A VITAL LIFELINE IN TIMES OF DISTRESS

A great piece in today's St. Petersburg Times about the role that amateur radio is playing in the recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Amateur radio operators, better known as "hams", are on the front lines, relaying messages from areas where power is out and other traditional means of communication are not available.

In many areas of the Louisiana/Mississippi area affected by the storm, even cellular phones are down because either the electricity has been out for several days or the towers that carry their signals were destroyed. Many of the "hams" are members of area radio clubs and/or the American Radio Relay League, the national organization which represents amateur operators.

They do a wonderful job.