No Subject

And we're thrilled to report that the one and only Kemosabe, Dan
Ingram, was back in the saddle last weekend on WCBS-FM (101.1) after a
successful recovery from back surgery. 

Moving upstate again, WRNN (Channel 62) in Kingston wants a better
facility for its Nyack-licensed LPTV signal. WRNN-LP wants to move
from channel 35 to channel 20, increasing power from 800 watts to 2500
watts.

In Albany, Lisa Biello moves from music director to PD at WHRL
(103.1), replacing Susan Groves at the Clear Channel modern AC
outlet. On the AM side of the hallway, WGY (810 Schenectady) dropped
Laura Schlessinger from its schedule last week. Glenn Beck replaces
her in mid-mornings, while Tom Leykis disappears from the evening
schedule, replaced by Phil Hendrie at 7 PM, followed by Art Bell at 10.

Across town, Radio Disney finally replaced the WGNA-FM (107.7)
simulcast on WGNA (1460 Albany) on February 28. No new calls are in
place on the now-Disney-owned AM yet.

Here in Rochester, Clear Channel made a late-night shift on its two
AMs, as Bell replaces the Truckin' Bozo on WHAM (1180). In
addition to several dozen skywave signals, Bell had been heard in the
market on WHAM sister station WHTK (1280), which is now running Fox
Sports overnight.

In Syracuse, Radio Disney outlet WBGJ (100.3 Sylvan Beach) gets its
transfer from original owner Kevin O'Kane to Craig Fox's Wolf Radio
approved. We hear there may be a format change there soon. A bit to
the north in Pulaski, WSCP-FM (101.7) amends its application for a
power boost. Instead of asking for 3700 watts at 128 meters from a new
tower next to its existing stick, WSCP now wants to go to 5200 watts
at 100 meters.

Over in Buffalo, sports WNSA (107.7 Wethersfield) is losing a downtown
translator. W284AB (104.7 Buffalo) is being sold by former 107.7 owner
John Casciani; the translator atop a downtown hospital will be the
latest outlet for Bath-based religious network Family Life Ministries,
relaying WCOU (88.3 Warsaw). WNSA will still be heard in Buffalo on
its main signal and on the 107.3 translator licensed to Williamsville.

Down in Jamestown, WKZA (106.9 Lakewood) applies for a power boost to
5100 watts at 225 meters.

On the LPFM front, there was plenty to report in the Empire State this
week. The FCC dismissed the 93.3 application in Shirley (on Long
Island) from Radio Nuevo Amanecer. It also dismissed a pile of
applications from New York State, including: 93.9 Monticello, 94.7
Manorville, 95.7 Tunnel, 98.7 Grafton, 98.9 Hartfield, 100.7 Blodgett
Mills, 103.9 Kingston, 105.9 New Hartford, 105.9 Little Valley and
107.9 Ellenville.

The FCC granted an even bigger pile of state applications (to be used
for TIS-style traveler information on state highways and the New York
Thruway): 92.7 Hartford, 92.9 Walton, 93.3 Coopers Plains, 94.1
Watertown, 94.3 Godeffroy, 94.9 Owego, 95.1 Witherbee, 96.1 Waterloo,
96.9 Austerlitz, 97.1 Porters Corners, 97.5 Warrensburg, 97.9 Belmont,
98.3 Mexico, 99.5 Blue Mountain Lake, 100.1 Albion, 100.5 Sloansville,
101.1 Hornell, 102.5 Dickinson Center, 102.7 Stamford, 103.7 West
Beekmanstown, 104.1 Hunter, 104.5 Geneseo, 105.5 Martinsburg, 106.1
Oneonta, 106.5 Boswell Corners and 107.3 Russell.

One obituary this week: North Country bureau chief Mike Roach reports
the death on February 27 of Robert Hartshorn. The former owner of WIGS
(1230) and WGIX (95.3) in Gouverneur, as well as WTPL (now WRGR 102.3)
in Tupper Lake, had been suffering from cancer. Since selling the
stations in the mid-eighties, Hartshorn had been working as an
employment counselor for the St. Lawrence County Office of Economic
Development before retiring a few years back.

*Heading down to NEW JERSEY, the big changes came at Nassau's WNJO
(94.5 Trenton), where PD Jeff Rafter departed last week (heading for
the coast and Asbury Park's WJLK 94.3), replaced by WPST PD Dave
McKay. Bob and Tom replaced the local morning show at the Hawk - and
the station added a simulcast at the shore, with the debut (at least
in testing mode) of WCHR-FM (105.7 Manahawkin). We're not sure the WNJO
simulcast is permanent at 105.7; the irony here, if there is one, is
that WCHR-FM was the longtime call at 94.5 before it flipped to WNJO a
few years back.

*In PENNSYLVANIA, there's a new signal in downtown Pittsburgh, as
Keymarket completes its move of WOGI (98.3) from Charleroi to
Duquesne, landing the "Froggy" country station on the same North Side
tower as competitor WDSY (107.9 Pittsburgh). Matt Allbritton, formerly
of yet another Froggy (WOGY Memphis), arrives as PD as the station
splits from its simulcast of WOGG (94.9 Oliver).

Joe ("Bobby Hatfield") Reilly checked in from WHLM (930 Bloomsburg) to
report that he's broken ground for the new two-tower directional array
that will return the station to full power after several years of
darkness and interim facilities. 

Up the road in Williamsport, WCRG (90.7 Williamsport) filed for a
license to cover; this one is a religious outlet, simulcasting WGRC
(91.3) down US 15 in Lewisburg.

And in Philadelphia, WYSP (94.1) added Washington-based Don and Mike
to its lineup last week, beginning after Howard Stern and running
until Opie and Anthony's show starts at 3. While 'YSP still bills
itself as "The Rock Station," we're listing them as primarily talk
now...

