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disturbing story on L.A. Weekly & (secret) ties to Kurvana

pxl_jockey

Just a dude
Members in Europe can’t see the LA Times article; anybody want to give us the synopsis? Please?!
 
pxl_jockey,

looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
>> "
Nine months after a mysterious new company bought LA Weekly, one of the company’s owners is suing the rest, alleging they have mismanaged the alternative weekly, pillaged it for their own gain and improperly kicked him out of the management team.

In addition to damages and other compensation, David Welch is seeking to dissolve the company, which could leave LA Weekly searching for another new owner.

Welch, a Los Angeles cannabis attorney, filed his lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Welch, along with LA Weekly Publisher and Chief Executive Brian Calle, were the only members of the ownership group identified shortly after the Oct. 18 announcement that Voice Media Group was selling LA Weekly to a fledgling company called Semanal Media.


The suit blames Calle for decisions that created and fueled public backlash against LA Weekly, such as slashing the editorial staff. It describes Calle as the leader of a group of “core” investors who, the suit alleges, have worked to enrich themselves at the paper’s expense — for example, by planning a competing alt weekly, creating an advertising agency that competes with LA Weekly’s advertising arm and diverting LA Weekly opportunities and resources to fuel those outside ventures.

Calle called the lawsuit frivolous. “We believe the allegations in this complaint are categorically unfounded,” he said in a statement. “Everyone at the Weekly has been working hard to ensure that this well-loved cultural institution continues to provide its loyal readers with the quality content they expect.”

The other defendants could not be reached for comment.

LA Weekly has been cutting costs, staff and coverage for years as news publications struggle to make money in the internet age. But its sale last fall sparked an energetic boycott campaign against the paper, led by some of its own former writers.

The boycott, led in part by music writer Jeff Weiss, arose shortly after nearly all of LA Weekly’s journalists were laid off as the paper changed hands in November. The campaign paints the new owners as self-interested men with ties to Orange County and to conservative causes who don’t value or understand journalism, journalistic ethics, progressive alt-weekly culture or Los Angeles.

The boycott has aggressively lobbied advertisers, event participants and journalists to sever ties with the paper. Big advertisers such as Amoeba Music have pulled out, and LA Weekly has canceled moneymaking events such as its Essentials food party.

Calle — who previously ran the Orange County Register's historically libertarian editorial page and a decade ago spent about a year working for the conservative Claremont Institute — has rebutted the boycott campaign’s characterization of the ownership group, saying he has progressive stances on social issues and noting that the owners include men of color, that he himself is gay and that several have lived in Los Angeles.

In his suit, Welch accuses his fellow owners of violating journalistic ethics as well as business ethics, severely damaging LA Weekly’s legacy of strong journalism and diverting resources from the company into their own pockets.

Calle, the suit says, has been making $120,000 a year as chief marketing officer of Orange County marijuana firm Kurvana even as he retains “full editorial control” of LA Weekly, and has arranged for Kurvana to be promoted in LA Weekly at the paper’s expense. Calle let Kurvana run ads in the Weekly even after racking up a balance due of tens of thousands of dollars, the lawsuit says. Further, it says, LA Weekly ran a “glowing review” of a Kurvana product July 26 without disclosing that Calle is in charge of Kurvana’s marketing.

The suit also says Calle and two fellow LA Weekly owners — Wayne Gross, a litigator from Huntington Beach, and Steve Mehr, an attorney who is chief executive of Irvine business development consulting firm WebShark360 — funded a company called Vanguard that sells advertisers the opportunity to promote their products via people who are popular on social media. That encroaches on a way LA Weekly has earned money, and they have used LA Weekly staffers “to conduct Vanguard business from the LA Weekly offices” without compensating the company, the suit alleges.

The trio also have been working to establish an Orange County-focused publication that would not be owned by LA Weekly’s parent company and would divert business from it, the suit alleges.

The suit also alleges that Calle and fellow LA Weekly owner Kevin Xu, the CEO of “regenerative medicine” firm Mebo International, committed LA Weekly to joint ventures while also being paid by the venture’s other party. And it says Calle pressured Welch to sign a compensation agreement under which LA Weekly would pay Calle $135,000 a year, plus a $135,000 bonus upon the completion of tasks “such as signing a new office lease and restaffing the editorial team.” Welch refused, the suit says.

