In my division, at least, it is highly dependent on who you know and what you can do. Some towns and cities (including NYC) have no relationship with the local gov't. NYC's dust-up happened post 9/11. We do have a relationship with the ARC-GNY but that is in jeopardy now that the new SEC, apparently for political reasons has fired the DEC who has helped restore this relationship. Some towns and clubs get equipment and a shack to set up shop in. Some even get town maintained vehicles. However, a lot of this is under the RACES banner as it is a government administered entity. Some are pretty impressive - WECA and their brand spanking new comms vehicle comes to mind. With that said, we ought to see the writing on the wall. We should never hang our hat solely on emcomm to advance and preserve this hobby. It is only ONE part of 97.1 basis and purpose. Firstnet could be a success or a failure, but I am not rooting for failure. I want to see robust capability no matter where it comes from and if we are not destined to be part of the future plan, then there is absolutely nothing we can do. I do want to see us double down on learning and STEM, as that has the most growth potential for future hams. And we should still be prepared to help out when all else fails, with technology oriented activities like AREDN Mesh which are born out of our desire to train ourselves and advance the radio art. 73 Ria, N2RJ On Sun, 22 Dec 2019 at 18:15, John Robert Stratton <N5AUS@n5aus.com> wrote:
Disregard any errors in the discussion of the California dust up. Listen instead to the concern, if not the angst, from a journalistic citizen about a future without Amateur Radio.
https://wzogo.wordpress.com/2019/12/20/why-do-government-officials-want-to-b...
Note the line: HAM Radio is the single most reliable and effective means of communication in any emergency and has been for over 100 years. This is a hill we can defend and on which we can make others die.
_______________________________________
John Robert Stratton
N5AUS
Director
West Gulf Division
Office: 512-445-6262
Cell: 512-426-2028
P.O. Box 2232
Austin, Texas 78768-2232
_______________________________________
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