A former Travis County, Texas sheriff is charged with illegally operating an unlicensed FM station. The FCC has ordered Raymond Frank to pay $10,000 for “willful and repeated violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934.” KXAN-TV reports Frank is going to fight the charges, saying since he’s a resident of the “Republic of Texas, he is not subject to the laws of the United states or the Commission’s Rules.” Frank also said “the Commission lacks jurisdiction over his actions, because he operated a radio station solely within the boundaries of the State of Texas.” Frank, who ran the Travis County Sheriff’s Office from 1972 to 1981, had operated illegally for two years and was easy to find. He had a radio tower in his backyard.

Regent Communications names Ben Hoffman, formerly of Clear Channel, to the newly created position of Director of Interactive Sales … In Corpus Christi, Texas, KEYS-AM (1440) moves afternoon local talk host Eric Von Wade to mornings, replacing Bob Jones, who Radio-Info reported last week was cut loose. The rest of the station’s daytime programs are now syndicated … Justin Bryant is the new PD at Fredericksburg, Virginia’s WWUZ-FM (96.9) & WVBX-FM (99.3), replacing Victor Starr … The holiday format flip of the day: Bay City, Michigan’s WHNN-FM (96.1) drops “Classic Hits” for “Christmas Classics” … WCAP-AM (980) in Lowell will air University Of Massachusetts/Lowell men’s hockey, with Bob Ellis & Chaz Scoggins calling the action … After a two-decade run doing traffic in Philadelphia and overnights on KYW-AM (1060), MetroNetworks reporter Tom “Hey, Bud” Collins is leaving radio for a job with PENNDOT … If you've been stuck on the Capital Beltway, you know this voice. WTOP-FM (103.5) traffic reporter “Beltway Bob” Marbourg celebrates his 30th anniversary reporting traffic in the nation’s capital.

Wilbur was cut loose last Thursday after his morning show on Seattle’s KVI-AM (570), with the company citing his contract and ratings. The longtime Seattle talk show host tells a different story on his blog. Wilbur says three years ago, he was offered a 50% salary increase, more than he was expecting, and four months ago, he sent a memo to management saying “I was willing to take a cut in salary, because I understood the financial situation that Fisher (Communications) was in.” Wilbur says that memo went unanswered. Wilbur also questioned ratings as a reason he was fired, writing “We were ahead of Glenn Beck,” and “We were the highest-rated daypart on the station, consistently outperforming the rest of the (syndicated) shows on the station.” Wilbur was replaced, at least temporarily, by the syndicated Laura ingraham. Wilbur added that at least one large advertiser has dropped their commitment with KVI due to Wilbur’s departure, and questioned why management did not keep Wilbur’s firing a private matter. KVI, which has taken some heat over the Wilbur firing, has gone as far as creating a special number to call for listener comments on the matter. More comments, from Radio-Info Seattle-Board users, here.

Daytona-area WELE-AM (1380) station owner Doug Wilhite is facing over a dozen charges, including contributing to the delinquency of a minor and showing obscene material to a minor. The Daytona News-Journal reports during testimony Tuesday that a 16-year old boy admitted that when he was 15, he and Wilhite engaged in sex acts together. Wilhite faces more than 30 years in prison if convicted on the charges. Aaron Delgado, one of Wilhite’s attorneys, said the alleged victim is not credible, and “There’s no physical or forensic or DNA evidence at all.”

He'll program urban “Hot 104.1” WHHL. Previously, Johnson was the long time PD of Cox Urban WBHJ Birmingham. He replaces Boogie D, now at Radio One’s urban WPHI “100.3 the Beat” in Philadelphia. Johnson had been consulting radio stations and syndicated programs since he left Cox in September 2007. His radio career started in his hometown of Miami, and later brought him to Orlando. For more Urban news, visit the Radio-Info.com Urban pages.

Cherry Creek owns three stations: classic rock KRKX (94.1), “Today’s New Rock/Zone 96.3” KRZN, and news/talk KBLG (910). While buyer Connoisseur Media has two FMs – CHR “Planet 106.7” KPLN and classic hits “My 105.9” KWMY (the former country/rock “Bar” KPBR). Connoisseur will start operating the Zone and KBLG on Friday (November 20) and then KRKX on December 1. That’s necessary because on November 30, Connoisseur is ending its LMA of Chaparral’s 92.5, where it’s been operating “My 92.5” for the past three years. Otherwise, Connoisseur would be over the FCC’s local-market limit for FMs, with five. No new format yet at 92.5, which the Billings Gazette says will be simulcasting with 105.9 through the end of November. Joe Schwartz of Cherry Creek Radio says “The Billings market needed a consolidation of ownership….we're pleased that our good friends at Connoisseur had the interest and resources to take on our stations and to continue serving the community.” No price announced for the deal brokered by Kalil & Co.

