MIT RESEARCH MAY MAKE BATTERIES OBSOLETE

We knew our friend MIT was talented, but we had no idea that he knew nanotube technology. The Boston Globe says:

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working on a new device that uses carbon nanotubes to store and release electrical energy in a system that could carry as much power as today's lead or lithium batteries.

But unlike the rechargeable batteries used on today's cellphones and laptop computers, these devices could be recharged hundreds of thousands of times before wearing out.

And instead of taking hours to recharge, they could be powered up in about the same time it takes to fill up a gas tank. ...

The device being developed at MIT's Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems isn't a battery, but a capacitor -- a device that's already used in nearly every electronic product on the planet. When plugged into an electrical circuit, a capacitor briefly stores incoming electricity, they releases it at a predictable rate. Capacitors can't store very much power, compared to traditional batteries. But while it takes hours to recharge a battery, capacitors charge almost instantly. And while most batteries can only be recharged a few hundred or thousand times before wearing out, capacitors can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times.

Pretty cool, if it ever comes to pass.

SOLDIERS FINGERED IN KILLING OF IRAQI FAMILY

A new probe, announced Friday by the military. From The Associated Press:

Five U.S. Army soldiers are being investigated for allegedly raping a young woman, then killing her and three members of her family in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday.

The soldiers also allegedly burned the body of the woman they are accused of raping.

Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of coalition troops in Baghdad, had ordered a criminal investigation into the alleged killing of a family of four in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, the U.S. command said. It did not elaborate.

"The entire investigation will encompass everything that could have happened that evening. We're not releasing any specifics of an ongoing investigation," said military spokesman Maj. Todd Breasseale.

"There is no indication what led soldiers to this home. The investigation just cracked open. We're just beginning to dig into the details."

Hope it's not true. Worry that it is.

SUPREMES: MILITARY TRIBUNALS ILLEGAL

The vote was 5-3. Chief Justice John Roberts recused himself. The Associated Press breaking lede:

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that President Bush did not have authority to set up the war crimes tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and found the "military commissions" illegal under both military justice law and the Geneva convention.

Fascinating.

KY3 REPORTER, SHOOTER ARRESTED

Reporter Sara Sheffield and photographer Cliff Erwin were detained and issued citations for "failing to obey the reasonable direction" of a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper. The crew was in Clinton, reporting live from the scene of a Monday night building collapse, when they were ordered to move.

The Associated Press story says Sheffield was about to do a live shot on the noon news when she and Erwin were told to move. They got to a public area and, as AP reports:

Erwin was arrested while Sheffield continued with an on-air report before also being arrested.

"They were asked to leave repeatedly and apparently didn’t heed those requests and were subsequently arrested and transported to the Henry County Jail," said Sgt. John Hotz, public information officer for the patrol’s Troop A.

KYTV news director Jeff Benscoter said he hoped no formal charges would be pursued against the crew, which had been at the same location since 3:30 a.m.

Jean Maneke, a Kansas City attorney who specializes in media law, said journalists may have a difficult time fighting such citations.

"The law recognizes police power," she said. "In times of emergency, they are allowed to exercise police power. ... They have the ability to tell people `You must leave now.’ If they don’t, (the police) have the ability to arrest them."

Maneke's quotes don't make it sound good for Sheffield and Erwin. Every media person we know is buzzing about this one because they all have similar war stories. An interesting thread about the arrests is ongoing at Missouri Radio.

GREENE COUNTY REPUBLICANS CLAIM SCHOOLS AS FUNDRAISING HOSTS

Steve Koehler of the News-Leader has the scoop in a Wednesday afternoon online posting:

A county Republican Party newsletter announcing a political fund-raiser hosted by Missouri State University and Springfield R-12 school district is wrong, say those involved in the event.

The actual invitation to the July 6 reception for Charlie Denison, running for re-election as a state representative from the 135th district, lists Gov. Matt Blunt and three state senators as hosts.

MSU, Springfield R-12, Ozarks Technical Community College and the Springfield Cardinals are listed as special guests for the event. Denison said they will not pay the $50 per ticket price to attend.

