There are two trends in the Southwestern Division that appear possibly worth passing along to the rest of this group. * Downsizing of Division Conventions* The Southwestern Division ARRL Convention has rotated between sections in recent history. Local councils of radio clubs typically ran the event. In 2009 the Inland Empire Council, which is in the Orange Section, did not have the capability to run the convention in Riverside where it would have been expected. The Santa Barbara Radio Club's arm was twisted to expand their Santa Barbara Hamfest into the Division Convention by moving it to a larger venue and adding talks. As opposed to the recent 3-day, Marriott Hotel type, conventions that the division has seen, this was a one-day event at a fairground with no hotel involved. The event was deemed highly successful. It is likely that other conventions, such as Arizona in 2012, may adopt this expanded one-day hamfest approach. * Antenna Issues in Certain Municipalities* As has been publicized elsewhere, there are a number of significant antenna-related legal issues facing Amateur Radio in the Southwestern Division. Palmdale, San Diego, Poway, Grand Terrace, and Cerritos, all in California, all have issues. A proposed anti-antenna ordnance in San Diego has been deemed threatening enough to gather assistance from the ARRL's Legal Defense Fund, as even the strong locally-based defense strained its financial resources. Threats to Amateur Radio by local governments often appear significant enough to merit assistance from the national organization. This would of course apply to similar situations in other ARRL divisions. 73, Dick Norton, N6AA