A rumor has recently been circulating about a shut down of 440 in Northern California. This is NOT true. I received the following from Dan Henderson at ARRL:

Bill, Bob, Bob, Jim et al:

Not sure of how this rumor got started but we need to be very clear and firm. There is no current proposal to our knowledge (or to the FCC’s -yes I checked) to institute a quiet zone around Beale AFB, there is no proposal to stop 70-cm operations in Northern California. I suspect someone has elaborated on statements made at Bob Vallio’s Division Cabinet meeting from early December.

This kind of rumor hurts our position. It works people up about something that is frankly not on the table. Yes, the mitigation work to harmful interference to the Beale PAVE PAWS radar needs to continue and is going to continue. It is not a “ok we looked at everyone once and you can go back to old operations.” Yes, there is a lot of work still to be done by the Amateur community. Yes, the FCC is going to consider license modifications or other actions against specific individuals that continue to cause interference and refuse to seriously attempt to resolve the problem despite several requests. Those that insist on playing games refusing to meet their obligation to eliminate their harmful interference will eventually have to answer to the FCC’s inquiry.

But at this time to the ARRL’s knowledge, there is no proposal on the table to establish a quiet zone around Beale on the 70-cm band. Could this change? Absolutely, especially if the amateur community fails to meet its obligation as a secondary user on the band.

I respectfully ask that you as ARRL leadership in the affected area circulate these comments. And I ask that the person who posted this rumor to the NARCC reflector please immediately retract his post to that reflector. We need your help in stopping this rumor before it runs rampant, Thanks for your serious and immediate attention to this.

73

Dan Henderson, N1ND
Regulatory Information Manager
ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio™
860-594-0236
dhenderson@arrl.org

The East Bay Section ARES® program in Contra Costa County is being restructured. ARES is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service®, an emergency-communications program of the ARRL. Applications for ARES positions in Contra Costa are invited.

In recent years, ARES in Contra Costa has not conformed to the ARRL’s expectations for the program or to ARES elsewhere in the East Bay Section. Some emergency-communications related leadership/management appointments were made that were not ARES appointments but were thought by some to be so. Some appointments or assigned responsibilities were not consistent with the ARES structure and principles as set forth by the ARRL.

Section Emergency Coordinator John Rabold KS6M and I decided that attempting to reassign current appointees to different positions would most likely make many appointees unhappy and result in a poor match of the available skills and enthusiasms to the available positions. Instead, all ARRL ARES appointments in Contra Costa are being vacated, resulting in a clean slate, and the current appointees and all other qualified amateurs in Contra Costa are being invited to apply for those positions.

Available ARES leadership/management positions in Contra Costa include one District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) to coordinate the program across the county and one Emergency Coordinator (EC) to manage ARES in each community. Small communities will be grouped together or with adjacent large communities so that no EC jurisdiction is too small to be viable and so that every licensed amateur in the county resides in a single EC jurisdiction.

The SM and SEC also invite applications for Official Emergency Station (OES) appointments. OES appointees will have superior operating skills and significant operating experience. They may also have capable base stations at their disposal, with the expectation that in ARES activation they may be assigned to operate from those stations.

Each of these appointments requires full ARRL membership and an active Technician-class Amateur Radio license or above. Appointees will be expected not only to meet the East Bay Section’s requirements for Full Member status but also to complete additional ARES-management course training as well within a limited time after appointment. The deadline for application is 17 December 2011.

Qualified amateurs in Contra Costa who are interested in being a part of the ARES management team should contact Section Emergency Coordinator John Rabold KS6M at

Additional information can be found on the ARRL East Bay Section ARES Web pages:
http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org/ares

I am pleased to announce the formal signing of a local Statement of Cooperation between the ARRL East Bay Section and the Bay Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. This is a significant step as we rebuild the ARES® program in the Section. We now have a served agency that recognizes ARES locally and that is recognized by ARES.