"Just like the News-Leader, we make mistakes, too," Denison said.

The incumbent representative said there was a misunderstanding when he told a volunteer about the event, and the two public institutions were incorrectly listed as hosts.

"There was not reason to list them as hosts. They’re not involved," he said.

Public entities are prohibited under Missouri Ethics Code from being involved in partisan political campaigns, state officials said.

Did anyone actually read the GOP newsletter before it went out with its claim of schools sponsoring fundraisers for Republicans?

DEPENDS ON THE LIPS

"Loose lips kill American people," Dennis Hastert said on Wednesday. The Speaker said the House of Representatives will thrash about a resolution that condemns the media for publishing information about secret spy programs.

Reuters reports:

The move heaps more criticism on The New York Times and other newspapers that reported last week on a secret program by the U.S. Treasury Department that tracks private bank records.

"What we're talking about is people who are leaking classified information. It's not news. It's classified information our government is using to fight terrorists," Hastert said. "Loose lips kill American people."

Hastert might want to consider a concurrent resolution condemning Sen. Orrin Hatch. The Utah Republican prodigiously leaked classified information on Sept. 11, 2001. The wayback machine takes us to the Chicago Tribune's Sept. 14, 2001, edition:

Hatch, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters hours after terrorists crashed hijacked jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that U.S. intelligence had intercepted a telephone call from a suspect reporting to his handler that the targets in New York City and near Washington had been hit.

"They have an intercept of some information that includes people associated with [Osama] bin Laden who acknowledged a couple of targets were hit," Hatch told The Associated Press. He made similar comments to ABC News and said the information had come from officials at the CIA and FBI ...

Hatch's disclosure, with the possibility it would tip off terrorists that their communications had been compromised, left senior officials of the administration dumbfounded and angry.

"Well, that helps a lot!" exclaimed one official, who added an expletive for emphasis, after learning of Hatch's comments.

Given the GOP's obsession with blaming the media, we won't be surprised if Hastert decides the Chicago Tribune should be punished for Hatch's leak.

SCOTUS TOSSES PART OF TEXAS REDISTRICTING PLAN

An interesting ruling. The Associated Press reports:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out part of a Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights.

The fractured decision was a small victory for Democratic and minority groups who accused Republicans of an unconstitutional power grab in drawing boundaries that booted four Democratic incumbents out of office.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said Hispanics do not have a chance to elect a candidate of their choosing under the plan.

Republicans picked up six Texas congressional seats two years ago, and the court’s ruling does not seriously threaten those gains. Lawmakers, however, will have to adjust boundary lines to address the court’s concerns.

At issue was the shifting of 100,000 Hispanics out of a district represented by a Republican incumbent and into a new, oddly shaped district. Justices had been told that was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voting rights.

Republicans had said the new map better reflected the voting patterns of the state and denied that minority voting rights were violated.

The map in question was steered through the Legislature by DeLay, who left Congress June 9 amid legal and ethical troubles, some stemming from the redistricting fight.

The new map gave Texas its first congressional delegation with a Republican majority since Reconstruction. The delegation has 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Under the previous boundaries, Democrats dominated 17-15.

Not a big win for Dems. Justice said Texas was within its rights when it redrew district boundaries twice after the 2000 census.

'FRASIER' DOG EDDIE, 16

Or 112 in dog years, if you use the old 7-years-to-1 coversion (the newfangled Online Conversion calculator says it's closer to being a 77-year-old human).

Anyway, that dog from "Frasier" has left the building. The Associated Press reports:

The 16-year-old Jack Russell terrier, whose real name was Moose, passed away of old age Thursday at the Los Angeles home of trainer Mathilde Halberg, Halberg told People magazine.

The canine character Eddie drove Kelsey Grammer’s lead character crazy for 10 years on the show.

It wasn’t all acting on Moose’s part, though. He was naturally "extremely mischievous," Halberg said.

His contribution to the show’s and Grammer’s success was publicly noted by the actor when he accepted a 1994 Emmy for best actor in a comedy.

