Bob Baxa, who was charged with cocaine possession last year, has returned to presenting traffic news on WFTV-Channel 9's morning news.

He replaces David Dean, who is going to the West Coast, said WFTV General Manager Shawn Bartelt.

Baxa (pictured) returned to the air Labor Day. "He has met everything he needed to meet to take his life past that situation," Bartelt said of the drug arrest. "He did a good job when he was here, and the preponderance of e-mail that came after he left was supportive of him coming back."

The e-mails to WFTV were 90 percent favorable about Baxa's return, Bartelt added.

Baxa is employed by Metro Networks. Last year after the arrest, WFTV said Baxa would not appear on the air until the charges were resolved.

WFTV offers morning news from 5 to 7 a.m. and more local news on sister station WRDQ-Channel 27 at 7 a.m. The WRDQ newscast has been running 90 minutes, but will expand to two hours on Wednesday, Bartelt said. The station had planned to expand Sept. 15, but Bartelt cited the busy storm season for doing it sooner.

Ten Central Florida stations will conduct a short digital-transition test at 7:59 p.m. Sept. 15.

The stations conducted the first such test June 25. They are trying to prepare viewers for the end of analog TV on Feb. 17, 2009. The stations are planning a third test before the change.

The June 25 test was the first such market-wide test conducted in the country, said Richard Monn, chief engineer at WESH-Channel 2. "We were pleased with the results," he said in a release. "We provided valuable information to hundreds of callers who didn't pass the test and needed help determining what steps to take next."

Viewers with cable and satellite television needn't worry. But anyone using rabbit ears and receiving television over the air needs to take steps.

A lot of stories get the designation of "big story," but they don't continue to merit the label all the time.

The Beijing Olympics. They're huge, and they're likely to remain that way till they end Aug. 24. Michael Phelps and other athletes have delivered headlines and entertainment from the start.

Russia's invasion of Georgia. It shocked the world Friday, but CNN's coverage Tuesday was especially gripping.

The John Edwards affair. It's a story for the satirists. The former presidential candidate's ridiculous performance on ABC's "Nightline" made it all seem more stupid than tragic. You need more details about this mess? The story doesn't matter. Put a fork in slick John -- he's done.

And the Caylee Anthony coverage? So much time, so little news.

The coverage of missing Caylee Anthony (pictured) has been ridiculously overblown. It's another of those true-crime stories that the media return to with astonishing regularity.

Health care, to name one pressing national issue, doesn't get that kind of attention. But health care is a lot more difficult to explain than O.J. Simpson, JonBenet Ramsey, Chandra Levy or Madeleine McCann.

Television just keeps gravitating to these sensational crime stories, because viewers keep talking about them. The media feed off that chatter by bringing on people to speculate. There may be nothing new, but we have talk, talk, talk. Basically, it's crime news as entertainment -- you play detective.

I'll grant that there have been some fascinating moments in the Caylee coverage. Hearing WESH-Channel 2 play those 911 tapes in a 6 p.m. newscast two weeks ago was riveting.

How high is WFTV-Channel 9 on Vanessa Welch?

Very high. The station has announced that the star reporter will become a 10 p.m. anchor on sister station WRDQ-Channel 27 with Darrell Greene. She starts her new role Aug. 11.

"She's one of the best I've ever worked with," WFTV news director Bob Jordan said Friday. "She's our best enterprising reporter. When I think, over the years, of the people who have gone on to network jobs, she's of that caliber. She's got a big future."

Jordan intends for a lot of that future to be at WFTV. He said Welch just signed a four-year deal. She will continue to report two or three days a week in addition to anchoring.

"Any time you see someone on our air in a secondary position, we're looking at them for long-term play," Jordan said.

Martie Salt had been filling in at 10 p.m. with Greene.

After numerous news reports and promotional spots, that digital test by 12 Orlando TV stations was bound to gain attention.

The 7:59 p.m. test Wednesday reached 25 percent of the Central Florida market.

The test was seen in roughly 364,000 households out of 1.4 million in the market. The test was to help viewers understand whether they're prepared for the end of analog television early next year. If their set went to black during the test, viewers need to get cable, satellite or converter boxes to enter new era in television.

The stations based that overall household number on ratings for the 7:45 p.m. quarter hour.

ABC affiliate WFTV-Channel 9 was No. 1 in the slot with 143,400 homes.

Are you ready for the end of analog television?

A test by 11 Central Florida stations will help you find out. The time: 7:59 p.m. Wednesday. The duration: a minute.

The stations will simulate the end of analog -- or over-the-air television -- which is coming Feb. 17, 2009. If your screen goes black, you'll need to prepare for the new era in television.

If you have cable or satellite television, you won't be affected.

The 11 stations taking part are WESH-Channel 2, WKMG-Channel 6, WFTV-Channel 9, WCEU-Channel 15, WKCF-Channel 18, WMFE-Channel 24, WVEN-Channel 26, WRDQ-Channel 27, WOTF-Channel 43, WTGL-Channel 45 and WBCC-Channel 68.

Are you ready for the end of analog television?

Central Florida broadcasters will help you find out. In an unprecedented move, 11 stations announced Thursday that they will take the screen black and silent for a minute test at 7:59 p.m. June 25.

"It's a unique way to let customers know if they have a problem," said Henry Maldonado, general manager of WKMG-Channel 6. "You take this test, you'll know immediately if you have a problem. It's unique for stations to get together."

