Conser: Captain of S. S. KBOO Apologizes while Ship Sinks

We were wrong!

Glorious Leader may be in charge of rearranging deck chairs, but Stephen Conser is CAPTAIN of the ship(presumably Moelich is First Officer).  And the captain, while admittedly still valuing the Deck Chair Plan, has apologized...for stuff:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 2:42 AM
Subject: Conch apologizes for unauthorized use of KBOO lawyers...
To: Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>, Jeff Kipilman <jbkip@comcast.net>, Lisa Loving <lloving2002@yahoo.com>, Lyn Moelich <boardbliss@gmail.com>, Mark Sherman <kboo_board@q.com>, Matthew Bristow <myst567@gmail.com>, MichaelP <papadop@peak.org>, Paula Small <kboopaula@gmail.com>, Rabia Yeaman <kbooboardrabia@gmail.com>, "S. W. Conser" <conchdotcom@gmail.com>, Sue Bartlett <sueb.kboo@gmail.com>, Timothy Welp <timothyjgwelp@gmail.com>


...except its for the time he spent chatting with them about FCC matters.

The topic of the GovCom report was his unauthorized use of KBOO lawyers to have a $1500 chat with them about a matter related to the last KBOO elections. This was before he spoke to our lawyers about the FCC related Emergency Alert System (EAS) issue
How many issues has Conch discussed with KBOO lawyers, without authorization?

The GovCom followed up on the concerns of 1/3rd of the Board about Conch's misuse of KBOO funds. As a courtesy, I let Conch know we were looking into his unauthorized spending to determine if it was wasteful. Conch insisted on telling me about his reason for discussing the FCC/EAS issue with our lawyers. When the GovCom looked into Conch's unauthorized spending, we were told it totaled approximately $1500 and was not about the EAS matter.

Was Conch trying to mislead us by discussing this unrelated matter, or was he admitting to even more unauthorized use of KBOO lawyers?

The fact is, he mis-used approximately $1500 to discuss a matter NOT related to the FCC/EAS, a matter already discussed with the lawyers, and a matter which the lawyers advised KBOO to do nothing. Even so, Conch did something. It was unnecessary and unwise -- and it was a mis-use of KBOO funds. It was not about the FCC/EAS.

Attached -- the GovCom report. Please note the statement from the Executive Director about the wasteful spending. The legal costs I am commenting on happened before the EAS situation in October.
Below, selected emails from a discussion between Conch and I, and myself and the GovCom. Other than the first email to the committee, these are all between Conch and I, and in some cases, excerpted for the sake of brevity.   

Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>

Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 3:59 PM
To: Jeff Kipilman <jbkip@comcast.net>, Matthew Bristow <myst567@gmail.com>, Michael Papadopoulos <papadop@peak.org>

We plan to meet every month on the second Monday at 6pm in the KBOO large meeting room. Our first meeting will be this coming Monday, March 11th, at 6pm. We will meet in the reception/kitchen area (see note below about why).

Here are the agenda items I first proposed on Feb 7th, with additional items I suggest we take up.

<SNIP>
3. The rather insistent request from a member (presumably) of the Finance Committee for the Board to consider this matter and to determine if this Board member should be removed prompts this item. My expectation is that we will find that this matter does not rise to the level requiring removal of the member from the Board, however a formal statement about the limits on the powers granted to the Board President may be warranted. Reporting to the Board that GovComm has considered this issue and our presenting this recommendation should resolve any concerns about favoritism and put this matter behind us. We can report at the next Board meeting that we have this item on our agenda. We need not act on it at this time, and may be directed by the Board to not do so. A discussion of what governance issues, if any, might be involved in the recent unauthorized expenditure of funds by the Board President and what disciplinary actions might be warranted. (5 minutes)
<SNIP>

Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>
Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 4:14 PM
To: "S. W. Conser" <conchdotcom@gmail.com>, Lynn Fitch <development@kboo.org>

I think our Board President and Executive Director should be informed of any committee's proposed agenda, so that any input you two might have into these items can be considered and so that nothing that comes to the Board out of a committee is a surprise. If you'd rather not get our agenda, let me know.

Also, as a courtesy, I want to let Conch know we have an item on our agenda that concerns him.

Sorry about getting this out late on a Friday for our Monday meeting, but hopefully you both will have time to provide any input you'd like prior to the meeting at 6pm.


