CPB auditing Arkansas radio station associated with ACORN

Community radio station KABF (88.3 FM) in Little Rock, Ark., currently under audit by CPB, "may be broke in a matter of weeks. KABF could cease to exist as we know it," board member Jay Jensen told station volunteers in a recent email, according to the Arkansas Times on Aug. 5. KABF began in 1984 as an affiliate ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and the controversial nonprofit remains a presence on the station's board. An emergency KABF board meeting was convened last week to create a community advisory board for the station, which is a requirement for CPB support. Jensen said accounting for the station was handled by Citizens Consulting Inc., a group affiliated with ACORN. "It's been a challenge to get answers about accounting and records," he told the paper.

WNET sheds half of its office space, much old equipment

WNET.org has signed a lease for midtown Manhattan office space half the size of its present quarters near Penn Station, the licensee said Monday. Recession-driven staff reductions and the opening of a studio facility at Lincoln Center have reduced the licensee's space needs to 100,000 square feet. After 13 years at 450 W. 33rd St., the operation is signing a lease for 15 years in the Worldwide Plaza Building at 8th Avenue and 50th Street. WNET said the space, to be designed by a+i design corp., will be "fully open plan, with no private office spaces." The station's technical side cleaned house with an equipment auction last week and netted $250,000, said spokesperson Kellie Specter. On the block were more than 400 pieces of video equipment, including non-HD cameras and other gear dating back to the station's last move, down from West 57th Street, says Nick Liatsis, president of the Production People, a dealer in used equipment, which handled the sale along with Joseph Finn Co. auctioneers. More than 30 potential buyers walked through WNET's technical area Aug. 3, while 40 participated via the Internet, Liatsis said. Lighting equipment and camera pedestals reliably hold their value, he observed.

Sesame to help kids in Abu Dhabi "Reach for the Sky"

Sesame Workshop is partnering with the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy to produce "Reach for the Sky," a science event beginning this month in Abu Dhabi, according to Al Bawaba, a Middle Eastern news site. "In addition to learning about planets, galaxies, the Earth and stars, children will explore the phases of the moon and their relationship with Arabian months, including the month of Ramadan, and Islamic achievements in the fields of science and astronomy," Al Bawaba reported. "Reach for the Sky" activities run nightly starting Aug. 12, the first day of Ramadan, and continue through the Islamic holy month.