We've heard from the state-appointed emergency manager in Benton Harbor, Michigan, who had been using his unilateral authority to sell the city's publicly owned radio station on eBay for $5,000. The posting for the license and the equipment were removed on Saturday, after three bids, likely because any sale of the license would have to go through the usual process at the FCC. By law, the license can transfer only to a Benton Harbor nonprofit or government entity.
Emergency manager Joe Harris tells us that he has interested buyers and expects to sell the station this week. The license expires in October, and he writes that in any case, "we will not let the license lapse. We have reason to believe it can be put to good use." Future broadcasts by WBHC would not come from Benton Harbor City Hall, he says.
He wouldn't yet give details about the potential buyers. Two of the three bids on eBay appear to have come from actor and human rights activist Ben Patrick Johnson. Another group, the nonprofit Public Radio Capital, did not bid on eBay but says it would like to help a local nonprofit buy the station. Erik Langner, director of acquisitions, tells us he has been reaching out to the emergency manager and others in Benton Harbor. Yesterday he was interviewed by the ABC station in nearby South Bend, Indiana -- that clip's up top.
If we hear more, we'll let you know.
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Is it not time to hear again from the reich wing about Obama's czars?
Everyone in favor of unelected czars to run your city? In repuknican-world, it is quite obvious that the voters who cannot be disenfranchised up front just be relegated to meaninglessness.
Yes, totally agree with SadOldVeteran. Thanks for your service. Keep commenting on the injustices that the Reps don't seem to recognize. Does it depend if it is a czar or a tzar? Maybe one is ok.
Michigan is practicing one of the lowest forms of political organization - a nondemocratic autocratic dictitorial top down hierarchy promoting the interests of a very few over the very many!
The oxymoronic dynamic of destroying a democratically-elected body and replacing it with a non-elected official in order to save democracy has not been lost on us reasonable and decent small "d" democrats here in the good ol'USA!
Note to Michiganians - end the undemocratic experiment in the next election by voting the Republican bastards out of office! -Kevo
Dearie, I take it from your post that you are not a Michigan resident. I don't have my dictionary with me, so I probably won't be able to keep up with you, but I would like to set you straight on something. The Emergency Manager Law was put in place in 1988, drafted by a Democrat, approved by a Democratic Senate and House, and first utilized by a Democratic Governor. The Republican 'Bastard' in office is the first one to balance the budget in almost a decade, and is doing a fine job.
Sure. If you call the political disenfranchisement of over half of the blacks of the state a fair price. Old School bigots who fought on the side of Jim Crow and segregation are scratching their heads and saying "Why didn't WE think of that?"
So the message marpou is "Fascism Works?"
Yeah, sure. They got out a demographic maps and said, where are all the blacks, lets pick on them. Right. The criteria for qualifying for review and possible placement of an EFM is long term, repetitive, overt financial mismanagement. This is not something someone did to these communities, it is something they did to themselves. Goes back to the old joke about the woman who keeps bouncing checks. She says, but they can't bounce. The bank says, but you have no money. She says, impossible, I still have checks. If you repeatedly and overtly mismanage public money, it is your fault, not that of the folks who try to come in and fix it.
The results speak for themselves. They will find themselves in gross malignant violation of the Voter Rights Act. Snyder has his hand at least as far down the Koch's collective pants as Walker and will be found criminally liable for it. Just like Walker.
Could this dictator, if he lasts until November, deny the entire town the ability to vote?
I mean, could make it so that polls are only open for, like, 2 minutes?
You really know nothing about the laws in the state in which you live, do you?
I know the state in which I live. It is a 3rd world cess-pit, and your govenor wants to turn your state into one.
http://www.thenation.com/article/165728/what-right-work-means-indianas-workers-pay-cut
Sorry, Don, you're tilting off a bit. Snyder does not want a right to work state bill passed. "Snyder declined to criticize Romney for taking a different view of “right to work” legislation than he does. But Snyder reiterated that he opposes efforts to pass a right to work bill in Michigan, while Romney has praised the policy."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/02/romney-backer-snyder-wants-less-talk-on-bailouts-right-114788.html
He's not as stupid as Walker was about taking on the Unions, evidently. But he has still proven himself far more capable of screwing the good citizens of his own state.
