Ah yes, a short work week!  After last week, truly needed.  Before you know it, our long weekend will be here.  Just wrapped up this weekend’s fun.  Friday began at the Taste of Rochester as the whole Buzz Brigade joined Mayor Duffy and the crew from Partners and Napier to kick off the WeROC! campaign.  It’s aimed at getting us all to think more positively about Rochester.  We had a nice catered lunch in a tent on the Main St. bridge as the Taste of Rochester kicked into gear.  It really was a fun day for our whole staff.  Then I wandered off to a police retirement party for Sgt. Lou D’Angelo from the RPD.  It was a very fitting tribute for Lou who was a long time Sgt. in the downtown section.  Hung with my bro Terry Sheridan (who treated me to a couple of Coors Lights at Irondequoit CC) before we joined Louie’s bash at the Italian American Community Center in Gates.  Dick Fantanza did a great job as MC, and our hard working rock-n-roll Senator Joe Robach was on the scene as always (this Sen. is e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e….make sure you vote for him in the fall)!  A very nice party in a great building.

Saturday Jason George and I began our tour at Shamrock Jacks for lunch with John behind the bar.  Man, the soup there was tasty.  Then the sun led us down the hill and onto the sand at Marges.  Been there lately?  What a great laid back place to spend a summer afternoon.  Got some great hang time in with Danny and April Daniele, along with Sara and Johnny Halas from the Razorsharks basketball team.  A very cool group to chill with on the north coast.  From there we toured over to Summerville to check the McKeon mob at Olies.  Lots of fun and laughs with Chris Iversen from the RSharks and Dino (SHARKBALL!) from News10 NBC and the Summerville peeps.  Down the river we steamed to Schooners to catch up with Izmari and Joey Dominic.  Plenty of folks were enjoying the great music and atmosphere along the riverside in Charlotte.  Finally we finished up with the Outlaws performing for a huge crowd at the Taste of Rochester.   What a blast……congrats to Mike Davis, Johnny Spinder and the Entercom crew who put on a great festival on Main St.

Sunday I celebrated my God son Billy Kay’s 16th birthday with Tammy and Dino’s family in Irondequoit poolside.  Thats  until the storms veered into the area and caused us to flee to Nick’s Seabreeze Inn where the Giordanos were dining.  Great to see Joe who does a great job running the bar operations at the ESL center.  Joe and his bro Dave were the first to open a sports bar in Rochester when they launched Bathtub Billys about 20 years ago.  The boys were right on target at the Tub and are a great family.  La familia (my weak attempt at italian)!       

Amazing how quickly the weekends fly by in the summer and now we’re already prepping for the upcoming 4th of July weekend.  Best part of the deal is that it’s a short work week and a full long weekend of fun to come.  I’m ready for it….you?

Congrats to my boy Schmidty.  His horse Bruce Tickets won over the weekend, as I had predicted in an earlier blog.  Dreams do come true for Schmidty!

WELCOME HOME to US Army Engineering Company 683 who safely returned from the Middle East this weekend.  They were greeted by hundreds in Canandaigua on Charlotte St. yesterday with a heroe’s welcome.  They worked to successfully comabt I.E.D.s that insurgents plant in Iraq.  Luckily they only sustained one significant injury during their tour abroad.  Great job guys and welcome home.  Thanks for your service and God bless all of our troops!   

- I was out a Darien Lake for a remote on Saturday afternoon. Good times, but have you ever noticed that some people just should where more clothing when they are out in  public? I’m not perfect, don’t get me wrong, but damn. Either I really forgot how much I like Darien Lake. It’s really a fun place to spend a day.

- Speaking of which I ate wayyyyy too much this weekend so my weigh in tomorrow is going to be BAD. Granted, I can not physically eat as much as I used to, so it won’t be the end of days or anything but still. Just anohter reminded that losing weight is hard, even more so in the summer because you’re always out and about and always surrounded by food.

- Jessi and I looked at a couple places to have our wedding. So far an informal thing at Hamlin State Park is leading the way. We’d get married near the water and have the reception in a giant tent. The more I think of it the more I like it. I’m not a very froofy guy. I like having a lot of people around, I like some order and respectability to things, but not so much that it becomes forced and fake. In other words, screw everyone getting gussied up and screw $100 plate dinners. Business casual, buffet, and a lot of alcohol will make everything perfect.

