Bill Mandel, popular KPFA radio programmer for 37 years, was unceremoniously thrown off the air in 1995 for violating a gag order against airing news of the struggle over KPFA's political direction. At the height of the struggle for free speech radio in 1999, two others were thrown off for violating the gag order, but have been returned to the air. A ten year effort to return Mandel, now 87, is gaining momentum. Armed with a petition signed by notables such as Daniel Ellsberg, Pete Seeger, Ed Asner, Tillie Olsen, Alexander Cockburn and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, on March 7, 2005 a delegation of 13 "Mandelistas" marched to the station to demand Mandel's reinstatement. View the video of the delegation to understand why this is a critical campaign, then log onto his website at http://www.billmandel.net to add your name to the effort. Si se puede!

--Riva Enteen, Committee to Restore Willliam (Bill) Mandel to KPFA