ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, sent a letter to FCC Acting Chairman Michael Copps, requesting that the Commission "revisit the BPL rules without further delay, and to comply with the obligations placed on it by the Court."

The ARRL responded to the FCC's request for comments on the establishment of a comprehensive rural broadband strategy.

FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith made her first official visit to ARRL Headquarters on March 5 and 6, her first official visit. Smith is responsible for Amateur Radio enforcement matters at the FCC.

The deadlines to apply for one of the seven ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology workshops offered this summer are April 15 and May 15.

The ARRL invited nominations for annual awards: The 2008 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award; the ARRL Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award; the Professional Educator of the Year Award; the ARRL Microwave Development Award; the ARRL Technical Service Award, and the ARRL Technical Innovation Award.

The official 2009 ARRL Field Day Web page is up and running and includes links to logos, official Field Day merchandise and the popular ARRL Field Day Locator Service.

Two new video Public Service Announcements (PSAs) -- one promoting ARRL Field Day and another showing the technical side of Amateur Radio -- are now available from the ARRL Web site.

W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, began using a new 160 meter frequency for its CW transmissions.

The ARRL released Experimental Methods in RF Design and the pocket size and desktop versions of The ARRL Repeater Directory 2009-2010.

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for March is Rick Campbell, KK7B, for his article "Designing and Building Transistor Linear Power Amplifiers."

South Dakota Section Manager Rich Beebe, N0PV, of Sioux Falls, passed away March 16 at the age of 46.

The May 2009 issue of QST was released to the printer.

Compiled by S Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL News Editor