"Most important, Moose, this is for you," Grammer added good naturedly.

Moose, who also played the older dog Skip in the 2000 film "My Dog Skip," was retired in recent years.

Smitty, MIT, Mayor Dan: This does not count as a point in our continuing game of death.

STANDING UP FOR WHAT'S UPRIGHT

Rush Limbaugh, the radio talker, was detained on Monday. The Associated Press has this:

Customs officials found a prescription bottle labeled as Viagra in his luggage that didn't have Limbaugh's name on it, but that of two doctors, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

A doctor had prescribed the drug, but it was "labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," Roy Black, Limbaugh's attorney, said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection examined the 55-year-old radio commentator's luggage after his private plane landed at the airport from the Dominican Republic, said Miller.

The matter was referred to the sheriff's office, whose investigators interviewed Limbaugh. According to Miller, Limbaugh said that the Viagra was for his use, and that he obtained it from his doctors.

Don't get the visual in your head of Rush Limbaugh having sex. You'll go insane.

THE SILENT SENATOR

KYTV just finished airing its Monday night report on the push to reform Missouri's fee offices. The piece by David Catanese featured comments from Doug Harpool, candidate for state senate, and Mark Wright, candidate for state auditor.

Both men said they want to reform the fee offices; Harpool announced his plan last month, and Wright was scheduled to piggyback on a plan by House Republicans during a Monday news conference. But Wright had to bail when Gov. Matt Blunt asked to "negotiate" with Republicans.

(Such a delicate word, that. Reality has much more grit. Several sources tell CHATTER that Blunt hit the roof when he heard about the mutiny; imagine, Republicans condemning political perks handed out by a Republican governor.)

Wright admitted that preliminary talks with Blunt had gone badly. But instead of standing up to the governor and speaking truth to that power, Wright backed down and played like a faithful member of his party.

Oddly missing from the entire story was Norma Champion, the 73-year-old state senator from Springfield. Champion told Catanese that she hadn't a clue that Republicans like Wright were calling for reform of the fee offices: "You're catching me on something I've not been a part of." She also admitted that she doesn't have a plan.

No plan. No clue. And no comment. Norma Champion is the silent senator.

INDICTING REPORTERS: THE NEXT BIG THING

President Bush and his supporters are yelping at the New York Times and its disregard for keeping the administration's secrets. Last week the Times reported that the administration is examining international banking records. This week, some conservatives are calling the Times a nest of traitors.

They're not doing it in a vacuum. Bush on Monday called the disclosure of the program "disgraceful" and said it did "great harm to the United States of America."

There is, of course, no way of knowing if Bush is telling the truth here. His administration demands secrecy while insisting everything is done within the law.

The loudest voices on the far right will only get louder over the next several days, as they try to bully their talking points to a mostly bored public. They want the Times, and other media outlets, prosecuted for treason. They don't believe in a free press. Just a compliant one.

CHATTER CENTRAL

Dot-com. We're still dinking around -- we do dink quite well -- on the new site, but it's starting to take form, like the first bits of mold on your too-old cheese.

The new CHATTER won't take the place of this site, at least not immediately. But it's a decent place to post audio and video downloads, and by week's end we hope to have the first CHATTER podcast available for you aural pleasure.

Stop by the new digs, bring a covered dish, leave a comment or two. Thanks for surfing.

OZARKS HIGH ON MINIMUM-WAGE HIKE

A new St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll focuses on the U.S. Senate race between Jim Talent and Claire McCaskill. But the poll also reveals several interesting factoids about southwest Missouri.

The Research 2000 Missouri Poll interviewed 150 southwest Missourians for its statewide sample of 800. Among the questions, and the Ozarks responses:

•Local lawmaker Mark Wright is in next-to-last place in his bid for auditor, with backing from just 8 percent of southwest Missourians polled.

•McCaskill has support from 36 percent of southwest Missourians. Talent draws support from 53 percent of those polled.

•The Ozarks remains nominally opposed to a stem-cell research initiative -- 44 percent support it, while 51 percent oppose it.

