The Prosser Economic Development Association will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024 at 5:30 pm at the Benton PUD building at 250 N. Gap Road, Prosser. Mayor Gary Vegar will give a city update. Craig Marks will give a Prosser Hospital update. Rick Dunn will talk about Benton PUD plans.
Fourteen farms a week vanished from Washington state every week during the last five years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture and the numbers are shocking.
Between 2017 and 2022, our state lost 3,717 farms and ranches. It also lost more than 102,000 food-producing acres. To put these numbers in perspective, Washington lost a total of 3,456 farms in the previous decade.
We all know that correlation does not equal causation. Yet increases in operating costs and the enactment of hostile state and federal agricultural policy certainly suggest causation.
For example, 2022 was the first year agricultural overtime pay was implemented in Washington state.
In just a year’s time, agricultural employers saw their labor costs increase nearly 10% per employee by adding just five hours of overtime pay a week. An increase of $107.73 per employee, applied to the 164,000 farmworkers in our state, represents an increase of $17.67 million in overtime wages a week industrywide.
Farms and ranches are often misunderstood in discussions about labor, with the prevailing belief being that increased costs can simply be passed on to the consumer. However, farms and ranches negotiate set prices often before their operating prices are incurred. The overtime law also reinforced the mistaken but persistent belief that farms and ranches are rife with poor treatment of people who work hard, often far from their homes and native languages.
Similarly, in recent years, debates around riparian buffers have spotlighted an urban prejudice against agriculture in environmental stewardship. The dominant urban presumption seems to be those least connected to land care the most, while farmers and ranchers have an exploitative relationship with it.
Like other industries, our state’s farms and ranches have evolved. The perception of them should evolve too. The focus on good working relationships, living wages, environmental stewardship and care for the land, water, soil and native species is an intrinsic part of agricultural life. Without well-paid employees or healthy land and clean water, farms and ranches are stripped of yet another part of their means of survival.
As our farms disappear, so, too, does our access to food grown locally. Gone will be the opportunities for low-income families to shop for local produce at a fruit stand or farmers market stall. Gone will be the chance for individuals to find meat that is grass-fed from a rancher they have met.
Taking away direct access to locally produced food takes away access to true food equity — ensuring that everyone has access to food. When local food producers are forced to focus on their survival, charitable efforts are often among the first items to be sacrificed. Donations of fresh produce to food banks are often abandoned in favor of monetizing as much product as possible.
While the disappearance of 3,717 farms in five years is deeply concerning to the agricultural community in our state, it should alarm every Washingtonian.
William Jennings Bryan wrote, “Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.”
Maybe Bryan was wrong about the grass growing in our streets. Maybe mega-corporate farms and automated technologies can replace the American farmer and maybe consumers won’t mind having fewer choices and a lowered standard of freshness. But is that a future we want to promote?
The fates of the Washington farmer and the thousands of families that rely on them for work are largely in the hands of increasingly urban lawmakers and the people they serve. The only question that remains is whether they will seek a deeper understanding and accommodation of the unique challenges of farming, or will they end it as a way of life?
Thursday, April 18th, 2024, is World Amateur Radio Day. Amateur Radio is an important part of disaster response and preparedness, as well as having positive impacts on scientific and diplomatic efforts.
Today, amateur radio is more popular than ever, with more than 3,000,000 licensed operators around the world. Notably, ITU has recognized the IARU as representing the interests of amateur radio services and licensees.
In nearly a century of engagement, IARU has helped to grow the amateur services into a well-recognized partner in global communications. Our forthcoming centenary is an opportunity to celebrate these achievements.
On 18 April each year, operators around the world take part in World Amateur Radio Day. This is a day when IARU member-societies can show their capabilities to the public and enjoy friendships with other amateurs worldwide.
We proudly share the good work done by amateur radio operators, their innovations in the science of communications, and what we do for the global community.
While these services have been in operation for over a century, 1924 was the first year that intercontinental amateur communications became commonplace. The field has witnessed unparalleled technological advances since then – part of the reason amateur radio is so crucial for global communications and timely emergency response today…”
Iran reportedly carried out the first direct air strikes against Israel this evening, from Iranian soil using drones and long-range cruise missiles. Israel missile defense systems, along with Air Force aircraft joined by a coalition of U.S., U.K., Jordanian, and other nations, intercepted hundreds of incoming missiles and drones.
