NorthEast Radio Watch 3/26: New CHR on the Cape

[fybush@world.std.com (Scott D Fybush)]

*There's a new CHR on Cape Cod.  The former WJCO (93.5) in Harwich
Port slipped away to an all-Chumbawamba stunt format over the weekend
before resurfacing Monday morning as WYST, "Star 93."  Chris Boles is
PD for Ernie Boch's station, which goes up against established CHR
WRZE (96.3) Nantucket.

Other news from MASSACHUSETTS: Boston's WBZ (1030) is making good on
its claim of "news all day, every day" next month by dropping its
"Sports Saturday" and "Sports Sunday" shows in favor of all news.
BZ's specialty sports shows, "Calling all Sports," "Upton Bell and Bob
Lobel," and "The McDonoughs on Sports" will continue.  

Congratulations to Ted O'Brien.  The WABU (Channel 68) news director
has been named associate director of Washington's Pew Center for Civic
Journalism.  And congratulations as well to the Deane brothers of WJDF
(97.3) in Orange.  Jay, Donn, and Fred Deane won the Citizen of the
Month award for their little station's contribution to civic life in
Orange.

Where are they now?: Charles ("Call me Chuck") Adler dropped NERW a
line to let us know he's doing middays at Toronto's CFRB (1010) -- and
getting back to some of his old WRKO listeners via CFRB's RealAudio
feed at http://cfrb.istar.net (not to mention a few of us who can hear
CFRB directly :-)

Then there's Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg, who'll be inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next Thursday along with several other top
'60s jocks.

W267AI, the Hancock Tower translator of modern rocker WFNX (101.7
Lynn), has been granted a power boost...increasing from a massive 3
watts to a blistering, um, 4 watts.  No word on how owner Steve
Mindich will be able to afford the increased power bill...

*Moving along to RHODE ISLAND, we find two call letter changes this
week.  In Providence, Portuguese WRCP (1290) will change to WRNI when
Boston's WBUR-FM (90.9) takes over operation of the station this
spring.  And in West Warwick, the venerable WHIM calls have been
pulled from AM 1450 for WDYZ -- for Radio Disney, of course.  NERW
wonders if WDYZ owner Hibernia will be applying for new calls for its
WPZE (1260 Boston) and WRDM (1550 Bloomfield CT) as well.

*Up in NEW HAMPSHIRE, there are still more dismissals to report -- but
this time, they don't involve Capstar.  At Garrison City's WBYY (98.7
Somersworth), Tom Larson is out as PD.  Jack Casey joins the company
as operations manager for WBYY and sister station WTSN (1270 Dover).
Just down Back Road, Ted Garland is out as morning-drive cohost at
Fuller-Jeffrey's WOKQ (97.5 Dover).  Also leaving WOKQ is news
director Roger Wood; he retires in June after 18 years at the country
giant.

In Manchester, Robin Bonneau retires from WGIR on Friday after 44
years in Granite State radio.  Bonneau got his start at WKXL in
Concord in 1954, moving to WTSV AM-FM in Claremont later that same
year.  When Norman Knight bought WTSV in 1959, Bonneau became general
manager, adding co-owned WTSL Lebanon seven years later.  Bonneau
moved to WGIR AM-FM as GM in 1973.  He's been doing sales there in
recent years.  By the way, one of our NERW readers did some checking
around -- and we can tell you that (at least so far) Knight's sale of
WGIR to Capstar did not include the station's land or building, valued
at over $600,000.  Knight is also still listed as the owner of the
WGIR transmitting facilities on Uncanoonuc Mountain in Goffstown.

And why have some Milford-area listeners been hearing WATD (95.9
Marshfield MA) on 94.3?  NERW suspects the input antenna at translator
W232AJ Greenville, which normally listens to the 95.9 signal from
W240AM West Keene, got misaligned somehow...

*There's a new old callsign in VERMONT -- at the 101.5 construction
permit in Brandon.  WADT has changed calls to WEXP...which should
sound familiar to Burlington-area listeners.  The WEXP calls graced
105.1 in Plattsburgh NY for a year or so, with a well-executed AAA
format that was replaced, sadly, with automated oldies when Hall
Broadcasting bought the station in 1995.