- Many props to Justine who subbed in for Kimberly on Friday. She’s young and a student at Brockport, but has got a lot of potential. You’ll see her out and about with our amazing promotions crew all summer.

- It’ll be good to have Kimberly back tomorrow. Let’s face it, love her or hate her, the show is nothing without the queen of all cougars. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for her as we’ll find out the extent of her cancer on Wednesday afternoon.

- I was surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to us putting a picture of Kimberly’s surgically removed lump on the website. You drones never stop shocking me… first people are pissed that I put up a video of that drag racer’s crash that killed him, then you turn around and applaud a gross blood mass on the website. LOL both are the harsh reality of real life kids, let’s not pretend any of us are on a moral high ground. In my opinion, we should see the harshest of the harsh when it comes to these things. If there is a murder, show the body, if an accident, same thing. Show the things that are disturbing, because that’s the only way people today will get it through their thick skulls. Life is scary, embrace it and accept it. Better to know fear then to live in a bubble pretending it’s not there. That being said, don’t hide in a corner either. Just respect it and move forward.

-  TV really sucks right now. “Burn Notice” is coming back soon though on USA network. I hate TV, but I like this show.

- Is it me or does “Ghost Hunters” seem really fake these days?

- For you’re viewing pleasure…. oh and BTW the F word is dropped so be warned…

June 26th marked the one year anniversary of that tragic traffic accident that took the lives of five Fairport High School graduates.   The families of the five girls killed were all contacted by TV stations for interviews.   Only one family wanted to go on-camera.   The remaining four issued a press statement.   I can’t imagine the pain that still haunts these families.   I lost a sister many years ago, I was in 6th grade and she was going into 4th, who passed away from spinal menengitis and I remember it like it was yesterday.  No parent should have to bury a child.   My father told me you are never the same person after losing a child, you just learn to live with the pain.   Some days the pain hits you harder than others.   I’m sure Thursday was a painful day for many in Fairport.    Did we survive?   Yes.   However, the angels will always be on our minds and in our hearts.   Witness the number of red ribbons you see on cars the next time you drive through the area.    My mother always told me that things happen for a reason.   Now, a year later, I’m still asking myself,  why?   God bless you Sarah, Baily, Hannah, Meredith and Katie.   

I attended an incredible tribute yesterday.  It was in honor of Butch Brand, an Investigator for the Ontario County Sheirffs Office.  Butch was tragically lost over the weekend in a motorcycle accident in Bloomfield.  His funeral was an impressive tribute to him.  His wife Connie gave a touching eulogy about her man since grade school, followed by Butch’s very strong son Alex, who is a rock.  He delivered a beautiful thank you to everyone in attendance, especially the hundereds of police officers who were there.  He was followed by his sister Audrey, who had everyone in tears with a heartfelt letter she wrote to her dad Butch.  I was in awe of these kids who stood strong despite going through the worst moments of their young lives.  They’re in my prayers.

After the service at the United Church, an incredible procession led Butch to the cemetary in Bloomfield, just a short distance from his last ride.  The line of police units stretched for miles, a sight that no one who witnessed it will ever forget.  That’s where it really hit me how police are family!  They are always there for their own.  No matter what, cops backup cops and take care of each other.  I realize this is my second blog in a row extolling the virtues of law enforcement, and trust me I am not trying to suck up to the cops.  It just blows me away about not only how they handle the stress of their jobs for less than huge salaries, but how they handle each other.  And more importantly, how they look out for their fellow officer’s families.  I have the deepest respect for Sheriff Phil Povero, Undersheriff Dave Tillman, Noble, Scooter, Marty and all the good people at the Ontario County Sheriffs Office after watching how they handled a tragic event with style, grace and class.  All the best to them and the Brand family.

I’m also thinking today of the families of the Fairport 5: Hannah Congdon, Bailey Goodman, Meredith McClure, Sara Monnat and Katie Shirley.  It was one year ago today when they were also tragically lost in a horrible accident not far from where we lost Butch.  I’m sure their families will never be the same and I wish them peace.

God bless our troops on this memorable day for these families!       