The local Statement of Cooperation supplements the national Memorandum of Understanding between the American Red Cross and the ARRL that has been in effect since March 2010 and anticipates increased local familiarity and cooperation between the two entities. This document is available for review.

It is now more important than ever that we be able to exhibit that we are professional-quality, well-equipped, and well-trained Amateur Radio operators. To this end, we will be implementing online local ARES registration so that we will have an up to date listing of the Section’s members and leaders. We will also be implementing training and education programs sponsored by the Section to ensure a common, minimum level of training for members and leaders alike. Look for additional changes and progress as we organize and build the ARES program in the Section.

Jim Latham, AF6AQ – ARRL Life Member
Section Manager – East Bay
Emergency Communication Advisory Committee Representative – Pacific Division
ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio™

The George Hart Distinguished Service Award may be presented by the Board of Directors to the ARRL member whose service to the ARRL’s Field Organization is of the most exemplary nature. The Distinguished Service Award is named in honor of George Hart, W1NJM, long-time Communications Manager at ARRL Headquarters and chief developer of the National Traffic System.

Selection criteria include:

Operating record with the National Traffic System; or participation within the Amateur Radio Emergency Service; or

Station appointments and/or leadership positions held within the Field Organization.

Procedure:

Nominations shall be accepted from anyone.

Nominations shall be submitted to the Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager at ARRL HQ by November 1.

Nominations should document as thoroughly as possible the nominee’s lifetime activities and achievements within the Field Organization. It is expected that nominated candidates will have 15 or more years of distinguished service.

The Programs and Services Committee will serve as the Review Committee.

The Board of Directors shall make the final determination at its Annual Meeting in January.

The award shall consist of: An engraved plaque, a cover letter, and coverage in QST.

Nominations for the 2012 George Hart Distinguished Service Award and any related supporting material and letters of recommendation may be sent to ARRL Headquarters to the attention of Dave Patton, NN1N, ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager (nn1n@arrl.org) or to Steve Ewald, WV1X (wv1x@arrl.org).  The nomination period continues until November 1, 2011.

Nominations are open for the 2011 ARRL International Humanitarian Award <http://www.arrl.org/international-humanitarian-award>. The award is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international understanding through Amateur Radio. The League established the annual prize to recognize Amateur Radio operators who have used ham radio to provide extraordinary service to others in times of crisis or disaster.

A committee appointed by the League’s President recommends the award recipient(s) to the ARRL Board, which makes the final decision. The committee is now accepting nominations from Amateur Radio, governmental or other organizations that have benefited from extraordinary service rendered by an Amateur Radio operator or group.

Amateur Radio is one of the few telecommunication services that allow people throughout the world from all walks of life to meet and talk with each other, thereby spreading goodwill across political boundaries. The ARRL International Humanitarian Award recognizes Amateur Radio’s unique role in international communication and the assistance amateurs regularly provide to people in need.

Nominations should include a summary of the nominee’s actions that qualify the individual (or individuals) for this award, plus verifying statements from at least two people having first-hand knowledge of the events warranting the nomination. These statements may be from an official of a group (for example, the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, a local or state emergency management official) that benefited from the nominee’s particular Amateur Radio contribution. Nominations should include the names and addresses of all references.

All nominations and supporting materials for the 2011 ARRL International Humanitarian Award must be submitted in writing in English to ARRL International Humanitarian Award, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 USA. Nomination submissions are due by December 31, 2011. In the event that no nominations are received, the committee itself may determine a recipient or decide to make no award.

The winner of the ARRL International Humanitarian Award receives an engraved plaque and a profile in QST and other ARRL venues.

Ron Tomo, KE2UK, from New York, was the recipient of the 2010 ARRL International Humanitarian Award. Tomo’s life exemplified Public Service through Amateur Radio, from providing phone patches during the Vietnam War, providing communications support during 9/11 with MARS and the United States Service Command, as well as serving in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary as a Communications Officer playing a pivotal role during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.