Russia is threatening to intervene if the U.S. directly strikes Iran.
Israel is preparing for a sophisticated and powerful precision response on Iranian targets in Syria and Iran in the coming hours and days.
GPS disruptions have been reported, complicating navigation for aircraft and maritime ships. We should anticipate cyber attacks as another method of warfare against (and from) all parties involved.
AmRRON will be at AmCON-2, effective 20240414-0400Z, in anticipation of anticipated/expected disruptions to conventional telecommunications and/or internet services.
Go to the AmCON Pagefor details and additional instructions.
Rising incidents of domestic terrorism and a surge in state-sponsored cyber attacks on critical infrastructure are posing a heightened risk to the U.S. power system, the nation’s grid reliability authority warned last week.
The geopolitical turmoil from the Israeli-Hamas conflict and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war is driving a dramatic increase in malicious cyber activity, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corp., a nonprofit body in charge of setting reliability standards for the wholesale power system. Those international tensions are adding to the steady increase in domestic physical threats against the power infrastructure that are likely to climb as the U.S. election season ramps up.
“The current geopolitical situation has significant ramifications for the North American grid,” Manny Cancel, senior vice president at NERC, told reporters Thursday, and that’s contributed to “a dramatic increase in malicious cyber activity.”
Cancel, who is also CEO of NERC’s Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which gathers and analyzes data from power companies, said at the same time, U.S.-based threats could include a wide range of activities aimed at shutting off the power for large swaths of people to sow unrest.
“We know activists continue to use this as a vehicle to get their ideology and other political thoughts across,” said Cancel. “So nonetheless, we’re going to be very vigilant during this current election cycle.”
Physical threats against the grid have seen a sharp uptick in recent years, according to a POLITICO analysis of DOE data. The nation’s power providers reported 185 instances of mostly physical attacks or threats against critical grid infrastructure in 2023, beating the previous record number of reports from 2022 and doubling the number of incidents in 2021.
Security experts say that rise correlates to the growth in domestic extremism and terrorism, fueled by public messaging boards and rampant information sharing that offers a guide for people to target weak spots in the power system.
“There is ample publicly available information for bad actors to identify vulnerable assets and choke points that, if taken offline, could have significant sustained consequences for this system,” Victor Atkins, a former associate deputy director for operations under the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.
Utilities reported more than 2,800 physical security threats to the center in 2023, according to Cancel, a jump of more than 1,000 from the previous year.
NERC spokesperson Rachel Sherrard said the increase “can be largely attributed to enhancements in members’ information sharing.” She added the increased number of incidents “is not necessarily indicative of an increase in risk.”
Cancel said the vast majority of physical threats and attacks don’t result in power outages — only about three percent have any impact on the grid.
None of the recent incidents have led to the kind of cascading outages or widespread failures on the scale of the notorious Northeast blackout of 2003, which shut down the power system from Michigan to Massachusetts and as far as Northern Ontario.
But localized impacts from these incidents can still be devastating.
California utilities avoided a crisis last week after an unknown suspect attempted to destroy a local substation by shooting at a transformer and shutting off circuit breakers. The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information on the suspected shooter. An FBI official told a local news station that if the attack had succeeded, it could have led to catastrophic consequences for people relying on electricity for medical purposes.
Brian Leventhal, a spokesperson for the impacted utility Southern California Edison, said SCE “uses a multilayered, defense in-depth strategy at our facilities to deter and respond to security threats.”
Cyber threats have also been on the rise, but are more difficult to directly quantify, according to Cancel.
DOE’s data include only a handful of suspected cyber attacks. But the NERC center has recorded a rise in the number of security weaknesses in the power system. From 2023 to 2022, the National Institute of Science and Technology recorded a jump of about 2,000 system vulnerabilities — a pace of about 60 additional threats per day, Cancel said.
What’s clear to U.S. officials is that hackers linked to U.S. adversaries are plenty capable of wreaking havoc on the power system.