 - Don Imus is an idiot. Is he a racist? Nah, I don’t think he is. I think he’s a product of the changing times. He’s old… wicked old. So old that I don’t think he really knows how to stay relavent and PC at the same time anymore. For example, when he called the Rutgers ladies “nappy headed ho’s” it was aweful. I don’t think he was or is a racist though, I think he was trying to make a statement like you’d hear in most rap videos these days. He was trying to stay fresh with his terminology and lingo and instead came off as racist. In the most recent case, I think he is telling the truth: he was trying to say that Adam Jones (formerly Pacman) was being racially profiled. Why would he do this? Because that way it looks like he is hip to the idea that blacks are singled out when it comes to crime. Tat way he looks relevant and more importantly, not racist. Instead he bumbled over his words and looks like an idiot.

There comes a time in this business where you get too old to be in it for 4 hours a day as the focal point. It’s kind of like when a 40 something is doing talk radio on a teen station. It’s like Kurt Loder on MTV. Kurt was a pioneer on MTV back in the 80s, but now he’s old. They try making him look young, but if they were to feature him on something like TRL (Total Request Live) everyday he would struggle to stay relevant because he’s no longer young and simply wouldn’t get it. So instead, he does little briefs for MTV news. It works: he’s an adult looking guy, older, and more credible in young people’s eyes in terms of news. He got too old for the full time on air gig so e evolved to a smaller on air, bigger behind the scenes role.

Imus is in a similar boat. His audience is older, but still younger than him. He can no longer find the true edge of what is pushing the envelope and instead  falls over the edge right into Al Sharpton’s greedy and eager hands. He just can’t do it anymore.  Don’t get me wrong: radio legend. There comes a time however what you have to look yourself in the mirror and accept what is reality: You’re too old. Move over, let the young guys take the reigns gramps.

Now, that being said, the good news for Imus is WABC isn’t going to can him. I applaud them for that, because Imus really did nothing wrong aside from be an idiot, which everyone in radio is inherently anyway. Plus, they are smart enough to know this negativity can only bring a ratings boost.  That may seem unethical to a lot of you who find Imus as a racist, but in my producer mind it’s genius and you run with it because that’s talk radio. There is very little ethic in talk radio: by design there’s a whole lot of controversy and differing opinions. There is no such thing as fair and balanced media. If you want non-biased go to NPR, PBS, or C-SPAN, respectfully. Even “nice” shows have controversy and a bias. So in terms of this industry, Imus’ crap is genius. In terms of being just a listener though, which I can take a step back and give my opinion as a listener and not producer, he’s just an old and busted idiot who should retire.

-Hausman challenged my age theory this morning, with good reason too. He said that if Imus is just too old to do his job, then what about himself and the other people in our building who are not exactly young? Do all of them have to be removed? It was great because he caught me off guard and I didn’t have a good answer. Now I do: at some point, yes, you do have to be removed. Radio is 10 years behind where it is supposed to be because old money bags and old thinking put us in this position. One of the problems with the industry is we have a lack of forward thinking and too many people in the good old boys club.

Hausman is a great talent and an amazing newsman. I respect the hell out him and always try to learn something from him, though he has no idea I do that. I look up to him, but we all have a shelf life. Is he expired? NO, not at all, but there are people in this market working on certain shows, that will be left nameless, who simply don’t relate well to their audience. Because of their past success they continue on geting paid way more then that are worth to basically delay the inevitable and hurt the industry. These people need to be removed in favor of developing younger, fresher, quicker, more tech savvy talents who exist in over abundance: they just need the chance. There are a TON of young talents in this building alone who could be awesome with their own show and the right direction. Believe it or not, I’m NOT talking about me either, I’m just OK at best. So my answer to Haus… love ya, but move over old man! LOL Not you personally though buddy, you rock.

Of course.. I’m a 26 year old punk ass who will someday be sitting in Hausman’s seat making his argument.

The next time you’re feeling sorry for yourself and think that life has dealt you a bad hand.   Take a look at this video and you’ll count your blessings and be inspired.   This is so inspirational …

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

Now, get your sorry ass away from this computer and go for a walk or run.

Lois, Kimberly’s mother, called in this morning to update us on Kimberly’s surgery yesterday at the Wilmot Cancer Center.   They removed a lump about the size of a quarter.   Nothing else seemed to jump out at them during the surgery.   Kimberly is recovering at home.   She’ll return to Wilmot on Friday for a post-op.  She also has 8-weeks of radiation that the doctor has recommended.   So, we’ll know more Monday when she returns to The Breakfast Buzz.    Continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks for all your support.

