Troy Dungan leaves Channel 8 today


WFAA weather man Troy Dungan ends his 33-year career of predicting the weather today.
WFAA.com has a number of tribute videos for him online, including one from the Why Guy who talks to Dungan about his trademark bow ties.
For years WFAA has told us to “Trust Troy” and in that regard there’s also an interesting video from WFAA on who Dungan puts his trust in.
See more online

Highland Park gives presidential money

Highland Park smack dab in the middle of Dallas has given the most money per Texas zip code to presidential candidates this year.
Surprised?
Here’s how HP’s funds stack up:

Rudolph W. Giuliani (R) $166,975
John Edwards (D) $107,474
Mitt Romney (R) $83,300
Barack Obama (D) $78,300
John McCain (R) $77,600
Hillary Clinton (D) $47,600
Bill Richardson (D) $17,300
Ron Paul (R) $14,350
Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D) $10,770
Tom Tancredo (R) $4,600
Christopher J. Dodd (D) $2,100
Mike Huckabee (R) $2,000
Sam Brownback (R) $1,250
Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D) $1,000

In the Dallas area Giuliani has received $1,276,975.
Huckabee has received $79,300 and placed 9th on the local list, which looks to be 4th out of GOP candidates.

So far Rudy Giuliani is the top money getter in the state as well with $3,446,764 total.
Huckabee comes in 9th with $178,949 or 5th out of GOP candidates. Not bad for someone who’s supposedly not ranked in the top tier. Ron Paul came in 4th with $337,868.
Find out more

Locally, in the Waxahachie 75165 zip code, John Edwards and Barack Obama are the only candidates who have officially received money (more than $100 per donation) for this year’s campaign. Edwards has received $5,200, compared to Obama with $1,755.

Nationally, Huckabee is 8th in money received with $765,873 and $437,169 on hand, in addition to $31,045 in debts. First place GOP money raiser Mitt Romney has raised $20,997,715 but only has $12,121,554 on hand and has debt of $8,945,028.

Great music and the news

OrangeNoiseRadio is still waiting to hear more about the negotiations between webcasters, NPR and SoundExchange over the royalty rates webcasters must pay for music programming.
We’re standing by Live365 in agreement that artists should be paid royalties, but Internet radio stations shouldn’t pay more than their fair share. Terrestrial and satellite radio stations should have to pay the same high royalties proposed by the Copyright Royalty Board on March 2, 2007, or Internet radio stations should receive a the same lower rate as other stations.
I encourage you to find out more about the latest updates, including a last minute deal made by congress to keep the stations on the air. Visit savenetradio.org for more info.
In the meantime, OrangeNoiseRadio is proud to announce we’ve added an hourly news broadcast from USA Radio Network as well as the Amber Alert System.
Now you can hear your favorite music, 24 hours a day and stay up to date on the latest news every hour between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Why listen anywhere else?
Check it out and show your support by becoming a VIP listener at: orangenoiseradio.com

Huckabee’s online progress

From the Mike Huckabee campaign today (via email):

As a blogger for Huckabee, the campaign has asked me to share with you some insights into it’s online efforts. My firm managed the redesign of the campaign website www.mikehuckabee.com.
First, the campaign is headed in a postive direction online and in the third quarter you can expect continued, steady growth. That said there is obviously significant room for improvement.
The statistics below are a snapshot of some of the campaigns online activity. Without giving away too much they do indicate growing momentum.
A look at Mike Huckabee’s 2nd Quarter Online Results:

  • 35% of 2nd quarter fundraising report came from online contributions
  • 378% increase in number of unique online visitors over the first quarter (note: first quarter statistics are for February and March only, this still represents a sharp increase)
  • 81.9% of dollars raised online came in last 6 weeks of quarter (post South Carolina debate).
  • 42.3% of dollars raised online came in last 14 days of quarter.
  • Bloggers for Huckabee list roughly doubled.
  • The average contribution for the barber pole campaigns was $48 despite asking for minimum of $15. The barber pole technique and the obvious momentum gained from each successive debate performance resulted in a 404% increase in the number of online contributions.

Looking forward, the key to continued growth is building a vibrant list. The initial indications are good for this quarter. In the first two weeks of July, with the switch to www.mikehuckabee.com the campaign has seen a dramatic increase in traffic.
Later today, I will share with you some of the campaign’s online goals for the third quarter and discuss ways your blog can assist the campaign in reaching them.

Benoit had high testosterone levels

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Former pro wrestler Chris Benoit had elevated levels of testosterone in his system when he died last month, indicating he had recently injected the hormone, a GBI toxicological report released Tuesday shows.
In addition, the report said, Benoit, his wife and their young son all had traces of Xanax, a common tranquilizer, in their blood. Officials said the boy was sedated before Benoit killed him.
Benoit and his wife, Nancy, also had traces of hydrocodone, a narcotic pain medication, the report said.
Federal prosecutors have indicted Benoit’s personal physician, Phil Astin III of Carrollton, on seven counts of overprescribing medications to at least two unidentified patients. Officials have said Benoit is not one of those patients but the investigation into Astin continues. Astin is under house arrest in Carrollton after being released on $150,000 bond.

New magazines coming to North Texas

According to the Neotrib, Danny Gentry, a 1986 Italy High School graduate and current Midlothian resident, recently founded a company called FutureTex Publishing to bring several new publications to the North Texas Market.
Gentry is the son of former Italy Press owners and operators Bill and Mildred Gentry.
Gentry just launched his first magazine, Today’s Senior Magazine.
Today’s Senior Magazine will be available FREE in over 200 locations across the Metroplex. Look for it in your local banks, senior centers, retirement communities, restaurants, hospitals, physician’s and dentist offices, and many more popular senior destinations.
FutureTex Publishing was recently honored with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the Midlothian Chamber of Commerce welcoming them to Chamber membership and introducing them to the area business community.
In addition to being the distributor of Today’s Senior Magazine, FutureTex is soon to be the publisher of a new magazine for north Texans — The Chalkboard. The Chalkboard is an education and family magazine designed to help bridge the gap between parents and schools.
It’s amazing when you think how saturated our market is with various media outlets compared to the population. Crazy I tell ya. Crazy.