The good citizens feel differently.
Meaning the the blacks of Benton Harbour and Michigan aren't citizens. Expect Voter Rights Act violations. And expect to lose.
Human rights activist... now that's good (or at least hopeful) news. When I saw your report about the station going up on ebay I was sorely tempted to find a way to gather the funds to buy it just so I could give it back to its rightful owners. I was going to email the show to see if you could help organize a crowdfunding effort to do just that when I saw the ebay listing had been taken down. Hopefully, someone better situated has stepped in to do the right thing.
Thank you for telling us about this, and for keeping us up to date.
drew, not sure they can do that because it definitely violate the voting rights act and would cause a court challenge and maybe even a constitutional challenge. and besides, you sure they'd want to leave footprints that large on a power-grab like that?
Does anyone know if there are outstanding challenges to this takeover in the courts? I do not understand how voiding the local vote is at all constitutional - especially given the disproportionate number of African American who are affected by this policy. Would just like to know if it's being challenged.
I'm amazed that the people of Benton Harbor haven't tarred, feathered and run Joe Harris out on a rail. If, as Drew suggests, he plays games with polling places and times, that just might do it.
Certainly he deserves it.
"we will not let the license lapse. We have reason to believe it can be put to good use." I'm sorry, isn't the license already being put to good use-being the last remaining voice for residents of Benton Harbor?
My thoughts exactly.
-Michigander for life, in spite of my democratically elected government.
Where is Sean Hannity and his 'Nazi' and 'Hitler' themes in all this? If he were such an American wouldn't he be standing up to the silencing of these people just like he did with Religious Freedom and contraception BS?
Why did the city own a radio station in the first place? I don't know of any other city owned radio stations except maybe for those "tune you radio to xxxx for traffic information". This is an FM station and it doesn't sound (no pun intended) like it was used for that. Does anyone know what the format was?
Just looked it up in Wikipedia:
The station, currently silent, normally airs a community radio format oriented toward the African-American community of Benton Harbor, including soul music, jazz, hip-hop and dance music, local sports play-by-play, and gospel programming.
I may be ignorant of this aspect of government radio, but I never heard of a government station basically broadcasting for mainly entertainment purposes. Are there other city or state owned radio stations that play music,etc? Do they accept advertising?
This should help, Skip:
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/low-power-fm-radio-lpfm
Thanks Eileen! That did help. Now I wonder how much this station cost to get up and running. I do know that the city has been in financial distress the past few years so I wonder when this station was purchased. If it was built back when they had the funds that's one thing, but if they had problems paying other city bills, what was the rationale to invest in the station. Lot's of homework to find this out :-).
I hope they set it up somewhere safe and up the power. The idea that they can get away with this is outrageous..
You can't just "up the power". An LPFM (low power FM) license restricts a station to a maximum of 100 watts, so that LPFM stations do not overlap and interfere with each other.
Thanks to TRMS for shining the harsh spotlight of truth shine on this heinous travesty. Hopefully the bidders who have come forward will preserve this important locally controlled media outlet.
Be suspicious. Unless the programming is identical down to political criticism, be VERY SUSPICIOUS. And if there is a kind word for Snyder or the EMF, know that you have just been sold.
Yes, Skip and Eileen, isn't it ironic that when the city is bleeding cash, can't pay their debts, cannot meet their other financial obligations, is even having trouble meeting payroll, yet they can set up and finance a radio station, one that is biased, too. Sound reminiscent of Detroit and Kwame Kilpatrick? It should. He managed to withdraw funding and close the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States and and some believe he covertly diverted the funding to WADL.
