WERA Confirms Silence To FCC

Community station WERA-LP (96.7 FM) has officially told the FCC that it’s off the air, confirming what DCRTV reported on August 1. The station, operated by Arlington Independent Media, filed a Silent STA on Friday explaining how a mix of county restrictions and a tax dispute led to the shutdown.

According to the filing, WERA’s transmitter was housed in an Arlington County emergency communications radio room. After an audit critical of past county and AIM leadership, officials locked down access to the facility. Station leaders said they tried to negotiate terms for re-entry, but county reps suddenly stopped responding to their calls, emails, and texts.

WERA later learned through a third party that the Arlington County Treasurer had seized its transmission gear over alleged tax delinquencies, leaving the station unable to operate. The group says it now intends to rebuild its transmission setup at the same antenna site, but this time outside of county-controlled space, with hopes of eventually getting 96.7 back on the air.