ARRL's legislative relations consultant Chwat & Co has received 786 letters to 278 different Members of Congress (267 House, 11 Senate) supporting HR 2160. The bill -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 -- gained two new Congressional co-sponsors in June.

The ARRL filed a petition with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking the Court to order the Federal Communications Commission to comply with the Court's 2008 decision that remanded the FCC's ruling on Access BPL for further action.

ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, appointed Southern Florida Assistant Section Manager Jeff Beals, WA4AW, as Vice Director in the Southeastern Division, effective June 1. He also appointed Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, as Pacific Division Vice Director.

ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA, was on the United States Delegation to the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) PCC.II meeting in Ottawa, Canada June 1-5. ARRL Technical Relations Manger Brennan Price, N4QX, attended Study Group 5 meetings in Geneva, where ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, chaired his final meetings of Working Group 5A-1 that handles amateur and amateur-satellite issues.

ARRL Field Day was in the spotlight in both New York City's Times Square and Las Vegas. More than 1600 Field Day sites registered their locations this year with the ARRL Field Day Locator. W1AW was on the air with the help of League staffers.

ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, and ARRL Teachers Institute Instructor Miguel Enriquez, KD7RPP, led the second and third 2009 sessions of the ARRL Teachers Institutes on Wireless Technology.

ARRL Field and Regulatory Correspondent Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, forwarded reports to the FCC regarding a well-known 75 meter frequency and IARU Region 3 forwarded a number of monthly Intruder Watch monitoring reports to Skolaut.

The ARRL Contest Branch announced that the ARRL Sweepstakes log submission deadline will be reduced from 30 days to 15 days, allowing for results from both the CW and Phone portions of the contest to be posted to the ARRL Web site within 60 days of the deadline.

ARRL Laboratory Engineer Mike Gruber, W1MG, investigated a power line noise case in Northglenn, Colorado where he was able to locate two noise sources associated with the interference.

Section Manager Election ballots and candidate statements for the South Texas and Los Angeles elections were mailed to members of those sections ahead of schedule. ARRL members have until August 14 to return filled-in ballots.

ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, attended Ham Radio 2009 -- Europe's largest Amateur Radio convention -- in Friedrichshafen, Germany, where he provided DXCC card-checking services to ARRL's international members.

Along with a group of volunteers, ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, promoted Amateur Radio to the 70,000 people who attended Maker Faire, the world's largest do-it-yourself (DIY) festival in San Mateo, California. Inderbitzen also represented ARRL in Germany at Ham Radio 2009.

The July issue of QST and the July/August issues of NCJ and QEX were mailed.

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for June is John Miller, K6MM, for his article "The No Excuses 160 Meter Vertical Antenna."

The ARRL released the second edition of VoIP: Internet Linking for Radio Amateurs.

Three new products -- a hat, a reflective jacket and a maroon polo shirt -- have been added to the ARES® apparel line and are available from Barker Specialty.

ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, announced that the HZ1EA operation in Saudi Arabia has been approved for DXCC credit.

Compiled by S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL News Editor