Here’s breaking news for ya: I am now officially a crime victim!  After turning off the mic yesterday afternoon here, in the middle of a high level meeting (a rare event for me indeed), my cell phone alerted me to the fact that the Rochester Police Dept. was looking for me.  Most times, that would be good news cuz I love the RPD.  But on June 23, 2008 it wasn’t good news.  The RPD was at my house because someone had broken in by kicking in my front door.  This was quite shocking because I live in a beautiful area of the city, and crime is a rarity.  And, it occured in broad daylight, rather brazen in a busy area.  But, thanks to the quick response of the RPD, led by Executive Deputy Chief George Markert (a very good man), and because my alarm from Shield Alarms did its job, the intruder fled before getting anything.  Needless to say, the RPD made a huge difference to me, so I thank ‘em all, especially Chief Markert, Sgt. Michael Callari, Officers Angelo Mercone and Eric Duckworth and the other cops I didn’t get to meet who quickly responded to the alarm and secured my home.   It absolutely made a difference and I thank everybody at the RPD for their fine work and service!

So, what do you do when you’re standing there with a door that’s been shattered by a few swift kicks through two locks and dead bolts?  Since I have never gone through a traumatic moment like this, I relied on my close friends for advice.  Former RPD Chief Tim Hickey came to the scene, as did my lifelong bud Tim McKenna from Canandaigua.  Needless to say, my home is now more secure than ever thanks to these guys who I love!

It’s an odd feeling when you’re victimized by random crime.  It absolutely makes you stop to think.  Think about how you take public safety for granted.  Really, where we would be without the cops?  Who would have been there so quickly to save my property?  Only men and women who care about where you and they live.  I am really thankful for that, and their courage to just rush into my house when they don’t know what could be waiting inside.  I always wanted to be a cop when I was a kid, since I was exposed to law enforcement at such an early age with my dad as Mayor of Canandaigua, and my uncle as District Attorney, and later a judge.  The only thing that kept me from doing ”the job” was the fact that I’d probably let everybody go (and a cops job is to protect, serve and arrest people).  So, what a great partner I would have been for the brave souls who put on a badge and gun everyday?  Cops are much better people than me.  And another thing I never want to take for granted is my close friends, the Twin Tims.  Hickey and McKenna got it done for me on a minute’s notice.  Love ‘em like brothers!  By the way, Tim McKenna is so good at what he does, don’t even think about trying to break into my house again.  Your ass would end up in jail very quickly, with assistance from Tim Hickey!

So, God bless Dep. Chief Markert and the entire RPD, God bless the Twin Tims, and God bless our troops, who we should never take for granted. 

Another weekend in the books.  Very interesting and entertaining.  Rolled out of the Buzz studios here in High Falls Friday afternoon and turned east.  Peter Whitbeck and I joined the golf crew at Brookwoods Golf Club (formerly Ontario) to honor John Asa Post, hurtling towards marriage to the beautiful Heidi.  Posty’s A*Team of Piglets were tearin up the course like Tiger on steroids!  The legends were all in attendance, including the entire Post clan led by Papa Jack. Gates Brown, Terry Sheridan, Mark O’Connor (nobody beats an O’Connor deal),  Thomas and Jose Huber, the Geneseo hockey frat consisting of Shoes Altier, Keith Hyde and Eds, Golf God John Kircher, Wilmo…….all the goons were there having a blast for Posty.   Wisely the tour veered off to Thirstys in downtown Pittsford.  Laughs ensued as we ran into The Honorable Anthony Daniele and his gorgeous irish bride Erin.  The Danieles may be the classiest family in town, well trained by Flora and Mario!  No wonder Marios and Bazil restaurants have been so successful for so long.  Love that sauce, and more importantly, LOVE that Daniele family!

Saturday it was off to the north coast of America for ShaferFest.  Liz and Jim Shafer hosted an annual Irondequoit tradition of food, drinks and fun.  The rain certainly did not slow down the fun for the squad from BPD and the St. Paul FD.  The FD Prez and Chief did a great job of calling out the Buzz tunes as they attempted to Beat The Mayor in music trivia.  Better luck next time suckers!    From there, Paddy and supermodel/supermom Amy McKeon, along with the irresistable Sara from snazz75.com and her hubby Mike McKeon kidnapped me and dragged me to Silk O’Loughlins.  We all enjoyed the special McKeon brothers heckling while keeping a close watch on Harborfest across the river from Olies.

