Its been two days since the federal government silenced Free Radio Santa Cruz. While many of us were initially stunned by the raid, I can report that our collective sadness and sense of loss is turning to outrage and resolve to resume our normal operations. We are making progress toward that end, and thanks to the dedication and hard work of our tech gurus, I am happy to report that a scaled-down version of our studio has been put together, and our live stream has been going strong for over 24 hours. We should be back to our program schedule shortly. We hope to restore the fm broadcast at 101.1 FM in the near future.

The outpouring of support, donations, equipment and kind words has been overwhelming, but each e-mail, each letter, and each phone message from you, our listeners, is what keeps us going through these dark times. Please, keep it up! I wish there was time to respond individually to each of you. Many of you have asked what can be done to help. Here are a few ideas we've come up with, and hope you'll think up some others, too.

Perhaps the most important thing you can do is spread the word about this repression of dissent, and loss of free speech. Tell everyone you know; family, friends, lovers, teachers, doctors, politicians, etc... Write letters to the editor of your daily or weekly paper, call radio and cable access talk shows, spread the news on internet chat rooms, and listserves.

If you are a radio, tv, or print reporter, interview someone from FRSC to talk about the importance of microradio.

Many of you have offered to donate equipment, or technical skills. We will review these offers and someone will be in touch soon with a more detailed response.

If you know of, or can recommend a good communications lawyer, please contact one of us directly.

For those of you in the Santa Cruz area, FRSC is searching for new transmitter locations. Please contact one of us directly if you can assist.

We also need people to help distribute and post flyers in the Santa Cruz area. Call our voicemail at 831 427 4523 for details.

Come to Barrios Unidos, 1817 Soquel Avenue, on Tuesday October 12, when The Gadabout Film Festival makes it way into town. Gadabout is a nationally touring film festival that seeks to open new avenues of distribution for truly independent filmmakers that get pushed aside by Hollywood and the commercial film festival circuit. Focusing on short, mostly "low to no budget" films, the Gadabout offers an alternative to the cliche world of commercial film. The show runs from 5:30 - 9:30 PM and will be a benefit for FRSC.

In our nearly ten years of existence, FRSC has only been able to remain on the air because of the financial commitments of our collective members and with the help of our listening community. If you are a fan of FRSC, and have not yet done so, we are actively asking for donations.

To donate through a safe and secure credit card transaction visit www.freakradio.org/donate or make checks payable to "Free Radio Santa Cruz", or simply "FRSC." Our address is PO Box 7507 Santa Cruz, CA 95061. We thank you for your past, present and continued support, and look forward to our on-air return.

FRSC Contacts: Skidmark Bob or George Cadman, (831) 469-3685; Phil Free, (831) 278-1216; A. C. Sandino, (831) 480-5197; FRSC Voicemail, (831) 427-4523