As much as Ms. Maddow and others would like to scream about the demise of the Democratic system, or throw out the inevitable race card, it is not that. Benton Harbor, along with several other municipalities in Michigan, have CRIMINALLY mismanaged the taxpayers monies for years upon years.
At worst, there has been embezzlement, outright theft, and fraud; and at best, ineptitude, redundant year upon year ineptitude. Ms. Maddow may screech of taking away the voters rights, but it is not so cut and dried. Possibly the voters in Benton Harbor were just foolish enough to elect the inept and/or criminally vectored; just as Detroit voters were foolish enough not only to elect but re-elect Kwame Kilpatrick, and this on top of years with coke head Coleman. But they are not only spending their own monies, they are spending the money of people throughout Michigan, and Federal money, too. When you are so thoroughly inept to mismanage PUBLIC monies year upon year, decade upon decade, it is only right for the next high governing body to step in with oversight.
Right now, the next high happens to be a Republican, an accountant, and from all appearances, a success. That is really rubbing some people the wrong way. How dare he? But don't forget. The Emergency Manager Law has been on the books in Michigan since 1988. Yes, 1988. It was proposed by a Democrat, drafted by a Democrat, and enacted under Democratic Rule. Ms. Grandholm, the last Democratic Governor, used this power to begin proceedings to remove Kwame. It isn't the instant, brand new, evil Republican power that some fast talkers wish you to believe. Is it harsh? Yes. Is it necessary? Yes. Is it forever. No. Get over it. Hopefully, the threat of the big stick (Democratic built) will finally force the inept and financially insane to finally get a grip and clean up their act before someone else does it for them. If not, the 1988 law drawn up and put in place by the Democrats will be followed.
How many people got their tax cut in this deal? Which regulations got eased? How much is being invested in universal public education?
The EMF is not a physician putting a body on life support to perform life saving surgury to help the patient.
He is a ghoul who has the body on life support so he can harvest the organs and sell them cheap to his political backers.
Even a ghoul can wear a lab coat.
Apparently, you have a significantly different concept about the function of an EFM is. When the elected and appointed officials have, over a lllllllooooonnnnngggg period of time criminally mismanaged folks money, the officials are notified, and a team comes in to do an audit. Talks are held, reports made, suggestions made. The governing body then again has a lllllloooonnnngggg time to get it together, propose changes and start putting the new plan in place. It is only if no effort is made, nothing is done, and after more than a year from the first official notification that an EMF comes in. And then his/her job is to find the waste/theft/mismanagement, most of which was already uncovered in the audit. This is not the fault of the EMF, it is due to the fiscal irresponsibility of the municipality.
Answer the question! Who got tax cuts! Which regulations got eased! Who got paid off!
Tax cuts blow holes in budgets, where did the fix come from? The tax payers of the federal govt?!
I guess there is no reasoning. Small businesses got tax cuts. Large corporations got a break because of a simplified straight tax. And Michiganders got paid off because for the first time in over eight years, we have a balanced budget.
From the magic tax cut fairie? Like bleeding someone in the middle of surgury to stimulate fresh blood production?
Marppou, you conveniently forgot to mention that while businesses were getting a break on their taxes, retirees had taxes raised significantly on their pensions.THE BUDGET WAS BALANCED ON THE BACKS OF OUR MOST NEEDY CITIZENS! Please explain how this is good Govt.
One of the major reasons I left Benton Harbor (aside from the dismal economic picture) was the overwhelming level of citizen disenfranchisement!
Beyond The Political Spectrum Blogspot
Rachel Maddow, please cover the effort to restore full voting rights to 600,000 Washington DC Citizens.
More than 80% of Americans mistakenly think DC citizens already have full voting rights, yet DC still waits for restoration of its right to vote for any US Reps, US Sens, as well as any and all State elected offices, revoked by Congress, 25 years after Independence, 12 years after ratification of the US Constitution.
US Reps Thomas (MD-2) and Craik (MD-3) were the last full US Reps for the Maryland converted into Washington DC.