“The major nation state actors — China, North Korea, Iran and Russia — absolutely possess the capability to disrupt critical infrastructure here in North America,” said Cancel.
“When they’ll decide to use this is obviously a very complicated decision. But nonetheless, we accept the fact that they have the capability,” he added.
Several high profile cyber breaches have proved those nations’ capabilities.
Last year, the Department of Energy was among federal and state agencies impacted by a mass cyberattack through vulnerable software. And a vulnerability revealed late last year — now dubbed “CitrixBleed” — launched warnings from federal security agencies who found state-backed hackers were exploiting the vulnerability to access major U.S. companies.
A POLITICO investigation from last year found reporting gaps between federal and state officials, as well as grid and security authorities, related to ongoing threats against the grid.
Atkins, who is now a consultant focused on reducing risks to critical infrastructure, warned the U.S. power grid vulnerabilities were due to the “patchwork” of federal and local, public and private entities involved in maintaining security of the grid. He described it as a “paradigm of diffused responsibility.”
“It seems to me that it is only a matter of time before the sophistication and coordination of these attack scenarios reach a point to cause much more catastrophic consequences,” he said.
Valley Publishing reports that the Parent Teacher Organization for Prosser School District will be holding a bingo night and silent auction on Friday, April 12th, 2024 from 5pm – 7pm in the Old High School. Proceeds will be used for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (S.T.E.M.) educational enrichment for the students.
Join the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) April 12th for a night of fun at the Prosser PTO Family Bingo and Silent Auction. The free Bingo Night with fun prizes and where you can bid on some amazing silent auction items. Taking place at the old high school, there’ll be food for purchase, bake sale and a 50/50 raffle. All proceeds from the auction will go towards future S.T.E.M. related assemblies such as The pacific science center and traveling museum programs. Don’t miss your principal calling out the bingo numbers!
Last call to any parents of students at KRV, Heights, or Whitstran to donate any items for the themed auction baskets for our April 12th event! The PTO flyer says, “We could really use your help putting them together. We’re very hopeful that we can raise enough funds during out upcoming Bingo Night & Silent Auction to bring some amazing STEM related assemblies to our students this coming year! We can’t do it without your support. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy…just in theme with whatever grade your student is in.” As a reminder, the themes are as follows:
1st – “Dig It!” anything gardening related…seeds, tools, small plant pots, etc.
2nd – “Rated Awesome!” anything family movie night related….snacks, DVDs, fuzzy blanket, etc.
3rd – “Game On!” anything family game night related…board games, card games, snacks, etc.
4th – “Dessert First!” anything baking/cooking related….cookie/cake mixes, sprinkles, etc.
5th – “Summer Picnic!” anything picnic fun related…snacks, outdoor games, kite, picnic blanket, etc.
All students at Keene-Riverview Elementary, Prosser Heights Elementary and Whitstran Elementary should have received flyers in their backpacks and each office has a donation box so, please have your student bring in an item to help build a grade themed basket for our silent auction on Friday April 12th.
Board member Elisa Riley says, “Thank you everyone that donated towards the grade level silent auction baskets. We hope to earn enough funds to cover some amazing assemblies next year at each of the three elementary schools Prosser PTO serves. OMSI and Pacific Science Center are two we are hopeful about bringing into the schools. They bring educational museums to the students!”
She adds, “If you have nothing planned for April 12th, please join the Prosser PTO for a fun night of bingo, pizza dinner, snacks and bid on some really awesome auction items. We have local restaurant gift certificates, spa items, basket full of dog items, local ceramic art pieces, wine, oil changes, bed and breakfast night stay, admission tickets to family friendly locations and so many more! Please help spread the word and invite anyone you know to come support our Prosser students!”
Please tell all of your friends, family, neighbors to join in the event. In addition to the silent auction, there will be food to purchase, a 50/50 raffle, a free family bingo and more. All proceeds will go towards future S.T.E.M. Assemblies at all three elementary schools!
On Monday the state legislature passed Initiative 2081, the Parental Rights initiative, by wide bipartisan margins. It passed by a vote of 82 to 15 in the House and by 49 to zero in the Senate. You can see how your representative voted here.