•When it comes to the minimum wage, Ozarkers want more. The poll shows 52 percent of southwest Missourians support a higher minimum wage. Only 29 percent of those polled were opposed to a wage hike.

All the results can be found here. Happy number crunching.

OH, THAT SMELL

Pima County, Ariz., sheriff's deputies find an empty military casket and start nosing around. The Associated Press reports:

Detectives believe the casket may have recently contained the remains of a member of the military, Deputy Dawn Barkman said.

"Obviously it had the smell and there was other evidence that it had been inhabited recently," Barkman said.

Forensic investigators took DNA samples and are beginning efforts to try to learn where the casket came from.

Two residents playing paintball found the casket Saturday near Interstate 10, on the south side of Tucson, Barkman said. The casket was metallic silver with an Army insignia on it. Deputies didn't find any signs of the body and put out a nationwide alert in hopes of learning more, she said.

Inhabited?

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CANCEL MONDAY FLYAROUND

Some House Republicans planned to hit Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield on Monday to talk-up a plan that would tackle the thorny issue of fee offices, the place where you get your license. Gov. Matt Blunt privatized several formerly state-run offices and awarded management contracts to his favorite contributors and fundraisers.

The FBI is reportedly investigating. Waves of stink worry House Republicans who -- unlike Blunt -- are up for reelection in November.

The Monday news conference in Springfield was supposed to be at the Library Station on North Kansas Expressway. The House members were supposed to issue a plan calling for reform of the fee offices.

But KYTV reports that Blunt scrubbed the flyaround and "requested opening negotiations with the members about their plan." Politspeak for "keep your mouth shut and don't make waves."

The station reports on its political blog that Springfield's senator had no idea what was going on:

[W]hen asked for her opinion on reforming the way fee offices are run, Sen. Norma Champion said she couldn't comment on something she didn't know about.

"I didn't know there was a flyaround," Champion said. "You're catching me on something I've not been a part of."

Reporter Dave Catanese had already interviewed Champion's opponent, Doug Harpool, on his plan to reform the fee offices. Catanese asked Champion about the fee offices. Her reply:

"I don't have a plan," Champion added. "That's fine if he has a plan but I don't have a plan to do that."

When I requested an on-camera interview for a story I plan to air Monday night on KY3 News at 10, Champion replied, "No thank-you. I'm not going to let him (Harpool) define the agenda."

Without a plan, she has no choice. She is no choice.

NEW SITE

Slowly, sometimes surely, we're getting the CHATTER site built. Our first rudimentary attempt can be found here, at ChatterCentral.com -- and while you're there, might we suggest a download of Joe Hadsall's novella? "Open Your Eyes" is in the download section. That would be DLs on the new site.

Anyway, back to typing.

THE POLITICAL WEB

Dave Catanese at KYTV has posted an interesting piece on the use of web sites by political candidates. Seems the GOP is behind the curve when it comes to using the internet to communicate with voters. Catanese writes:

Of the 16 Republicans running for the State House or State Senate in Springfield, just 4 have campaign websites I can find ...

Of the 11 Democrats running for the State House or State Senate in Springfield, 9 have campaign websites I can find.

Check his link. He's inviting you to surf the candidates' sites. Tell him what you think.

BARNEY FIFE LIVES IN WASHINGTON STATE

This is my Taser, this is my gun. A deputy in Bremerton, Wash., should be made to recite the line after he mistakenly using his handgun instead of his stun gun to get a man out of a tree. The Associated Press reports:

The deputy, a five-year veteran of the force whose name was not released, was placed on leave while Thursday's shooting is investigated.

Deputies carry both a Taser and a gun on their utility belts. The Taser, or stun gun, is similar in shape to the compact .40-caliber gun the deputy carried, sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilson said.

The victim was listed in satisfactory condition.

The man had been climbed a fig tree and stayed there for hours, talking to himself. Deputies were unsure whether he was intoxicated or psychotic, and they wanted to get him down before he hurt himself or others, Wilson said.

Deputies and rescue workers tried to coax him down for almost two hours, during which he became increasingly hostile, said David Blakeslee, an employee at an auto repair shop nearby.