S.W. Conser <conchdotcom@gmail.com>
Sun, Mar 10, 2013 at 8:49 PM
To: Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>
Cc: Lynn Fitch <manager@kboo.org>

Hadrian,

Thank you for sending the information.  At the moment I'm in San Antonio and not expected back in Portland for a week.  I'll look forward to hearing more when the minutes are published.

     Best,

               -- C.


S.W. Conser <conchdotcom@gmail.com>
Sun, Mar 10, 2013 at 8:56 PM
To: Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>

Hi again Hadrian,

It just occurred to me that you may be unaware of the context of the legal expenditures that occurred during the period last year when our Executive Committee was nonfunctional.  There was a sort of informal Q&A with a couple of board members during the break in last month's meeting.  If you'd like to discuss the background personally, feel free to give me a call tomorrow.  If I don't pick up right away, it's likely because I'm driving, but I'll be happy to call you back.


     Best,

               -- C.


Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 4:01 AM
To: "S.W. Conser" <conchdotcom@gmail.com>

I have to turn down your invitation to meet and discuss this matter. It might not even be necessary and its not how the GovCom wants this to be done. Details about both those points in the last paragraph.

First, I want to clarify for you the very elegant and simple process the GovCom has approved we take.

We will simply ask Lynn and the ExCom if the funds they would have needed to approve be spent were spent wastefully or not. Thats it. No need for confidential documents to be involved.

I'm going to think that other than acting outside of policy, your actions were needed and beneficial. I anticipate Lynn and the ExCom will say, no, there was no wasteful spending.

The next step is for GovCom to review and reaffirm the policy about the process needed before you incur any expenses. We would simply ask the ExCom if this policy was followed or not.

If not, we would ask you to follow the approved process in the future.

We would really only need your explanation about what you did and why if you are asking us to consider a change in policy. The GovCom has requested that any communication about this matter should be in writing and directed to the GovComm as a whole.

I hope that puts your mind at ease. If you have any additional questions of concerns, please send an email to all of the committee members. Thanks!



S.W. Conser <conchdotcom@gmail.com>
Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 10:29 AM
To: Hadrian Micciche <hmicciche@gmail.com>

Thanks for the clarifications.  Of course, the same matter that the GovComm is considering revisiting was in fact resolved at a recent board meeting, in approval of an agenda item that Paula brought forth.  (I'm writing from a motel room in Las Cruces at the moment, so don't have the exact date, but I believe that it was a meeting that you weren't able to attend.)  At any rate, the minutes would not reflect the full scope of the discussion, but the upshot of the background was as folllows:

KBOO had a potential crisis when FCC-owned equipment was accessed without authorization and possibly tampered with.  Marc Brown advised against contacting the police since a board member was involved and the publicity could be ruinous.  The Executive Committee was non-functional, as Keller had just left the board following a long period of absence.  Lynn and I collected statements from people who witnessed the incident, discussed contacting our FCC attorney Melodie Virtue, and decided it would be a good idea to do so sooner rather than later.  Very shortly thereafter, I was contacted by phone by our FCC attorney about the KBLU frequency, and casually mentioned to her that we'd like to send her some documents.  Melodie recommended that we do so ASAP, and thinking that Lynn and I were in agreement, I e-mailed them to her.  That same morning, Lynn called me to recommend that we hold off on sending the docs.  I apologized for jumping the gun, and later that day Lynn and I received advice from Melodie on how we should proceed.  As events would have it, KBOO was visited the very next day by an investigator from the FCC, so in retrospect it seems fortunate that we were on record consulting our attorney prior to the visit.  And of course, the legal expenses would have been made regardless of the timing.

A personal note: I sat down separately with Lynn, Paula, and Marc after the fact.  There was some clarification about protocol, and I freely admitted to a breach.  It was generally considered, though, that the breach was not intentional but rather based in errors of timing and communication.  There has also been discussion in the wake of this incident about possibly expanding the ExecComm to include all the officers, so that the committee would not be crippled by an absence or open seat.

Again, feel free to talk with Lynn and/or Paula if you need further clarification.  My sense, though, is that both of them are a bit weary of the whole FCC discussion.

     Cheers,

               -- C.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't blink or you'll miss it:

  There was some clarification about protocol, and I freely admitted to a breach.

 
Listen to that whistle blow!  WOO WEE!

In other news, Roger Leigh is outraged, OUTRAGED, we never emailed him:
From comments on this blog post:
 http://savekboofromsavekboo.blogspot.com/2013/06/serious-question-about-kboos-website.html

Roger LeighJuly 17, 2013 at 4:12 PM

Are you guys serious with this post?