As a citizen initiative it doesn’t need the governor’s signature and will become law in 90 days. The popular measure will require public schools to inform parents about what is happening to their own children in school.
Passage of Initiative 2081 is a very positive first step for parents and students. It was signed by over 454,000 people. It is an important indicator of the public’s broad dissatisfaction with the public schools.
The purpose of the initiative is to get the state legislature to listen to the public’s widespread frustrations with public education. Some Democratic lawmakers, though, still haven’t gotten the message.
“…I was comforted to hear from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and from school directors that they plan to implement the initiative narrowly and consistently with the other law we have passed over time protecting the rights of young people [to hide information from their parents]…
“We’ll be watching very carefully to watch how this rolls out on the ground in our 295 school districts is consistent with that understanding.”
Representative Sharon-Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle) said angrily (time stamp 1:12:53):
“…this law doesn’t do much to change the underlying laws…. I am very happy to know from our counsel and professional staff that the measure before us does not repeal any of the important protections and safeguards that the legislature has enacted for our youth…I understand the concerns that reverberate throughout our community about unintended consequences, so Mr. Speaker I will remain vigilant that students rights are not abridged and that districts do not misinterpret or misapply the law.”
Parents are not stupid. They will quickly figure out that hardliners in the legislature are resisting change. They’re the ones who will be “watching very carefully” to see if there’s any real improvement in the way school officials treat them.
My prediction is the trend of families pulling out of the public system will continue. Already 46,000 families have left. If the new Parental Rights law is ignored, as some hold-out legislators intend, it is unlikely the measure will slow the exodus from public education.
Parents are dismayed by consistently poor academic outcomes, with schools failing to adequately educate 61 percent of students in math, and failing to adequately educate 49 percent of students in English. Parents oppose pushing harmful CRT and DEI ideology in the classroom, with teachers informing white students they are oppressors while telling black and brown students they are automatic victims. Likewise, parents don’t want age-inappropriate sexualized content in schools, nor do they like being lied to about personal problems their child may be experiencing in school.
Parents want public schools that are open and honest. Passing the Parental Rights initiative is a sincere effort to reassure families and rebuild trust, but it will all be for nothing if some lawmakers are telling school officials to ignore it.
Liv Finne is the director of the Center for Education at the Washington Policy Center.
NC Scout of Brushbeater and Radio Contra interviews Jack Lawson, author of the Civil Defense Manual and co-author of the out-of-print A Failure of Civility, to talk the current situation, what lies ahead and how to best prepare for the shortages and second order effects that are on the horizon.
Radio Contra Ep. 275 An Uncivil Future with Jack Lawson
The article doesn’t go into detail about how much was purchased from eBay, but buying used equipment is not necessarily bad and may have saved the taxpayers quite a bit of money. The main downside of government purchases of used equipment is the possibility of getting compromised equipment, i.e. equipment with software/firmware vulnerabilities or actual Chinese spy chips. The article doesn’t give us any more details than the title, so no determinations can be made about the good or bad of the eBay purchases other than that the Herald wanted something sensational to get people to click on the article.
VHF vs UHF vs 800MHz
Radio jargon. Very High Frequency (VHF) is a range of radio frequencies from 30Mhz to 300MHz. Ultra High Frequency (UHF) is the next step higher, ranging from 300MHz to 3000Mhz (3GHz). You might notice that 800MHz lies within the UHF range. So 800MHz is a UHF frequency. You might even remember that there used to be UHF television stations, and that the UHF televisions had to go away in order for the government to re-allocate that swath of radio spectrum to public service radio in the 700/800MHz (this is actually a range of frequencies in the middle of 700MHz and another range in the first half of the 800MHz range) frequency range. A radio using VHF or UHF does not make it either obsolete or modern. New radio systems in both VHF and UHF come out all the time. That said, sometime in the public service space when people use the terms VHF and UHF they mean analog VHF or analog UHF, and they use 800MHz when they mean specifically digital UHF radios using the public service spectrum — or even more specifically a trunked P25 radio system. The article makes it sound like the VHF radios being replaced are obsolete because they are VHF, but really it is because they are not part of the digital trunking system.
