Bradenton girl makes 'American Juniors' group
By Times Staff and Wire Reports
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 13, 2003
Danielle White of Bradenton was named Tuesday night as the final member of the five-member group being formed by Fox's American Juniors.
Danielle, 11, was the top votegetter among the remaining six contestants after their performances on the Aug. 5 show. The other group members are sisters Taylor and Tori Thompson of Santa Maria, Calif.; Chauncey Matthews of San Diego; and Lucy Hale of Memphis.
The group's first single, One Step Closer, was due out Tuesday. The show's compilation album, with songs by each of the 10 finalists, is to be released next month.
Fox News sues over book title
Fox News Channel has sued liberal humorist Al Franken and the Penguin Group to stop them from using the phrase "fair and balanced" in the title of Franken's upcoming book.
Filed Monday in Manhattan, the trademark infringement lawsuit seeks to force a Penguin publisher, Dutton books, to rename the book, now called Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. It also asks for unspecified damages.
Fox News registered "Fair & Balanced" as a trademark in 1995, the lawsuit said.
Dutton spokeswoman Lisa Johnson accused Fox News' parent company, News Corp., of trying to suppress the book, due out next month.
Rocco's reality: health code violations
The New York establishment featured in NBC's The Restaurant was hit with six health code violations after an inspection last week, according to the Smoking Gun Web site.
Rocco's on 22nd, chef Rocco DiSpirito's chaotic yet expensive Italian-American joint, was cited July 29 for "evidence of live flies" in the kitchen prep area and for keeping two large metal spoons stored in a "container of greasy stagnant water."
The restaurant was also cited for having three moist cloths "soiled with old food particles and not stored in sanitizing solution." Another violation resulted from an employee restroom that was not equipped with the required "self-closing door."
"I take the health code very seriously," DiSpirito told Newsday on Tuesday. "We are working on some of these minor violations. I know exactly what has to be done, and we will do it."
According to NBC, about 7.5-million Americans on Sunday watched The Restaurant.
Lane: Return to "Producers' will happen
Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick will reprise their starring roles in Broadway's The Producers for three months, starting on New Year's Eve. "We've been talking about it, and I'm certain that it will happen," Lane told the New York Post. He then quipped, "And I had nothing to do on New Year's Eve, anyway."
No contracts with the two stars have been signed, and tickets to their performances are not on sale, Playbill.com reports. The show consistently sold out when Lane and Broderick were in the leads, but it hasn't been such a hot ticket since they left after originating the roles.
Kendrick latest to leave WFTS-Ch. 28
He's the fourth anchor to leave the station this year, but WFTS-Ch. 28 morning and noontime anchor Bob Kendrick said the outlet's ratings woes have nothing to do with his decision to accept a job as a primary anchor at KUSA-TV in Denver.
In fact, the KUSA job was a highly-sought after position - offering the top job at a well-regarded local news outlet which has led the ratings race for years in Denver, the nation's 18th-largest TV market (Tampa/St. Petersburg is 13th).
"KUSA is one of the five best local newsrooms in the country. ... These are dream jobs that don't come along every day," said Kendrick, 42, who has held a range of positions at WFTS since it began newscasts in 1994. "Nobody would have turned this down."
Kendrick expects to depart WFTS Oct. 3, starting out at KUSA on mornings, before moving to the station's 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts (he'll join another WFTS alum, morning sportscaster Drew Soicher).
Joined by wife Kealy and 8-month-old daughter Lucy, he's following weekend anchor Kelly Swoope, sports anchor Jay Crawford and primary anchor Martie Tucker in departing WFTS - which had kept its founding anchor team largely intact before this year.
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