I am the shadowy figure known publicly as 'Roger Leigh'. Well, actually, that's not a pseudonym, it's my real name. And a google search in Portland will usually pull up some real links to me on the first page, so I don't think I'm that hard to find. You did turn up valid contact info for me, but failed to use it.

I don't really know all of the nonsense going on at KBOO these days; though I've been the primary admin for the station for the last 7 years running the website and most of KBOO's Internet presence, I've always stayed clear of inner station politics as much as possible.

I have no dog in this fight, except for the fact that I'd like to see KBOO survive as a viable source of independent media in Portland. But this site, which claims that "Recent events at the station have been blown out of proportion" and that "We are documenting the ongoing tussle and any new fibs and misinformation the "Keep KBOO KBOO" crowd creates," is clearly trying to make something out of nothing here.

This post shows incredible ignorance of technology, a lack of critical thinking, and utter laziness in pursuit of the truth.

For the record:

I had the site on a private server at Alchemy until recently, and the gaia.noco.net address was merely an unpublished alternate handle to the same machine (not a mirror) used largely for testing.

Northcountry.com has been a business name I've used since the mid 80's.

There is no proxy in France (that's completely moronic) - that's simply the domain name registry I use - they're well established, reputable, economical, conform to higher EU privacy standards, don't have an overtly corporate agenda, and don't use misogynistic advertising.

In the time that I've run the website, we've NEVER had a security breach of ANY kind - a record I'm proud of, considering how many folks are out to sabotage the station.

I am also the owner of the Clinton Street Theater, along with my wife (you could have also contacted me there).

I have involvements with several other nonprofit organizations around town.

NO ONE HAS EVER TRIED TO CONTACT ME ABOUT ANY OF THIS NONSENSE, even though you found a valid contact email for me, nor did they ask anyone at the station, where most folks know me & my involvement.

So who, exactly, is trying to manufacture an issue out of nothing but hyperbolic and inaccurate claims?

 

Leaving aside the fact he never emailed US, even after we got a contact email,

-and the Inner Party never emailed HIM, even after the website issue was brought up at PIMC under the auspicious of Inner Party beholden Indy Bees who should have sent him a memo,

-and even though he's a regular repeat reader who only decided to pipe up over a month later,

-and even though his story is full of contradictions like admitting KBOO has saboteurs but continuing to do work for the saboteurs,
(though this could be why his website for KBOO sucks WebChimp balls)

-and even though he's an associate of S.W.Conser,
 kboo.fm/node/52587

" Then, we're joined by Lani Jo and Roger Leigh, the new proprietors of the storied Clinton Street Theater"   

• Producer: S.W. Conser

and excuse us if we don't want our mugshots, like this one, given to the Inner Party for ammunition,

leaving all that aside, we thank Comrade Roger for his valuable input.



We end with some wise words from our Captain in 1995:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/customer-disservice/Content?oid=886727

February 16, 1995 News & Features | Letters
Customer Disservice 

By S.W. Conser

Dear Editors:
The January 13 Culture Club presented the continuing saga of William Rickman, president of the increasingly irrelevant Kroch's & Brentano's bookselling empire. Once again we hear of Mr. Rickman's wrenching decision to lay off more employees because he's unable to compete with the new philistines on the block. Meanwhile, his job remains secure (but perhaps if Kroch's management had been shaken up years ago, they wouldn't be in their present state).
Like countless other Chicagoans I put up for years with the clueless staff and routine arrogance that were Kroch's trademarks, until a December 1989 booksigning at one of their downtown stores. The store quickly ran out of stock of the author's book, then the clerks refused to allow customers to buy a copy down the street and bring it in to sign. Instead we were given signed bookplates and advised to return to the store the next week for the books, since they probably couldn't ship them to us by Christmas.
On that account I wrote a letter to the district manager, expecting he might have at least a bottom-line concern for customer relations, but I never received even a standard response.
Now I do most of my book shopping at Barbara's, Powell's, and Booksellers Row, as do many of my other friends who have soured on Kroch's. It's no coincidence that the versatile Barbara's has thrived while Kroch's has withered. If Rickman wants to pin the blame on someone for the decline of a local institution, I suggest he find himself a mirror.
S.W. Conser
Golf

 "If Rickman wants to pin the blame on someone for the decline of a local institution, I suggest he find himself a mirror."

Thank you sir, for those inspiring words.

Now excuse us as we jump into the last life boat.