Christopher O’Riley; classical radio in Anchorage; grant to N.J. station

A few items gleaned from here and there:

Christopher O’Riley, host of public broadcasting’s From the Top, discusses performing the music of Elliott Smith and Nick Drake: "Elliott’s songs work because they address a whole range of emotional problems. Each song was its own world. With Nick’s music, what interests me most are his instrumentals." O’Riley has some tapings and live performances coming up.

KLEF, a commercial classical station in Anchorage, Alaska, tied for second place in share in the market’s fall 2007 Arbitron ratings, reports the city’s Daily News. The station even ranked first in share among listeners ages 35 and up. (I’d welcome help from any Alaskan who can explain the bit about "Mat-Su" to this resident of the lower 48.)

Seen in New Jersey’s Trenton Times: "Classical radio station receives $100G." What caught my eye wasn’t so much the gift as the general manager’s mention of a goal to expand into New York and Philly. That could be quite expensive, not to mention difficult. I wonder how they plan to do it.