Blakeslee said the man climbed down on his own after getting shot.

"He said, 'Ow, that hurt. I'm coming down, I'm coming down,'" Blakeslee said.

Ow is right.

AARON SPELLING, 83

Smitty called from the road on Friday to claim the point. This one might be worth two, for a variety of reasons.

Aaron Spelling was responsible for more crap, junk and hooey than any other television producer in history. His bio on IMDB shows the carnage:

The Mod Squad, The Rookies, S.W.A.T., Starsky & Hutch, Family, Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Vega$, Hart to Hart, Casino, Dynasty, T.J. Hooker, Hotel, The Colbys, Crossings, Melrose Place, Burke's Law, Beverly Hills 90210, 7th Heaven, Charmed.

And those were his hits. We conveniently overlook "B.A.D. Cats" and "Strike Force." He wasn't Quinn Martin, that's for sure.

He also produced Tori Spelling, whose reign of fame may finally wane.

MUNI COURT SCANDAL

Funny-money business is alleged at Springfield's Municipal Court. According to a city news release:

The investigation is being conducted by the City Manager’s Office, the Finance Department and the Human Resources Department. The Police Department also has opened an investigation into the matter.

Two Municipal Court employees have been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation. The employees are not being named because the situation is considered a personnel matter at this point.

The amount of funding involved in the discrepancy has not yet been determined. The preliminary investigation indicates it involves a substantial amount of money paid to Municipal Court that may have been misappropriated.

Naturally, they're keeping mum. This sounds juicy.

SITE NEWS

Long-time readers of this typing may remember back to the iBlog days, before that software "solution" came crashing down around our ankles, leaving CHATTER in so many little pieces.

We switched to Blogger, a happy little place with few software glitches and an easy interface. But it's a little static, you know? Not enough options for us, especially given this mad itch we have to podcast and vidcast.

So we're doing a little experimenting -- not enough to make us blind -- and by weekend's end, we hope to have a whiz-bang dot-com CHATTER site up and running. We'll keep this Blogger site going through the transition.

The future address is chattercentral.com -- the best we could do because of these lazy bums. Keep close; we'll keep you posted on the move.

SNEAKY TRICK FROM MISSOURI GOP

Roy Temple at Fired Up Missouri uncovered what he's calling a "stupid GOP political trick" involving the 30th District senate race between Doug Harpool and Norma Champion.

As Temple discovered:

The website www.dougharpool.com is registered to David Barklage, who last time I checked, was not working for Harpool. This practice was edgy and clever ten years ago. It's way beyond played at this point. Barklage should turn the domain name over to Harpool and his campaign.

And before this starts some stupid flame war, if there are Democrats doing this to GOP candidates, which I don't know that to be the case, they should likewise turn over the site to the respective GOP candidate.

David Barklage is the former chief of staff to Lt. Gov Peter Kinder. He's also a committeeman for the Missouri Republican State Committee.

GRASPING AT PHANTOM STRAWS

Some conservatives -- not the smart ones, mind you -- are chuffing with absurd delight because two Republican lawmakers claim weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence,
made the claim and repudiated their own party.

Said Santorum:

"Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist."

Umm -- degraded? And let's see ... 500 shells?

Fox News put it this way:

Offering the official administration response to FOX News, a senior Defense Department official pointed out that the chemical weapons were not in useable conditions.

"This does not reflect a capacity that was built up after 1991," the official said, adding the munitions "are not the WMDs this country and the rest of the world believed Iraq had, and not the WMDs for which this country went to war."

There is also this. President Bush told the country that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction -- and it wasn't 500 shells with degraded nerver gas. It was:

500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands [and] ... upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents.

Those inconvenient facts won't matter to those who listen to talk radio hosts with fake names. They don't understand English. They only know duckspeak.

ROY BLUNT, FILM CRITIC

The congressman from southwest Missouri has already pretended to be a physician, diagnosing Terri Schiavo via videotape and making this statement:

It's clear from watching the tapes of Terri Schiavo that she -- she interacts with people. She's aware of her surroundings. She attempts to communicate.

