There's quite a bit of grumbling going on, on the CQ-CONTEST reflector. Allegations are being made about no successor being named, other members of the CQ WW Contest Committee going silent, preferential treatment...

And about 3 weeks ago, I received a phone call from a very well known ham who is involved primarily in the DX circles, but is also a top-notch contester. He wanted my personal opinions about a few individual contesters. When the news about K3EST broke, I asked hm if there was a relation. He didn't deny it, but didn't go into details either.

So I suspect there's more going on than meets the eye...