[Kzyxtalk] typo corrected

[nsi at mcn.org]

So John, what you should know is that When Cristina Aanestad FINALLY
went to station manager, John Coate with the complaint of a hostile
work place, it was because her immediate boss, Paul Hanson, was
constantly swearing at her, constantly calling her a bitch (as did
her "colleague"  David whats-his-name the Underwriting
person)--swearing whenever she made a comment, loudly cussing as she
tried to edit her interviews, etc.: her work product  Coate promised
Christina redress. Instead one week after she went to speak with him,
Jphn Coate "laid off" Cristina Aanestad telling her he would
reinstate her once the finances improved. To dissuade her from making
a further fuss. She kept her tongue. Those "improved" finances were
later spent on salary increases for Mary, Rick, David and himself.
The minute Mary shooed you away from the Board and neglected to pot
down the mike, she was in charge of and responsible for whatever went
over the air (that same status laid on Doug and used as an excuse to
purge him).
It's good you have taken the step of seeking an attorney. It is good
you are considering suing for damages based on emotional distress.
--beth bosk

----- Original Message -----
From: "" 
To:"kzyxtalk" 
Cc:
Sent:Mon, 29 Sep 2014 22:32:35 +0000 (UTC)
Subject:[Kzyxtalk] typo corrected

Doug,
I won't be attending, either. 
Like you, I feel that staff, especially Coate and Aigner, have a
"bunker mentality" that has led to purges of critics and others who
spoke their minds. The harm is irreparable.
These purges, of course, have created an upwelling of animosity that
will prove to be the station's undoing unless staff, especially Coate
and Aigner, are terminated and replaced -- replaced, hopefully, by
more more capable public radio professions, who have no history with,
or ties to, the station.
In reviewing my own purge from the station with someone at the FCC, I
noted that Coate will almost certainly claim I was ousted because I
uttered the f-word on-air. 
I made a few points to the FCC to refute Coate's trumped up claim. 
One, I was not on the engineering board when the word was uttered.
Aigner told me to step aside. She was at the board trying to get my
guest back on the line (the call dropped four times). I was
physically standing a couple of feet behind Aigner. Aigner failed to
pot down the mic.
Two, the utterance was ambient sound. Ambient. Again, I was not at
the engineering board. I was standing 3-4 feet from the mic.
Three, no listener complained to the station following my show.
Complaints? No. A confabulation by Aigner and Coate? Yes.
Four,  the station's seven-second delay -- intended to prevent
obscenity violations and promised by Coate a year ago -- is, as of
this time, still non-existent. It's been a full year, Doug, since you
were purged for a similar trumped up obscenity violation. 
For the above four reasons, I will not sign the declaration Coate
demanded that I sign taking "full responsibility for the incident" as
a condition for having my suspension lifted.
Be that as it may, Doug, the f-word incident is not the only reason I
remain indefinitely suspended. 
Coate's new demand is that I sign a letter that he drafted retracting
my FCC complaint. It's a letter that Coate stated he will send to _The
Ukiah Daily Journal_ and _The Anderson Valley Advertiser. _He further
stated he may use the letter_ _for any other purpose. 
The coerced letter, of course, is tantamount to a
public humiliation. My lawyer says that Coate's demand constitutes
extreme and outrageous conduct intended to cause severe emotional
distress. Consequently, I have suffered "severe injuries as a direct
and proximate result.
In strictly legal terms, the complaint against Coate will be
for_ "_The Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress".
My lawsuit will be supported by facts and evidence, which will
include the purges and humiliations suffered by others, such as
yourself, Norman De Vall, Sheila Dawn Tracy, and Johanna Schultz. My
lawyer will demonstrate a history of abuses at the station.
Another thing.
The lawsuit will also name the Board as a co-defendant for failing to
use reasonable care to prevent the negligent and grossly negligent
acts i.e., the purges, the violations of free speech and other
rights, the violations of due process, the public humiliations, etc.,
from occurring. 
Coate's sweeping general manager and executive director powers
notwithstanding, the Board has a duty to supervise Coate.
 In strictly legal terms, the complaint against the Board of
Directors will be for "Negligence".
Our causes of action will be the following: The Board has failed to
adequately monitor Coate, failed to institute and implement policies
for the protection of volunteers, failed to report abuses to the FCC
and the CPB, allowed Coate to tamper or destroy evidence, and allowed
Coate to threaten victims and witnesses to deter complaints. 
Our lawsuit will further allege that the Board's decision not to
supervise Coate reflects that the reputation of Coate and the MCPB,
and the desire to avoid scandal, were vastly superior and
more important to the Board than the welfare of the plaintiff and
other victims who had been abused by Coate, and this fostered an
environment and culture where abuse of could flourish and in which
it was clearly understood that there was no accountability for such
abuses toward volunteers.
What my lawyer and I have not yet decided is whether or not we will
allege that there was a conspiracy between Coate and the Board to
cover up the abuses. The fact that the Board did not insist on
an investigation of the splitting incidence involving a
volunteer, M. Kathryn Massey, and a member of staff, Rich
Culbertson, is deeply disturbing. There is videotape evidence from
May's Board meeting in Willits of Board member, Jane Futcher, clearly
suppressing an investigation. The rest of the Board, lead by Board
Chair Eliane Herring, agreed. 
My lawyer has suggested that Ms. Massey be a co plaintiff. Others,
such as yourself, may wish to be co-plaintiffs, if that is the advice
of our attorney.
Some other features of the lawsuit.
My lawyer has a discovery control plan. We intend to conduct
discovery under the California's Title 4 (Sections 2016-2036) of the
Code of Civil Procedure, and be controlled by a scheduling order to
be agreed upon by the parties. A few surprises may be store.
The Mendocino County Superior Court has jurisdiction over this
action, because the facts giving rise to this action occurred in
whole or in part within Mendocino County, and the damages sought by
plaintiff are well in excess of the minimum jurisdictional limits of
this Court.
Finally, punitive damages will apply. My lawyer said he could write a
book about why punitive damages apply in our case.
The statute of limitations doesn't run out for two years on personal
jury in California; two years also for breach of oral contract, and
four years for written contract -- so we're in good shape there.
My next move, Doug? Have my lawyer prepare a demand letter. Then,
have my lawyer finalize the complaint, including petition for jury
trial and request for disclosure, and file it.
Because I don't want to "destroy" the station, I'll write to the
Board first with a demand letter of my own. Basically, I'll demand to
have my suspension lifted and to return to the air.
If I don't get an adequate response, my lawyer will send a demand
letter. It will include further demands. The Board won't be happy. It
will cost them. If the lawyer's demand letter doesn't get a response,
we file.
I'm doing all this for the benefit of MCPB, Doug It's the Board's
decision if they want to fight, if they want to bankrupt the
station, and if they want to hold the station up to further public
ridicule.
It was nice speaking with you this weekend. Thank you for calling.
Best always, brother,
John Sakowicz
-------------------------
FROM: "mckenty, doug" 
TO: "kzyxtalk" 
SENT: Monday, September 29, 2014 12:50:27 PM
SUBJECT: Re: [Kzyxtalk] Correcting John Sakowicz