With analog VHF radios (there are digital VHF radios), each agency needs to have a range of frequencies to use for difference purposes. There may be a regular dispatch channel and then several, separate tactical channels so that teams of responders responding to specific incidents can talk with each other outside of the main dispatch channel. This took up a lot of frequency “space.” Using fictional frequencies, Prosser might need to have 100-110MHz to have several channels for police and ambulance and regional county Sheriff cannels. Benton City cannot overlap those channels or it may interfere with Prosser and vice versa, so Benton City needs 112MHz to 122MHz. and so on for Richland, Kennewick, West Richland, and so on. The frequencies were getting full, which was why the federal government allocated the 700/800MHz frequencies in the first place — to give more room for allocating frequencies.
Digital trunking is a method that was created to do an even better job of sharing frequencies but still allowing all of the agencies sharing a system to have their own private channels. As a bonus, if agencies were all sharing the same trunking system, then it is easy to create coordination channels for the agencies to talk to each other. A downside is that it becomes more difficult for users of a digital trunking system to communicate with users of analog radio systems. A trunking radio system over a large area (like a city or county) also requires that all of the radio repeaters (radios typically in high places that retransmit signals in order to cover large areas) be linked to each other with some sort of communication infrastructure. These links may be fiber optic cable or other cable, but in the case of BCES the repeaters are linked with microwave radio links. In 2010, BCES went live with a digital P25 trunking radio system. According to the BCES press release at the time, “The new digital system has more than 1,000 subscribers. Agencies involved in the switchover include Richland Police, West Richland Police, Kennewick Police, Prosser Police, Pasco Police and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Benton Public Utilities, Benton County Public Works, the Benton County Jail, Prosser Ambulance and Areva.” BCES was using an 800MHz analog radio system prior to that.
So the article is clear that that one goal of the upgrade is to get all agencies off of the analog VHF systems and onto the digital trunking system. Another goal is to replace all of the microwave links between the “50 different transmitters and receivers…on ridges and mountaintops.” The repeaters that are currently running analog systems which need to join the trunking system will need to be linked into the rest of the system, so there will be expenses for that new equipment. Franklin County agencies will be replacing virtually all of their radio infrastructure. Even if they wanted to stick with analog VHF, it is old and failing and the cost would be about the same as changing to a digital trunking system. In the public service space, the digital trunking systems are more common, so it does make sense to conform the systems that other agencies in the area are using.
How will the counties pay for these upgrades? The article says the counties may implement a 911 sales tax of 0.2%. Benton County, however, does have a 0.3% Public Safety Sales Tax already. So will a 911 tax be added on top of that?
On Saturday, March 30, 2024 there will be a Coffee with a Cop event at Brewminatti’s, 713 6th St., Prosser, WA from 11am to 12pm. The purpose of the event is for the community to meet with members of the Prosser Police Department, discuss community concerns, and have back and forth conversations to improve relationships. Former interim and now permanent Chief Markus will be in attendance as well as as many available officers as possible and also administrative staff, and the Community Service Officer. Brewed coffee will be served.
There will be a 16th Legislative District town meeting on Tuesday, April 2nd with Rep. Skyler Rude, Rep. Mark Klicker and Sen. Perry Dozier. It will be held in the Prosser Community Center at 1231 Dudley Ave at 5:30 p.m. The main purpose is to discuss six initiatives introduced in the 2024 legislative session.
During these gatherings, we aim to provide you with comprehensive updates on the outcomes of these initiatives, shedding light on what transpired and what remains on the horizon. Additionally, we will delve into the broader legislative landscape, including insights into the supplemental budgets passed and the impact of these investments on families and communities across the district. Moreover, we’ll touch upon both the positive strides and setbacks encountered during the session.
Our town halls aren’t just about relaying information. They’re about fostering meaningful dialogue with our community. We want to hear from you! Your questions, thoughts, and perspectives are invaluable to us. We encourage you to join us in this interactive exchange.
Below are the details for the upcoming town hall meetings.