Down the road in Brattleboro, WKVT-FM (92.7) adds the House of Blues
Radio Hour on Sunday mornings at 9, followed by Doug Bassett from 10
till noon.

*The FCC has paid a visit to a MAINE radio station that was operating
without a license.  "I 97-3" was visited by an FCC agent last Tuesday
night, with a promise of a formal letter from the FCC to follow.  In a
posting to a pirate radio newsgroup, the station's owner says he was
running just half a watt -- and notes that the visit came just a few
days after his station was mentioned here in NERW.  The station
remains on the air, reportedly running just a tenth of a watt for the
moment.

Up the coast in New Brunswick, there's been a change of plans at CHSJ
(700) in Saint John.  The station won't be leaving the air April 1
after all; it will remain on indefinitely, including a scheduled DX
test in the early morning hours of April 6.  Listen at 1:15 and 2:16
AM Eastern time to hear it for yourself.  CHSJ has been simulcasting
on its new 94.1 FM frequency for several months.

*Despite an FCC visit, an unlicensed station in CONNECTICUT remains on
the air.  NERW correspondents in the New Haven area say they're
hearing "La Nueva Radio Musical" 12 miles away up I-91 in
Wallingford.  

Hamden's WKCI (101.3) will have to wait a while longer for approval of
its planned new tower.  The zoning board in Hamden has postponed a
planned hearing on the tower until April 16.

*In NEW YORK, we bid farewell to one noncommercial station.  WOSS
(91.1) in Ossining has returned its license to the FCC.  No word on
why the school-owned station is calling it quits.

Staff changes at several upstate CHR outlets: at Syracuse's WWHT
(107.9), PD Ed Lacomb is out; no replacement has been named yet.  In
the Utica area, WOWZ (97.9 Whitesboro)/WOWB (105.5 Little Falls),
a.k.a. "Wow FM," is shuffling staff in the wake of the departure of
middayer Pam Anderson.  Donna Jeffries is taking midday duties
temporarily, while part-timer "Kookinbocker" (we don't make these
names up, really!) takes over afternoons under the air name "Rick
Devoe."  (Or perhaps that's "Kehoe" -- we've heard both versions)
And in Rochester, overnighter Magic Man has resigned from
WPXY (97.9).  "Norm on the Barstool" extends his 10PM shift all the
way to 3AM, while former morning sidekick Athena takes on 3 to 5:30
AM, followed by producing duties for Scott Spezzano's morning show.
As for the rumors of a job out of town for 'PXY PD Clarke Ingram, word
at press time is that he's about to sign a new deal to stay with
ARS/CBS and 98PXY.

There are new calls for Binghamton's soft AC outlet.  The former WGRG
(101.7 Owego) is now WLTB.  NERW's still waiting to hear the modern
rock format on its sister *AM* station, WEBO (1330).  Rochester's
"Sunny 106" is finally using its new calls on-air -- WYSY (106.7
Irondequoit) and WISY (102.3 Canandaigua) replace WMAX-FM and WMHX,
respectively.  The WMAX-FM calls migrate to the former WRCD (107.3
Honeoye Falls), where they're still hidden away as "WMAX-FM Honeoye
Falls no longer lives...this is Jam'n 107."

The country trimulcast on 107.1 surrounding New York City (WWXY
Briarcliff Manor, WWVY Hampton Bays, and WWZY Long Branch NJ) is
adding a fourth player.  Big City Radio is buying WRNJ-FM (107.1
Belvidere NJ), which serves the Easton PA market.  It's expected to
join the "Y107" simulcast April 1.

And the correct legal IDs are once again running on WPGL (90.7
Pattersonville) and WGKR (105.3 Grand Gorge)...but we're told they're
running a partial translator ID with no calls given for W230AC (93.9
Troy), and the new W255AJ (98.9 Albany) identified as "Albany-Camp
Pinnacle-Voorheesville."

*That'll do it for this week, as NERW heads off to check out the radio
dials of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, northern New Jersey, and
the Big Apple.  All the details next Thursday!

- -=Scott Fybush - NorthEast Radio Watch - (c) 1998=-

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