (“Board Chairman”) to share a copy of KDNA’s financial statement with us, and asked the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for a copy. It arrived last week. Thank you CPB.
The financial statement is for the year ending December 31, 2008, so it only shows six months worth of Fernandez’s “management”, but that’s enough to reveal a trend and give us some idea of where the station is today. The Statement of Financial Position indicates that cash has decreased by 71%, grants receivable decreased by 50%, and total current assets decreased by 63%.
What about spending? Between calendar 2007 and 2008 payroll costs went up by 24%, and that only includes six months of the new ED’s salary. There was about $400,000 in the bank on December 31, 2008, which was enough for eight months of payroll. At least it was before Fernandez hired four full time temporary staff and a consultant. At the “benediction” in July Jorge Lobos told Chuck Reinsch that they were spending another $7,000 on rebuilding the web site in which Station Manager Gabriel Martinez already invested $15,000. In addition Fernandez retained two attorneys to help with her troubles. The arbitration proceedings for the four unfairly terminated staff will cost upwards of $10,000 each, plus the aggrieved staff will be entitled to back pay for the wages lost during the time Fernandez “suspended” them. Some may be entitled to punitive damages. More on this last item later. Then of course there have been the purchases of laptop computers so that Maria and her temp staff can work from home, a biometric (fingerprint sensitive) time clock, an iPhone for the executive director that doesn't return phone calls, and an industrial grade document shredder for the Board that claims transparency.
So has there been any new revenue to offset this spending spree? The audit report shows that donations and contributions have decreased by 30%, membership dues decreased by 10%, and underwriting and production fees decreased by 56%. With the decrease in revenue, and increase in expense, what might one expect the result will be? Bankruptcy? Ask Fernandez, she should be able to read the signs.
Meanwhile, the Board of Directors looks the other way, oblivious to their own responsibility and culpability in creating this mess.
If, after all this, you are feeling sorry for Lobos and Fernandez, and think your financial contribution would be helpful, don’t bother. For thirty years KDNA has accepted contributions from the community in the form of “memberships”. The community thought that these “memberships” actually meant something, and that “members” had some say in the operation of their radio station. Turns out the current Board of Directors has no use for the community and any pretense of a participatory Board that represented community interests, went out the window when they decided, in Fernandez's and Lobos' colorful phrasing, “to clean out the trash”.
We are ready with our contributions, "memberships", and donations when Lobos and Fernandez are gone, and when the dysfunctional Board has been replaced with community members that truly care about the mission, and act with responsibility and accountability.
If you do want to communicate with the KDNA management, please consider writing a letter to the Board, asking for a current financial report, and for an explanation of how they plan on extricating themselves from the mess they have made. Please share a copy with us and the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Office of Inspector General
401 Ninth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004-2129
Click here to read the Audited Financial Statement for 2008 and 2007
August 19, 2009 - Another of the permanent staff terminated
Last week, Maria Feranndez was calling for a "cease fire". With duplicity that has become the norm for the NCEC/KDNA executive director and her board of directors, on Monday (08/17) she terminated KDNA's award winning Production Manager Jesus Sosa. She did this after suspending him without pay for weeks, but promising him that they would meet once she had completed her "investigation". As with the termination of Saida Rodriguez, there was no meeting, there was only a letter of termination.
She has now terminated four staff that are represented by Teamsters Union Local 760. Supposedly, when the staff agreed to return from strike, management agreed to binding arbitration for any terminated employees, but there is no evidence that those arbitrations are any closer today than they were on June 19, 2009.
August 15, 2009 - KDNA Staff In Contract Negotiations
We have written previously of our concern for the permanent staff of KDNA and NCEC, including the three that were unfairly terminated. Although we are aware that they suffer a hostile work place, they are fortunate enough to be represented by a union. The community and constituency of KDNA, on the other hand, have no similar representation, and that is why www.kdna.fm focuses on community issues.
In the latest round of negotiations, NCEC management approached the Union and hinted that negotiations could be expedited and a contract signed within two weeks if the community would cease pressuring the Board and management. Of course, the Teamsters cannot tell the community how to proceed in their efforts to support the employees and make NCEC/KDNA responsive to the community once again.
Along with the rest of the community, we look forward to reporting soon on the signing of a Union contract that is fair and just for all NCEC/KDNA employees.
August 14, 2009 - Another Public Radio Station In Trouble with CPB
A while back, we suggested there was a lesson to be learned from the sad events at KBBF in Santa Rosa.. The KDNA/NCEC Board continues to act with disregard to their obligations to the community, to which they agreed when they accepted Federal funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB). Well, here's another example of a radio station in trouble with CPB. The similarities in all three cases seem to show a common thread: Boards of trustees/directors of these small non-profit entities are woefully ignorant of their responsibilities, and seem to often be driven more by ego's inebriated on power than by a desire to serve their respective communities. Read a WYPR (Baltimore) Community Advisory Board members resignation letter here. Note, it does look like WYPR may be making progress - they publish a schedule of their Board meetings on their website. NCEC/KDNA meetings are secret, unannounced, and closed.
August 12, 2009 - La Lucha Por Radio Cadena III
A third flyer is being distributed by members of the community outraged by the continuing deterioration of conditions at KDNA. Read it here.
August 11, 2009 - Letters, Letters, Letters
Like a lot of people, Rosa Ramon and Chuck Reinsch have written to the NCEC/KDNA Board of directors expressing their concern about the events of the last year, asking for an explanation of the future plans for the organization, and asking for specific information regarding Board meeting schedules, minutes and financial reports. NCEC/KDNA is a recipient of a Community Service Grant (CSG) from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Over the years, CPB has established compliance requirements of CSG recipients to ensure that public broadcasters are responsive and responsible to their communities. The Board of NCEC/KDNA appears to believe that they are exempt from these compliance requirements.
Jorge Lobos, "Board of Directors Chairman", finally got around to responding to Rosa's and Chuck's June 21 letter, with a letter dated July 7, but mailed and postmarked in Yakima on July 28. You can read his response, and the letters from Rosa and Chuck here.
It is interesting to note that Lobos says "...we are sending you copies of our regular Board of director's meeting minutes." The minutes were not enclosed with his letter, and have not yet been received. What do you suppose might have happened to them?
Do you have letters about NCEC or KDNA that you have written to the Board or management, the media, CPB, your legislators, funding agencies, or others, that you would be willing to share with our readers? If you do, please send them to us at SaveKDNA@kdna.fm. If you are unable to send them electronically, give a copy to one of the community organizers (wearing a Save KDNA button) in the Valley. They will get them to us to scan, and we will return to you.
Highlights from last month
Chuck Perov's correspondence with Maria Fernandez
Teamsters Local 760 writes to Board regarding treatment of Saida
Community protests against Jorge Lobos at Washington State Department of Agriculture in Yakima
Not understanding why the WSDA would support the activities of NCEC/KDNA Board President Jorge Lobos and the disastrous affect they are having on the financial security and programming quality of KDNA, on Thursday friends of KDNA gathered in front of the WSDA's office in Yakima to call for his resignation from the Board. Link to larger picture, or to read short piece in Yakima Herald, or read report by KAPP TV More about the demonstrations: See the story in La Voz (Pasco, Washington, Espanol)
