The Capital Public Radio transmission tower stands in Elverta in 2024. CapRadio and KVIE public television have settled a legal dispute over who owns the tower.
Hector Amezcua
Sacramento Bee file
Capital Public Radio retained its Elverta property where a broadcast tower stands as part of a settlement with television station KVIE, an outcome that represents a vindication for the radio station.
For about two years, CapRadio and KVIE battled in court to determine the ownership of a tower used by the NPR-affiliate, licensed to Sacramento State. A settlement filed Monday in Sacramento Superior Court ended the acrimonious dispute, but the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The settlement was obtained by The Bee through a public records request.
“KVIE shall transfer … title to the Elverta property and Elverta tower to CapRadio within two business days,” according to the settlement.
According to the settlement, a nonprofit called the Capital Public Radio Endowment must voluntary dissolve and pay $1.1 million to CapRadio and $900,000 to KVIE.
The endowment gifted in 2024 the title to the Elverta land to KVIE, just months after CapRadio experienced major financial setbacks that forced layoffs and programming cuts and brought to light alleged embezzlement by its former general manager Jun Reina.
The endowment worried the tower could fall into disrepair under CapRadio’s stewardship and sought to donate it to KVIE, an organization that endowment board members believed could appropriately maintain the tower. CapRadio has disputed allegations of neglecting the tower.
The endowment also pushed for a merger between KVIE and CapRadio in 2023. But CapRadio and Sacramento State rejected the idea.
The tower donation to KVIE soon followed, prompting CapRadio’s general manager at the time to wonder if a “hostile takeover” was underway.
CapRadio called it “shocking and disappointing” in an April 2024 news release that KVIE “worked with the Endowment to the detriment of local public radio.”
The settlement also stipulates that the endowment, CapRadio and KVIE may only comment on the settlement through joint media statements. The parties cannot “directly or indirectly” make derogatory or disparaging comments to media, the settlement said.
The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, according to the settlement, meaning the legal matter cannot be revived.
A dismissal for this case must be filed by Sept. 1.
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Ishani Desai is a government watchdog reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered crime and courts for The Bakersfield Californian.