Alas, Blunt was wrong; an autopsy showed Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state, with massive brain damage, unable to communicate or interact or be aware of her surroundings. And, oh yeah, she was blind.

Now the majority whip of the House of Representatives has switched careers and decided to be an Ebert, albeit one with the legislative clout to scare some Hollywood types.

The Hill reports that Blunt is lending his support to "Facing the Giants," a film about a Christian high school's football team. The movie is scheduled for release in September.

The Motion Picture Association of America gave the movie a PG rating. The filmmakers, hoping for a squeaky-clean G rating, now allege the film was "rated PG for explicit Christian content."

Enter Roy Blunt. According to The Hill:

In a letter sent to MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman last week, Blunt expressed his concern that the ratings system might be seriously flawed if the small-budget feature is deemed too religious by the MPAA’s Classification and Rating Administration.

Blunt placed the questions surrounding "Facing the Giants" in the context of wider concerns among politicians and the public that the MPAA has become more permissive of graphic content in motion pictures.

"This incident raises the disquieting possibility that MPAA considers exposure to Christian themes more dangerous for children than exposure to gratuitous sex and mindless violence," Blunt wrote. "I am sure many of my colleagues share my concern."

In a handwritten note, Blunt added, "Dan — As you know — I like the movies — this issue is a real concern." Blunt’s office and Provident both said the filmmakers did not contact the lawmaker until after he sought answers from the MPAA.

The MPAA has been hit with more than 15,000 e-mails, demanding the movie get a G rating. Impressive spontaneous reaction over a movie that won't be released for at least another couple months.

MPAA officials deny the allegation that "Facing the Giants" got a PG rating because it's blatantly Christian in theme. The Los Angeles Times reports:

Joan Graves, chairwoman of the MPAA's rating board, said Tuesday that the decision had nothing to do with Christianity but was based on football violence as well as the inclusion of mature topics such as depression and infertility.

In a rare interview granted in an attempt to defuse what she calls a controversy born of miscommunication, Graves said that although infertility and depression are involved in the coach's "crisis of faith," the religious story line itself did not raise a red flag.

"If we see somebody on the screen practicing their faith and indicating they have a faith, that's not something we PG," Graves said, adding that the board's goal is simply to alert parents to content in movies that they should research.

"We think our rating is correct," she said of "Facing the Giants." "I think it gives parents an alert that there may be something in the film they'd want to know about."

Graves is trying to reason with social conservatives who've been whipped into a false fury by fact-deprived talk-radio hosts. She's doomed.

As for Roy Blunt: His involvement in this incident raises the disquieting possibility that he considers a movie rating more important than high energy prices, escalating health-care costs or -- speaking of mindless violence -- a war in Iraq. But we're glad to know that he likes the movies.

REMEMBER LARRY LUJACK?

In the black-and-white days, when broadcasters actually had power and personality, a jock named Larry Lujack ruled on WLS-AM in Chicago.

Today, Lujack is close to the sunset. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder writes about the death of "real oldies" in Chicagoland:

Of all the stations on Chicago radio's "watch list" (if there were such a list, that is), the one in most critical condition has to be Clear Channel Radio's "Real Oldies" WRLL-AM (1690).

Nothing is official, but insiders say it could be only a matter of weeks before Clear Channel bosses pull the plug on the format and a talent lineup that includes such personalities as Larry Lujack, Tommy Edwards, Scotty Brink, Tom Murphy and Ron Smith.

Plagued from its inception in 2003 with a substandard signal that barely covers the metropolitan area, "Real Oldies" has languished at the bottom of the ratings all along. Arbitrends released Tuesday show the station tied for 36th place with a 0.5 percent share and with a cumulative weekly audience of 116,200.

Any hopes of growth were dashed when ABC turned its WZZN-FM (94.7) from active rock to "True Oldies" last fall. Despite its lackluster lineup and promotion, WZZN wins by default with its superior signal.

Lujack goes the way of Charlie Tuna and the Real Don Steele. Who needs personality on radio?