*Our news from CANADA begins, sadly, with two obituaries. Zeke
Zdebiak, the longtime production guru at Toronto's CHUM and CITY-TV, 
died March 5 of an apparent heart attack, just hours after leaving the
station for the day. Just a few hours earlier, crosstown CFTR (680
News) lost veteran police reporter Jim Morris, who died of lung cancer
at age 43. 

Over in London, CHRW at the University of Western Ontario wants to
change its tower site and frequency. The station, now at 94.7, would
move to 94.9 from a new tower at One London Place, about two miles
from its current tower. Power would increase from 3000 to 3500 watts.

Gary Hooper wants to put 18 LPFM stations on the air in Toronto for
World Youth Day July 22-28. He's applied for 10-watt facilities on
(deep breath now!) 89.9, 90.7, 91.9, 94.5, 95.5, 96.9, 97.7, 98.7,
99.5, 100.3, 101.1, 101.7, 102.7, 103.9, 104.9, 105.9, 106.7 and 107.5
to broadcast in several languages to Youth Day attendees.

Meanwhile, the CRTC granted CISS (Kiss 92.5 Toronto) a power boost
from 4700 to 9870 watts, to help overcome interference east of town
from Rochester's WBEE co-channel.

In Cobourg, CHUC (1450) has filed an application (as first tipped here
in NERW) to move to 1580 with 10 kW day and night; this would begin to
fill a channel left largely vacant by the departure of Chicoutimi's
CBJ last year. Nearby in Belleville, CJOJ (95.5) wants to drop power
from 50 kW to 42.1 kW, moving its antenna 25 km to the west, near Oak
Lake, Ontario.

Brockville's CFJR (830) has applied to move to 104.9 FM with 5600 watts.

Up in Ottawa, CHRO-TV-43 wants to split from the simulcast with CHRO
(Channel 5) in Pembroke to run separate advertising feeds. 

Over in Aylmer, Ontario, the Aylmer and Area Inter-Mennonite Council is
applying for a 50-watt FM on 107.7, to broadcast four hours a day to
the local Mennonite community.

The word from Roberval, Quebec is that CHRL (910) is running a loop
advising that it's moved to 99.5 FM with 16.6 kW. Log this one while
you can!

Another one that's soon to be exiled to the history books is CKBW
(1000) in Bridgewater, N.S. We hear the new FM facility at 98.1 began
testing last week, which means the clock is now ticking on the AM
signal, a familiar one to DXers around the Northeast.

*We'll finish up with some TV news from around the region: dozens of
stations have told the FCC they won't meet this spring's deadline to
put digital signals on the air, and have asked for extensions of
time. Here's the list by market; asterisks indicate waiver requests
that have already been granted:

MAINE: Bangor - WLBZ, WABI*, WVII; Portland - WCSH, WMTW, WPXT
VERMONT: Burlington - WVNY, WFFF
MASSACHUSETTS: Boston - WUNI, WSBK, WWDP, WMFP; Springfield - WWLP*
RHODE ISLAND: Providence - WLNE, WJAR, WPRI, WNAC
CONNECTICUT: Hartford - WUVN, WTXX, WHPX, WVIT
NEW YORK: Albany - WRGB, WNYT, WXXA, WYPX; Binghamton - WIVT; Buffalo -
WIVB, WKBW, WNLO, WNYB; Elmira - WETM; New York - WNBC, WPIX, WPXN,
WSAH, WNJU, WTBY, WRNN, WMBC*; Rochester - WHEC*, WOKR; Syracuse -
WSTM, WIXT; Utica - WKTV, WUTR; Watertown - WWTI
NEW JERSEY: Atlantic City - WMGM, WWAC, WWSI
PENNSYLVANIA: Allentown - WBPH; Erie - WSEE; Johnstown-Altoona - WJAC,
WKBS*; Philadelphia - WPHL, WTVE, WPSG; Pittsburgh - WPCB;
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre - WILF, WOLF

We don't expect that this list is complete; there are certainly plenty
of stations not listed here that are unlikely to meet the deadlines,
and we suspect there are more applications working their way through
the Commission. We'll update it as needed in the weeks to come.

*And that's it for this double issue, as we return to our usual
schedule here at NERW. We'll be back on track with Tower Site of the
Week this Wednesday as well, as we visit Los Angeles - and we'll see
you back here next week!

-----------------------NorthEast Radio Watch------------------------
                       (c)2002 Scott Fybush
                          www.fybush.com

No redistribution permitted for commercial use, or for
noncommercial use without prior written permission.

NorthEast Radio Watch is a "shareware" publication.  Regular readers
are kindly requested to contribute towards the continued publication
of this weekly resource.  Visit <http://www.fybush.com/support.html>
for more information.

For the freshest NERW news, visit our Web edition, published Monday
mornings at <http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html>, complete with photos,
audio clips, and links.  Each week's "E-Mail edition" is distributed
to the boston-radio-interest and NERW mailing lists within 48 hours of
publication.     

To be added to the NERW mailing list, send e-mail to
<nerw-request@bostonradio.org> with the word "subscribe"
as the body of the message.  You will receive a confirmation
code to return by e-mail to begin your free subscription.
Please direct any questions about the list process to
<nerw-owner@bostonradio.org>; subscription requests and
questions sent directly to NERW cannot be acted on.

NERW is archived at the Boston Radio Archives,
<http://www.bostonradio.org/radio/bostonradio.html> and
is generally made available there about a week after
publication.  

Opinions expressed in NERW are solely those of the author
and not necessarily those of MIT or LCS.

NERW welcomes your news and contributions at
<nerw@fybush.com>.

--------------------------------------------------------------------