The lawsuit claims that Welch objected to the other owners’ actions and that they then pushed him out of the management team, violating a contract.

Tensions came to a head, the lawsuit says, after Calle and Xu falsely told employees in April that local laws required the company to reduce the employees’ paid time-off benefits. The suit says Welch sent Calle an email taking him to task for the false statements.

On May 14, the suit says, Calle and Xu convened a meeting of all the owners except one — Nyjah Huston, a professional skateboarder who was the subject of an effusive LA Weekly cover story in March — and they agreed to remove Welch from the management team. It says Mehr moved to remove Welch’s name from the company’s operating agreement and replace it with that of fellow owner Andy Bequer, who owns an addiction treatment center in Fountain Valley.

Those moves violated an oral contract that guaranteed Welch a year on the management team when he invested in the company, the suit says.

If the lawsuit succeeds, LA Weekly could be up for sale again or its assets dispersed.

The boycott group initially hoped to buy LA Weekly from its current owners, but no longer, music writer Weiss said. Along with several others who used to work for LA Weekly, including culture writer Jenn Swann and former food editor Sarah Bennett, Weiss is planning to launch a new publication, titled the LAnd, by year’s end.

Welch’s lawsuit also offers a peek into the ownership structure of LA Weekly’s parent company. It says Semanal Media is wholly owned by and the sole asset of Street Media, a Delaware company.

Xu and his mother, Lily Li, are listed as together owning 26% of Street Media; Calle, 17%; Welch, 13%; Mehr, 12%; Bequer, 8%; property developer Michael Mugel, 6%; Gross, 5%; hotel developer Paul Makarechian, 4%; Huston, — who previously had not been publicly identified as an owner — 2%; and attorney Alan Greenberg, 1%.

There are additional shares in the company that have not yet been issued to anyone, according to the lawsuit.

Welch is being represented in the case by Patricia Glaser and Rory Miller of the law firm Glaser Weil.

7:45 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from Calle and a comment from Weiss.

2:05 p.m.: This article was updated to mention that Huston was the subject of an LA Weekly cover story and the names of Welch’s attorneys.

This article was originally published at 11:20 a.m. <<
 

Tranquility

Well-Known Member
I still like OCweekly which used to be a sister publication. I'm not sure of how the ownership and editorial functions work, but I believe they (OCweekly and LAweekly) are still related somehow. They certainly look and feel the same. It is too bad they are having some problems with cannabis truthiosity--they were the go to on local events and happenings.

On a side note, does anyone else have a problem with Kurvana (the focus on the article) in general? It seems like they have done a great job marketing in California. Go to your dispensary and ask for a cart recommendation and Ascnd is almost always what is recommended around here. For me, there is no basis for such a level of recommendation if reality and not marketing is involved. Sure, The Ascnd uses good oil and does not seem to overwhelm with add-ins but the heater sucks. I've never finished Kurvana Ascnd cartridge without having it clog. I've tried it four times and each time it has clogged. It does not happen, at least to me, with other brands.

I used to think the representatives must have been great and gotten a good reputation from the budtenders with mega-swag or the hottest guys and cutest girls bringing around the product and talking it up. With the article posted by @looney2nz there may be less sanguine marketing methods as well.
 
Tranquility,
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looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
the one thing I can say about Kurvana, is that their product has always tested clean (including 3rd party spot purchase checks)... and that's saying a LOT in this industry.

It consistently tested well and was rated well too.

So WHY would they do this?

Most of you know I prefer syringes and some of my Divine Tribe atomizers (with the occasional live resin, rosin, sauce thrown in) and only recently have I tried a handful of cartridges, 'cause my previous experience with the early carts was so bad. The paucity of clean syringes forced my hand and I tried a number of carts.

1st I'll say I had no problems with the Interstate 710 carts, all 4 worked fine, no problems.

I also tried a bunch of the ROVE carts, which illuminated something else that should probably be discussed, which I'll return to in awhile...
the ROVE carts, another rare brand that consistently tests clean and is a good product
(I'm gonna try their 'Featured Farms' cart next).
Surprisingly I had 3 atomizer failures out of 7, the last 4 generally worked fine, but I occasionally heated them up a bit 'cause the oil is THICK, and that would resolve a clog.

