KKFI needs wheelchair access!!!
Time and time again I'm always surprised that one of this town's top liberal, crackpot voices continually excludes people using wheelchairs from their facilities.
I've gained a whole new perspective on this issue since my Grandmother is now using a wheelchair outside of her home . . . It's great that so many people make accommodations for wheelchair users (I've never had so many doors opened for me while accompanying my Grams in my life) BUT it's also unfortunate that KKFI hasn't done anything IN YEARS to make their facility more accessible . . . A loyal reader has sent me a couple of e-mails to highlight the situation over the past months and I really don't mind printing them at all:
This radio station is not accessible for the physically challenged. I find it typical of liberals without a clue to support this radio station for only the community of the able bodied. Since 1992 KKFI has operated from the second floor, you climbed the stairs for your own propose to be elected, leaving the disabled at the bottom of the stairs. You preach about being open and diverse, yet city dollars are being spent to support this non-profit group that excludes individuals because they cannot climb stairs.Usually, KKFI folks don't have much to say on this issue other than "We can't" and "It's impossible" as years and years go by and they continue to exclude a segment of the community they pretend to serve. You'd think after all the begging they do they would have set something aside for an elevator or some way to make it seem as if their liberal ranting actually applied to the way they run their station.
posted by Tony Permalink
OH MY GOD ALL LIBERAL THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY IS MADE OBSOLETE BECAUSE ONE RADIO STATION HAS NO WAY TO RETROFIT THEIR STUDIOS FOR LEGLESS WONDERS!
Way to go, Tony. You have no room to talk bad about crackpots.
jeez...legless wonders?? crackpot?? talk bad??? where is the effing ada and the aclu when you actually need them.
As long as they don't legally have to have handicap access, they won't spend the money to put in a lift.
However, if you donate the funds to put in a ramp/elevator/lift you my friend are due a tote bag.
KKFI does the best it can given its limited resources. The station rents this space and is not able to installing an elevator due in part to landlord issues and the significant cost the landlord/KKFI would incur to install one. Moving the studios would cost 10's of thousands of dollars and would require significant coordination to pull off while maintaining the current on-air broadcasts.
Their primary mission is maintaining and expanding their programming, facilities unfortunately come second. The station has been looking to move for some time, but funds to do it have not yet been available.
If you're interested you can call the station (816-931-3122) and ask about the station relocation committee and what volunteer work you can do to help. If you have some carpentry skills, its possible you could volunteer to build a lift. Or you can pledge a lot of money and help the move occur sooner.
17 years and KKFI has not created a saving account for a moving fund? It sounds like the folks who are KKFI are more interested in having new and shiny equipment and studios than living up to the ideals they spout on the air.
In this day moving a simple operation like KKFI would run in the nieghborhood of 30-40k. The volunteers choose do not nothing. If you cannot raise enough money with the programming now on the air then something must change. The hypocracy of climbing stairs to fufill the mission of presenting views not in the mainstream leaves the disabled at the bottom of the stairs.
When you give money to KKFI, you are funding the hobbies of those who are willing to step over the wheelchairs to be cool on the radio.
KKFI live up to what you proclaim yourselves to be. Not just liers and cheats.
It's an old building and not subject to draconian ADA laws.
Anyone who is unable to access the stairs can still be on the station, they just would just do a remote.
Much ado about nothing about the cause-heads.
Want to shut down a non-profit public radio station because they won't build a new station? Then don't complain when you hear Motley Crue's Girls Girls Girls 10 times a day on each of the entercom, cirrus, and clear channel stations.
While it is unfortunate the station does not have a fund set aside for the station, the station does not have shiny new equipment. The majority of the equipment is original (19 years old), with the exception of some things like cd players and computers and such. The first priority of the station is to remain on the air. If it comes down to spending money to move the station or replace broken equipment then the equipment will come first. I would recommend you come down to the station and take a tour sometime, you'll see the station is does not have shiny new equipment, and the nice equipment we do have is generally required (ie replacing old non-functional equipment) or donated.
Also the cost to move the station is not $30-40k and its not as simple as picking up and moving to a new place. Alot of technical issues forbid alot of places (for instance, the westport location was chosen, in part, because it was one of the few sites that had line of sight to the transmitter site, which is necessary for delivery of our audio feed)
Running a radio station isn't easy. The folks at KKFI are doing the best they can with what they have. They are looking at other sites but it may take some time to find the perfect one and raise the neccessary cash to fundit.
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