Tuesday, April 2 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Prosser Community Center 1231 Dudley Ave. (Prosser)
Wednesday, April 3 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Columbia Basin College (room to be determined) 2600 N. 20th Ave. (Pasco)
Thursday, April 4 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Walla Walla Community College Performing Arts Auditorium 500 Tausick Way (Walla Walla)
It appears an entire cottage industry has emerged in which various vendors sell ham radio, GMRS, and similar resources as a preparedness tool. Search YouTube using terms such as “prepper” and “communications” and one will find hundreds, if not thousands of videos that promote various communications solutions, many of which focus on ham radio. Unfortunately, one can argue that many of these videos and sales pitches amount to the proverbial “blind leading the blind.”
There is much to be said for establishing communications alternatives that support neighborhood and community preparedness. Prepper groups are fond of the term “MAG,” which translates to mutual assistance group. Having a “MAG” composed of like minded and equally dedicated and prepared people can be a very good thing, particularly if the participants are all level-headed and equally dedicated to preparedness. We won’t digress further into that subject except to assert that developing the ability to communicate in the event of disruptions to the cellular grid and local/regional Internet connectivity is a prudent preparedness step. Therefore, let’s examine the realistic communications requirements for one’s preparedness program.
Most communications are local:
This assertion should not come as a surprise. It’s been proven through 175 years of telecommunications history. The volume of communications traffic on local networks is typically higher than that on long-haul circuits. It’s simply a reflection of the nature of social hierarchy. In a SHTF situation, circumstances usually dictate that local issues are addressed first. For example, if summoning assistance, the person from whom you request assistance must be close enough to provide the needed aid. As a result, most members of one’s prepper “tribe” do not need to be ham radio operators. Common resources such as FRS/GMRS (interoperable), CB radio, or MURS are often more than adequate for covering local terrain. Even hard-wire resources such as field phones can be pressed into service between closely located homes or facilities.
The gateway process as force multiplier:
If a MAG establishes a local communications network using commonly available, inexpensive technology, messages leaving the local network can be transferred to national/international infrastructure by “gateway” operators with long-haul capabilities. One to three operators (for redundancy) in a group that have the necessary license, training, and equipment to communicate over longer distances can move message traffic between the local network and long-haul infrastructure services. For example, if someone in your prepper group needs to send a message to a relative 1000 miles away, he simply formats a radiogram, transmits it to the gateway operator, and the latter individual injects it into the long-haul network.
The gateway function is a simple force multiplier process, which allows everyone in a group to send and receive medium/long-haul messages even if they do not have an interest in communications systems as a technological hobby or avocation. The process is also not economically regressive. After all, there’s a big difference between the cost of a new or used CB or GMRS radio and a modern ham radio transceiver and associated equipment.
Gateway requirements:
While impressive and elegant, HF radio and similar resources, with their ability to communicate over long distances, are of little value if communications with distant points are established randomly. In other words, even with survivable HF radio capabilities, some type of standardized infrastructure designed to efficiently relay and route messages to their destination is required. For this purpose, one might use Winlink (radio email), the RRI Digital Traffic Network, or manual mode traffic networks using CW, SSB, or various narrowband digital methods. Each method will offer both advantages and disadvantages depending on circumstances and operational requirements. These pros and cons are outside the scope of this article but suffice to say that the ability to exchange signal reports with random stations around the country is NOT the same as rapidly and accurately transmitting record message traffic to a third party 200 or 2000 miles away. For that, one needs not only infrastructure, but one also needs training, which brings us to our final point……
Connectivity is NOT the same as communications:
The prepper community, and even some Amateur Radio emergency communications volunteers, tend to perceive disaster communications in a “break glass in time of emergency” fashion. Using a bit of imagery, the “ham radio” is an object similar to a fire extinguisher in a public space. The “ham radio” (noun) sits in a red box labeled “break glass in case of emergency.” In the mental fantasy of the prepper, he will simply break the glass, turn on the radio, and start communicating. Unfortunately, “reality bites.” One can guarantee that 100-percent of the time, prepper communications will suffer in myriad ways. Messages will arrive garbled, content will be missing, assumptions regarding content will be made, and fatal errors in messages, tactical or record message, will hamper organizational response. In other words:
THE ABILITY TO ESTABLISH CONNECTIVITY IS NOT THE SAME AS THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE! (article continues)
Lower Valley Assembly 