Ebersol survives plane crash
NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol survived a plane crash yesterday near the Montrose, CO regional airport, but was reported to be in serious condition at a hospital. At least two others on the charter plane were killed. Ebersol's wife, actress Susan St. James, was not on board the plane. KUSA-TV Denver reported that the jet carrying six people burst into flames after crashing through a fence as it attempted to take off from the airport, which serves the Telluride Ski Area.
Limbaugh attorneys file to keep medical records sealed
Rush Limbaugh attorney Roy Black has filed a formal request for the Florida State Supreme Court to keep his medical records sealed. Last month, the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected Limbaugh's claim that his privacy rights trumped investigators' power to seize his medical records. Investigators seized Limbaugh's medical records last November to see if the conservative radio commentator engaged in "doctor shopping," or illegally visiting several doctors to receive duplicate prescriptions. They obtained search warrants after learning that he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. Limbaugh has not been charged with a crime. He admitted to his addiction to pain medication last October, saying it stemmed from severe back pain. It could take the Florida Supreme Court up to a year to make their ruling.
WBIX station sale is off; psychiatric evaluation set for Bleidt
Brad Bleidt will undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if he is competent to stand trial. In the mean time, the prospective buyer of Bleidt's WBIX-AM Boston Christopher Egan has nixed the sale. That will to clear the way for a court-appointed receiver to recover assets of the investors who were cheated by Bleidt.
A federal judge ordered Bleidt last week to undergo the evaluation after he was arrested last week at a hospital and charged with mail fraud (11/16 RBR Daily Epaper #224).
He's charged with stealing tens of millions of dollars from his financial clients; he appeared in U.S. District Court wearing a neck brace, having attempted suicide after mailing tape-recorded confessions to federal regulators. Bleidt also had spinal surgery to fuse three vertebrae after he broke his neck in the suicide attempt.
The judge said she would wait to receive results of the examination before scheduling a further hearing.
KKJZ-FM LA to get signal boost
It will be quieter than usual in the Chuck Niles Studio at KKJZ-FM, on the California State University Long Beach campus much of the day on 12/7.
The station will go dark about 10:00 a.m. that day. As the signal ceases, KKJZ contractors will be climbing the 160-foot broadcast tower on Signal Hill to begin modifying the transmitter antenna and orienting it properly. If all goes as planned, the radio dial will again light up at K-JAZZ by 4:00 p.m.
That planned six-hour quiet period is the first step in a months-long process to increase the station's power to 30,000 watts maximum, a much-needed upgrade for one of America's top straight-ahead jazz stations. The signal increase and some planned studio upgrades will cost about 250,000. At this point, about half of that cost has been recouped, thanks to a KKJZ online listening audience that stretches across the country.
Listeners will notice a difference once the process is completed. Indoor reception will improve, there will be a stronger signal in the existing coverage area, as well as improved coverage up and down the coast toward West Los Angeles and into Orange County. In addition, the power increase will protect the signal from encroachment from stations close to KKJZ on the dial.
"At 6,500 watts, KKJZ's signal doesn't have the clarity and robustness that jazz listeners need and deserve," said GM Judy Jankowski. She points out that KKJZ will also be converting to HD Radio.
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