After thoroughly enjoying the north coast, my GPS tracking sent me east to Fairport for yet another stag event (what’s up with all my friends gettin’ hitched this summer?). Had the pleasure of toasting the Honorable Vincent Esposito, a fine county legislator who has the extreme fortune of marrying my sweet friend Jennifer Johnson from News10 NBC.  Shamis and Damien from Mulconrys were the early hosts, who then passed the baton down the street to Shorts and TFoots.  Dominic Esposito was the mature influence, along with John, Charley and Foot.  Needless to say, Fairport was very good to the Esposito clan.  

I figured since I had covered the north and east sides of town, the west side was fair game for Sunday’s adventures.  Hooked up with Kimberly, Beck, Pat The Producer (and his wonderful fiance Jessie) Mike Davis, Spinder, Dave Savage and the Buzz Batallion at the Dakota on Roosevelt Highway in Hilton.  It was a great event to raise $$$$$ for the Vietnam Veterans Chapter 20.  What a great crowd and grand time!  My first visit to the Dakota was a great time, thanks to Dave Danzig the owner, Tammy the bartender and Ken “The Finger” Moore who helped to organize it all.  Special props to the New York State Police and Monroe Co. Sheriffs (led by my man Sheriff Pat O’Flynn) who escorted over 300 bikers on a rolling tour for the Vets.  Met some true heroes there from the US Marine Corps, including Staff Sgt. “Sexy” (Kimberly’s nickname) Joshua Singleton and possibly the biggest Marine on the planet Darren Blocker.  Thank God for their service, and for them being so nice to me, as the son of a Marine who was awarded the Purple Heart.  Guess that’s why they were so respectful and genuine.  And, as an added bonus, I partied with some genuine Kougars, Kate and Kory (didn’t know you could be classified as a Kougar in your 20s, but apparently I haven’t read their playbook).  All went well until I broke Kory’s cig in half. Hey, just trying to save one life at a time!  Somehow the Kougars put up with me, as did a couple of beautiful Michelles> Dennee and Forte (that Stan is a lucky Forte to have her).   Why is it all Michelles that I know are drop dead beautiful?  Sometimes I wish my name was Michelle.  To celebrate such a successful event, Lauri and Mike Davis entertained our work team at their cottage near Hamlin.   Overall, on a scale of 1-100, I’d rate the weekend 175 (can a scale go that high?)!

The only downer for this weekend was the loss of Investigator Butch Brand from the Ontario County Sheriffs Dept.  His partner Jim “Noble” Miller was my football coach in 6th grade, and he, along with the entire Sheriffs Dept led by Sheriff Phil Povero are certainly mourning the loss of one of their own.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Butch’s family and all the fine people from the OCSD.  I will join them at Butch’s funeral this Wed. in Canandaigua to salute his service and life.  God bless him and God bless our troops!                                          

I went and saw the rock God that is Tom Petty this past Saturday.

It was raining cats and dogs. There was so much lightning I thought maybe we pissed off God. There were drugs, drunken idiots, and people peeing on the lawn fence.

It was legendary.

What makes Tom Petty amazing is his following. Here you have an old man, kind of on his last legs, winding down his career who has more young people into him then gen x’ers. Here I was thinking it would be an older crowd. Instead it was one of the most amazing mixes of demographics I’ve ever seen.

The best part of the show was when not once, but twice, lightning bolts knocked the power out. Petty’s reaction: he looked around, looked at his band, the power came back on, and they picked up right where they left off both times. He never skipped a beat, minus the 1 minute of powerlessness.

The coolest part about Petty to me is his laid back style. Too often bands put on more of a show then a concert. Pyrotechnics, back flips, guitar tricks; don’t get me wrong they are cool, but if you sound like hell who really cares. Petty’s stage was simple yet gorgeous. Old School, yet new school. It was like a waterfall of lights with big screens behind it to boot. For once the stage actually added to the performance rather than overtake it, which happens with a lot of bands these days. What made it perfect though was Petty sounded as good live as he does on any album he has put out, which is unheard of in music these days. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he is very humble, thanking the audience regularly. He just plays at the expert level you’d expect from a man who has been there, done all of that.

It was truly an honor to see Tom Petty; something I will never forget.