OFCOM, which oversees the U.K.’s broadcasting companies, says the state of the economy means it’s appropriate to ease the local cross-media ownership rules, which do not allow for “owning all three from the following – local newspapers with over 50% of the local market share, a local radio station and a regional Channel 3 (ITV) license,” says the BBC. In addition, OFCOM wants to relax what it calls “multiplex ownership rules” for the DAB service and the local radio ownership rules. New limits could lead to a drastic consolidation of radio, allowing a large number of local commercial radio stations to be owned by one operator in a specific local area. Any changes to the media ownership rules must be passed by Parliament and made into law by the government.

In a follow-up to a Radio-Info report on Sunday, Gilford, New Hampshire’s WEMJ-AM (1490) weekend talk show host Doug Lambert formally apologized for the anti-gay remarks he made against the state Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley. Lambert wrote a statement on his website, saying, “what I said is something that never should have been said in any kind of a public setting … My remarks were not helpful to protecting the rights and the freedoms I fight for every day.” Following his comments, Lambert’s “Meet the New Press” show on WEMJ was canceled, and the state’s Republican party condemned Lambert’s comments, calling them “completely inappropriate, offensive and hurtful.” As previously reported by Radio-Info.com, Lambert’s comments were not made on the radio station, but came after the show on a webcam which was still feeding a video stream.

Five men and two women were brought before a judge and charged with incitement to hatred and running a criminal organization, says the German newspaper Deutsche Welle. The internet radio station they ran was called European Brotherhood Radio, which had been broadcasting “music that included hate slogans against minorities and denied the Holocaust.” Denying the Holocaust is classified as a hate crime in Germany. Authorities also allege the seven arrested also had accessed information on the internet on how to construct explosive devices.

The CEO has a wide-ranging 12-minute sitdown with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business and talks about the satellite radio business model (healthy, now that the rivals are merged). About politics (he thinks Obama is “a great leader” but wishes he’d focus on jobs). And his own future. There’s speculation about Mel Karmazin leaving satellite radio to run a merged NBC Universal under Comcast, but he says although “I would be perfect” to run it, “there is no chance” he would leave Sirius XM. He says “what I don’t want to do is run another large media company”, as he did at Viacom under Sumner Redstone. Cavuto asks about the large paychecks for Sirius XM talent such as Howard Stern, and Karmazin says that’s how you manage the big personalities – “by paying them a lot of money.”

It’s Friday, December 4 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, and will attract radio professionals, as well as ad agency and client reps. This year’s theme is “NYMRAD Yearbook”, showcasing pictures of New York radio events and personalities. The radio advocacy group has lowered the price for tickets from $175 to $100 and they’ve got “great raffle prizes and a tropical vacation” to give away. The famous holiday party attracts interested people from other markets, not just New York. It runs 1-4:30pm and there’s more information at NYMRAD’s website.

Visionary Related Entertainment has been the focus of a struggle for control since late 2003, when John Detz and backer Jason Wolff of Frontier Radio Investors got into business together. Now there’s a settlement with the help of a court in Maui that divides up the assets. There was an earlier settlement in August 2008, but Frontier quickly filed a counter-claim. The eventual solution, reached with the aid of a retired judge: Detz keeps the stations in Maui, such as Hawaiian/reggae “Q103” KNUQ. Frontier gets the VRE stations in Oahu, Kauai, Molokai and Hilo. There’s also a $500,000 note payable to Frontier and some other terms of the latest deal, which you can see in the FCC filing.

It proposes to do that by selling “private placement” notes to institutional buyers under Rule 144A. Salem’s goal is to pay off its credit facilities and also buy back nearly $90 million in senior subordinated notes due in 2010. To accomplish that, it will need the $300 million in proceeds from the private placement, plus a new $30 million senior secured facility and $27 million from cash on hand. Camarillo, California-based Salem Communications specializes in Christian teaching, conservative talk, contemporary Christian music and some Spanish-language formats.

The new syndicated show hosted by San Diego radio veterans Tony Randall and Kris Rochester has debuted with six affiliates, all of them Cumulus stations, and the promise of four more stations “coming soon.” The initial six are: WWFF Huntsville, Ala., KAYD Beaumont, Texas; KTOP Topeka, Kan.; WKAK Albany, Ga.; WKOR Columbus/Starkville, Miss.; and WPCK Green Bay, Wis.

Just six months after celebrating the show’s 10th anniversary, Premiere Radio Networks has quietly cancelled “The Jeff Foxworthy Countdown,” effective Dec. 26. The four-hour weekly show, hosted by comedian Foxworthy, debuted in 1999 and was heard on nearly 300 affiliates, according to Premiere’s Web site, where the show is still listed. The program counted down the top 30 country hits, interspersed with artist interviews. The show airs in such markets as Dallas, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. In its place, Premiere is offering affiliates “The Crook & Chase Countdown” in markets where it’s available. Radio-Info.com readers were the first to pick up on the show’s cancellation.