Police tore down Camp KPFA at 4 a.m. today and arrested 10 people, including KPFA local advisory board member Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi. They are about to arrest free speech demonstrators at the KPFA transmitter in the Berkeley Hills so that Pacifica can install a high-speed Internet connection there and broadcast programming from other locations. This, while Pacifica claims they want to mediate.
Demonstration today at 5 p.m. from the Ashby BART station to KPFA.
Andrea Buffa
Media Alliance
noon on 7/21/99
--------------------------
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 10:19:31 -0700
URGENT: BERKELEY POLICE RAID CAMP BERKELEY AGAIN...SIX MORE ARRESTED!
BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL FAILS TO SUPPORT KPFA WORKERS AND COMMUNITY - MAYOR
DEAN LEADS OPPOSITION!
FIRST MEDIATION SESSION BREAKS DOWN AS PACIFICA INSISTS ON LINKING UP KPFA
TRANSMITTER TO SCAB PROGRAMMING...PROTEST PICKET CONTINUES...UNION MEMBERS
ESPECIALLY NEEDED!
BIG PROTEST MARCH SCHEDULED FOR TONIGHT, INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICE, HIP-HOP
CONCERT TO FOLLOW
Berkeley police raided "Camp KPFA" again early this morning, arresting
six KPFA supporters and clearing the street in front of the chained
and boarded up station. The arrests came at the insistence of
Berkeley City manager James Keene, ostensibly to facilitate fire truck
access. (However, at least three parallel streets ONE OR TWO BLOCKS AWAY
provide major north-south access.)
"Camp KPFA" had tripled in size since the day before, with over 30 tents
housing more than 100 people set up for the night.
The action came after the Berkeley City Council, missing the votes of
two absent progressive members, failed (on a 4-3 vote in favor; five
votes are needed) to pass a resolution, authored
by Donna Spring and Dianne Wooley, urging the police to back off,
and strongly supporting the KPFA workers and community. Mayor Shirley
Dean, one day after addressing the massive benefit concert at the
Berkeley Community Theater in apparent support of KPFA and community,
led the opposition! The council
is now in recess for the summer, unless a special session is called
for Tuesday July 27.
PLEASE CALL OR E-MAIL THE BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL IMMEDIATELY...URGING
THE COUNCIL TO MEET IN EMERGENCY SESSION...TO PASS SPRING AND WOOLEY'S
MEASURE...STOPPING POLICE HARASSMENT...AND SUPPORTING OUR EFFORTS
TO KEEP FREE SPEECH, COMMUNITY CONTROLLED RADIO ALIVE!
Those opposing are:
Councilmember Betty Olds
Councilmember Polly Armstrong
Those supporting KPFA workers and community are:
Dianne Wooley
Kris Worthington
Maudelle Shirek
Those absent...presumed on our side...NEED TO BE
URGED TO HELP CALL A SPECIAL MEETING 7/27...
AND TO ATTEND IT!
Lina Maio
Margaret Breland
2. PACIFICA CONTINUES TO SEEK INSTALLATION OF SCAB SIGNAL AT KPFA TRANSMITTER
The first mediation session - with no face to face discussions yet
possible - broke down Tuesday when KPFA's 11-person steering committee
insisted that Pacifica stop trying to install phone lines to KPFA's
transmitter.
This would allow complete abandonment of KPFA's downtown studios, and the
broadcast of other Pacifica stations' programming on KPFA (where the union
staff and community volunteers have now been locked out for a week).
Pacifica says it doesn't intend to do such broadcasts. But Pac Bell
installers have shown up three times to install the necessary lines.
They have refused to cross an information picket line set up by their
fellow CWA workers!
COME HELP PROTEST PACIFICA'S EFFORTS TO COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN KPFA!
(Transmitter location: up Clarement, right on Grizzly Peak, 1/2 mile
on left to site.)
3. BIG RALLY, MARCH, PRAYER SERVICE, AND HIP-HOP CONCERT TONIGHT!
Reminder: Meet at Ashby BART station 5-6 p.m., march to KPFA and
"Camp KFFA," interfaith prayer service 7 p.m., Hip-Hop Benefit
Concert, La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, 8 p.m.
Back to the main opening window...
From: savepacifica
Mayor Shirley Dean
(510) 644-6484
dean@ci.berkeley.ca.us
(510) 644-6294
olds@ci.berkeley.ca.us
(510) 644-6401
armstrong@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Donna Spring
(51) 644-6266
spring@ci.berkeley.ca.us
(510) 644-6294
wooley@ci.berkeley.ca.us
(510) 644-6399
worthington@ci.berkeley.ca.us
(510) 644-6243
shirek@ci.berkeley.ca.us
(510) 644-6359
maio@ci.berkeley.ca.us
(510) 644-6400
breland@ci.berkeley.ca.us