There was also no way for me to tell the age of these carts, if these failed atomizers were an older version ('cause I knew they had upgraded to a better cell), etc. I have a feeling a lot of old stock is being moved in older packing through delivery services.
I'll find the receipt for these and get them replaced, but I'm going to be pickier about what I'm getting, especially for these prices.

I used a Joyetech VTwo Mini and TCR for the carts.

I haven't yet used a Kurvana cart (they aren't a special pod design are they? I can't remember)
but I imagine heating the cart in hot water or gently with a Bic might free up the clog?

Now, I've used a few delivery services to buy these carts, and it's a confusing landscape of stuff out there, that folks seemingly INTENTIONALLY do not want to demistify :(.
The boxes I received didn't meet the current packaging requirements (childproof), they were close, had the right colors, etc. were missing the CA stamps I see on their ads.

Edibles are an even uglier scene :(. I can't believe what they get away with selling :(
Even the good quality Baked good like Kaneh Co have been screwed up for medical patients, 'cause some moron said there is a 100mg limit for an edible (medical patients regularly use 500-1000mg doses, so now you have to consumes 5-10x as much sugar, not a good thing if you're fighting cancer)

sorry, chemo, no sleep... semi-rant OFF.
 

Tranquility

Well-Known Member
I also tried a bunch of the ROVE carts, which illuminated something else that should probably be discussed, which I'll return to in awhile...
the ROVE carts, another rare brand that consistently tests clean and is a good product
(I'm gonna try their 'Featured Farms' cart next).
Surprisingly I had 3 atomizer failures out of 7, the last 4 generally worked fine, but I occasionally heated them up a bit 'cause the oil is THICK, and that would resolve a clog.
I agree on ROVE, they have thick oil. I avoid them as I got tired of bringing a lighter to a cartridge session to help it flow. (At home, hot water and a baggie. Bag the cart and drop it in some hot water.)

There was also no way for me to tell the age of these carts, if these failed atomizers were an older version ('cause I knew they had upgraded to a better cell), etc. I have a feeling a lot of old stock is being moved in older packing through delivery services.
I'll find the receipt for these and get them replaced, but I'm going to be pickier about what I'm getting, especially for these prices.
I believe the first two I purchased were of an older heater design as it was represented to me they upgraded. It didn't help in this case.

I haven't yet used a Kurvana cart (they aren't a special pod design are they? I can't remember)
but I imagine heating the cart in hot water or gently with a Bic might free up the clog?
It is a different problem than getting dry or burnt hits, the actual channel clogs in some way. (It is a standard cart that fits 510.)

Now, I've used a few delivery services to buy these carts, and it's a confusing landscape of stuff out there, that folks seemingly INTENTIONALLY do not want to demistify :(.
The boxes I received didn't meet the current packaging requirements (childproof), they were close, had the right colors, etc. were missing the CA stamps I see on their ads.

Edibles are an even uglier scene :(. I can't believe what they get away with selling :(
Even the good quality Baked good like Kaneh Co have been screwed up for medical patients, 'cause some moron said there is a 100mg limit for an edible (medical patients regularly use 500-1000mg doses, so now you have to consumes 5-10x as much sugar, not a good thing if you're fighting cancer)

sorry, chemo, no sleep... semi-rant OFF.

It seems one has to go out on one's own if they want medical edibles at any reasonable cost--at least in CA.
 
Tranquility,
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looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
@OldNewbie, check out 'DatDude41510' on Instagram.

strangely, IG banned his 'clean list', but allows his 'dirty list'!
this guy is doing good work.

Thick or not, they have always tested clean, which is WAY more than you can say for the majority of companies out there. I'm hoping the newer ROVE cart proves the ones I got were older designs.

Only consistently clean concentrate cartridges I know of are ROVE, Interstate 710, Kurova, Select Elite Oil, and I'm probably brain-farting on perhaps one or two others right now. ZERO problems with the Interstate 710 carts I've tried. Limited varieties tho. Going to try the Select Elite stuff along with the ROVE Featured Farms soon.

The games they are playing are extremely dangerous, I hope they have a big ass liability policy in place for the storefront, manufacturer and state agency responsible for testing.
'cause they are gonna get sued, I'd pretty much bet on it.
some immune compromised patient (like that guy who died from aspergillus received from his bud) is going to get hurt, or die.
 
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