The stations estimate that 6 percent of households in the market might not be prepared for the end of analog television, which happens Feb. 17 next year.

Would you go for a channel that offers reruns of "Happy Days," "Get Smart" and "Magnum, P.I"?

Then the digital Retro Television Network might be for you. WRDQ-Channel 27 is launching the channel in a big way Monday as an incentive to move viewers into the digital age now.

"You want people to get the converter boxes now," said WRDQ General Manager Shawn Bartelt. "You don't want to be doing it on Feb. 17."

On that date, analog TV sets will need the converter box to work. You can learn more about getting a converter box at www.dtv.org. There you'll learn about $40 coupons for the converter box.

RTN is available over the air on channel 27.2 or on Bright House digital channel 1028.

Another February sweeps, another round of ratings.

WFTV-Channel 9 had the most reasons to boast, because it won all the news time slots. Yes, all of them.

On the downside, ratings for many newscasts were off during the period, which ended Wednesday.

Let's take a tour of day.

5 a.m.: WFTV averaged 42,000 households. Runner-up WKMG-Channel 6 had 25,000. WESH-Channel 2 was close behind with 21,000. WOFL-Channel 35 drew 10,000.

Most heartening sign: WKMG was up 19 percent from a year ago. Most troubling sign: WOFL was off 38 percent. WFTV was down 25 percent.

Looking for new things to do in Central Florida? "Hot Spots" happily offers suggestions.

This cheerful program, with peppy hosts and bouncy music, airs at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays on WRDQ-Channel 27. Hard-hitting reports and investigative journalism? Forget it. Not this show's style.

This weekend's edition takes in sky diving in Lake Wales; the Shuttle Launch Experience at Kennedy Space Center; and the C.A.R.E. Foundation, a nonprofit animal sanctuary in Apopka.

"Our motto is Central Florida is fun -- go out and enjoy it," says producer Soreyrith Um. "We want to show people what's available and encourage them to try it."

The segment on the C.A.R.E. Foundation is especially enticing. The sanctuary contains a jaguar, a black bear, a Florida panther and a 700-pound Siberian tiger.

Did you see the ratings for the November sweeps? I had wondered why "Grey's Anatomy" had placed at No. 9 locally -- behind "Criminal Minds" and ahead of "60 Minutes."

I got my answer Friday morning, when two female friends started sounding off about how they had given up on the medical drama. They told me they were over Meredith, Meredit-McDreamy, Izzie and Izzie-George. If you don't like those characters or those romances, you might as well move on.

Viewers are migrating in local news, too. It's evident in morning news. WFTV-Channel 9 remains the overwhelming favorite at 6 a.m., averaging 96,000 households. The race for No. 2 is intensifying. WESH-Channel 2 averaged 41,000 homes, and some viewers obviously decided to look around after that station brought on new anchors. More viewers are flocking to WKMG-channel 6, which was right behind WESH with 40,000 homes.

July isn't as big a ratings period as November, February or May. It's rerun season. It's also try-out-another-reality-series-and-see-if-it-sticks season. Most don't.

But the viewership is still counted. Main headline: WFTV-Channel 9 won the news time periods. And usually by wide margins.

Consider the 6 p.m. news race. WFT was the choice in 141,000 homes. That's a formidable lead when you realize that WKMG-Channel 6 placed second with 61,000. WESH-Channel 2 was third with 57,000.

If you've missed seeing "The Daily Buzz" live, fret no more. The light-hearted morning program will jump to WRDQ-Channel 27 on May 28, and the station will present the 6 a.m. hour live. WRDQ will offer the program's second hour on a delayed basis at 10:30 a.m. weekdays.

"It’s entertaining and it does very well with the younger audience," WRDQ General Manager Shawn Bartelt says. "That fits well with the rest of the programming on WRDQ."

Bartelt said she could show only two hours of the three-hour show because she other programming commitments.

Fox cleaned up with "American Idol" and Diana Ross on Tuesday night. More about that later.

Of local interest, WKMG-Channel 6 ran fourth at 10 p.m. Tuesday with its "Guetzloe Files" special.

The winner in the time slot? WOFL-Channel 35 with its 10 p.m. news pulling in 108,000 households. It helps to follow "American Idol."

Local television stations fulfilled their highest purpose, public service, Friday by throwing out their regular schedules and reporting on the tornado damage in Central Florida.

The stations' investment in helicopters paid off in staggering aerial footage of the destruction. The stations focused on a destroyed church, ripped-apart neighborhoods and determined rescue workers.

The pictures underscored why  television, an immediate and intimate medium, enjoys such an edge in covering disasters. The stations relayed emergency briefings by the governor and county officials.

WFTV Channel 9 will extend its popular morning news to sister station WRDQ Channel 27 next month. Viewers will be able to watch Vanessa Echols and Greg Warmoth from 7 to 8:30 a.m. on WRDQ, starting Jan. 15. They air on  WFTV from 5 to 7 a.m.

"We've done some research that shows there is a hunger for local news," said Shawn Bartelt, general manager of both stations.

"We're coming from a position of strength. Viewers want an option that will give them local news, weather and traffic."

This extended newscast will go against NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America, which airs on WFTV.

Photo of Vanessa Echols by Roberto Gonzalez/Orlando Sentinel

If you like watching Oprah Winfrey at night, be aware that you might need to look for her in a new place. Winfrey's show airs on WRDQ-Channel 27, which will shift from Channel 21 on Bright House Networks to Channel 10 on March 15.