Jane,
Thank you so much for participating in the KZYXtalk forum.  It has
been my hope from the beginning that as many different voices as
possible must be heard if KZYX will become a more viable institution
in service to the many diverse perspectives that are represented here
in Mendocino County.  I was disappointed when more board members did
not participate during last years election cycle and am hoping this
forum will benefit from the views of persons such as yourself who
have a view from inside the daily workings of the station as the
election rolls around again.
I certainly appreciate the work that you and Meg have put forth into
the organizing of this event and believe you have the best intentions
for the station at heart.  I must say, however, that I will not
attend as the "us vs. them" bunker mentality of staff has created too
large a rift between myself and the many other members of my community
because of their apparently unacceptable notion that the programming
and operational philosophy of the station should be transparent
and controlled by the membership.  
Staffs insistence on making programming decisions behind closed doors
with ultimate authority in the decision making process causes the
station 1-2,000 members from my observations and their NPR centric
formulaic philosophy turns off well over half of all the people I
have ever spoken to about KZYX.  The station may be able to survive
on the backs of NPR supporters but it will never thrive, nor truly
achieve its potential as our communities communication and
information source so long as the focus is so blatantly on the side
of NPR promotion at the expense of the many who which to hear
alternative points of view.
Many in our community, especially those formerly associated with KZYX
have felt ostracized after years of watching our favorite programmers
leave in frustration, or get the boot on technicalities, and hearing
our please for some membership involvement in programming decisions
fall on deaf ears.  
I am afraid that the more I delve into station history I find dozens
like Beth and Ells and Sister Yasmin who want to participate in local
radio but cannot because a staff member does not like them or simply
does not respect their point of view.  
I hope the party is a good time for those who attend, but do
understand why many will not.
Doug McKenty

On Monday, September 29, 2014,  wrote:
Really, Jane? Your outreach fell short. Where's my invitation? I'm
one of the founding programmers. As was Sister Yasmin.  Els
Cooperrider's show was invaluable to the County those years she was
on the air. Have you made any attempt to contact her? --beth bosk 

----- Original Message -----
From:"Jane Futcher" 
To:
Cc:
Sent:Mon, 29 Sep 2014 09:42:26 -0700
Subject:[Kzyxtalk] Correcting John Sakowicz

 There are many points I'd like to respond to in John Sakowicz's most
recent assault on KZYX, but let me correct two points he makes that
are absolutely wrong:
 1) The KZYX birthday party is NOT a fundraiser. Admission is $5. We
kept the admission low to be sure everyone who wanted to come was
able to afford a ticket. Food and microbrews are extra, but we will
be lucky to break even on the event because of the costs involved.
 2) Meg Courtney and I, as KZYX board members, are spearheading and
organizing the event. We both felt deeply that this station milestone
was too important for our community not to celebrate. The event is far
from an "ego trip" for John Coate and Mary Aigner. The focus of
everyone involved in putting on the event is making the 25th birthday
a fantastic party that honors everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, who has
been a programmer, staff, board member, volunteer, donor, listener or
member over the years. 

We hope everyone who cares about the station will join us at the
Boonville Fairgrounds October 11 to celebrate the station's
remarkable creation and survival, through thick and thin, for 25
years.

Sincerely,
 Jane Futcher
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