MPR eyes Lydon for national radio show
AIRING THINGS OUT It's just possible that Chris Lydon's current gig as a fill-in host on Minnesota Public Radio's "Midmorning" show could lead to bigger things. According to spokeswoman Suzanne Perry, MPR -- which produces such significant national programming as "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Marketplace" -- is starting to think about developing a national show about politics and blogging that would be hosted by Lydon, the former host of WBUR-FM's "The Connection." "We're always exploring new national programs," Perry said. Reached yesterday in Minnesota, Lydon said, "First, it's not that cold. Second, there are real radio professionals [here]. Third, they're wildly interested, as I am, in the Internet extensions of media." PUTTING THE NEW ENGLAND IN NECN Regional cable network NECN announced yesterday that it has opened a full-time news bureau in Portland, Maine, bringing its number of New England bureaus to four. The Portland bureau will be staffed by reporter Kevin Kelley and videographer Dave Brosemer, and will operate out of the ABC af-filiate studios, WMTW-TV, NECN said. Kelley is a Maine native who joins NECN from WCSH-TV, NBC's affiliate in Portland. Brosemer previously worked at NECN's Newton headquarters.READ ON What's actor John Malkovich reading these days? Our guess is "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri. At least that's what everyone else in Cambridge has on their nightstands. The book by the former BU student and professor (and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Interpreter of Maladies") is the 2004 selection of the citywide book club called Cambridge Reads.SIGHTINGS Yes, that was Sully Erna, lead singer of Godsmack, stopping by the FleetCenter with kids in tow over the weekend to check out another Sulley, as in the furry blue star of "Disney on Ice Monsters Inc." Sully (the singer, not the monster) and the rest of his bandmates will be sticking around Boston for a special acoustic performance at the FleetCenter Feb. 23, after the Bruins-Florida game. . . . And Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley had dinner the other night at 224 Boston Street in Dorchester. And yes, we asked, which parish is that in? It's St. Margaret's.STATELY THANK YOU Three State Street employees -- Donna Bias of Independence, Mo., Herby Duverne of Somerville, and Leigh Gledhill of Quincy -- were honored the other night for their "significant and sustained volunteer contributions to nonprofit charitable organizations in their communities." The recipients of the 2003 William S. Edgerly Community Service Awards were given kudos by Edgerly, chairman emeritus of
Mark Jurkowitz and Suzanne C. Ryan of the Globe staff contributed to this column. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.
