Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo is still saying that Superintendent Tony Tata could be out of if incumbent Kevin Hill defeats her, but she's changing how it could happen.

Also during her interview today on the conservative Frank Roche Show on WRDU, Losurdo pitched the benefits of why a parent like her should be on the board instead of a non-parent like Hill. She also charged that a Hill victory could lead to busing of high-achieving students to low-achieving schools.

On her radio ad, Losurdo has charged that a Hill victory would create a Democratic majority with enough votes to fire Tata. With Hill repeatedly saying he would not support firing Tata, Losurdo implied today that Tata might emulate Del Burns and resign because of philosophical differences with a new majority.

Wake County school board candidate Cynthia Matson says she would "love another $10,000 (in campaign donations) by Monday."

Matson made the pitch for more campaign cash during an interview today on the conservative Frank Roche Show on WRDU. She said she's raised about $10,000 but will need more money to defeat Jim Martin in District 5.

"I would love people to give us some more donations because then I can reach more individuals throughout the county and throughout my district because really when I get on that board they may not be able to vote for me in my district but when I'm elected I'm voting for them," Matson said. "So I'm asking people across the county if you believe in choice, if you believe in fiscal efficiency, you believe in having the community represented and you want someone who knows how to read a budget, manage people and get things done, please support my campaign financially."

Wake County school board candidate Donna Williams probably isn't going to win over Enloe High School supporters based on her talk of spreading programs around.

Williams hit the local conservative radio talk show circuit this week starting as a guest co-host Tuesday on The Morning Show on WRDU. She touched on Enloe during an interview Wednesday on The Rick and Donna Martinez Show on WPTF, where she also said it's not a case of the school system needing more money to raise achievement.

"I believe we need a more fair and equitable balance in our schools," Williams said on WPTF. "I'll give you an example. Enloe High School right now has 142 magnet programs in that one school. And then we have a lot of schools in this county that have zero. I just think we need to take a look at that and if we balanced it out a lot better, it would then affect and help all of our children."

UPDATE I will now be back on Wednesday.

A chapter of local radio history quietly passed on last week with the death of David Berry, who died suddenly at age 62 in his home. Berry was instrumental in launching two iconic Triangle rock stations -- album-oriented-rock pioneer WQDR in the 1970s; and WRDU, where the AOR format gravitated after WQDR changed to country in 1984.

Berry worked as general manager of both WQDR and WRDU. And while he got out of radio long ago (going into real estate in 1987), the people who worked at Berry's stations remember him fondly.

"He was a pivotal piece of making a couple of great radio stations," says Daniel Brunty, who was program director at WQDR. "He had vision and a lot of belief, and we did some fighting with some people. At QDR, we were talking about how there was all this old rock 'n' roll we ought to find a place for, and [consultant] Lee Abrams thought that was the stupidest thing on the face of the earth. But it was successful. You know, you could play 'Louie Louie' once in a while."

It's almost quaint to think about now, but there was a time when local radio did its own news. In an unusual move for a rock station, Berry made news a priority on WQDR. The station even won a Peabody Award for a series about the health problems of Vietnam veterans.

"That whole idea came from David and it was an incredible series," says Gayle Rancer, who was WQDR's news director. "He was one of the finest managers ever, nothing but supportive. We were allowed to grow, learn to fly, do our thing. I just love those days. I still quote a lot of his anecdotes: 'Anything worth doing is worth doing badly at first.'"

Rancer was also part of The Last Chance Rock and Roll Band, a group of WQDR staffers who played charity shows. Through the miracle of Facebook, the band has reconnected and is reforming.

"The first comeback show will be a David Berry tribute," Rancer says. "I just love that guy. I'm sure he was catapulted straight on into heaven."

Love it or loathe it, Triangle radio listeners are getting twice as much Christmas music this year.

Two local stations this week switched to all-Christmas format, WRAL-FM 101.5 and WRDU-FM 106.1. Last year, WRAL was the only one.

As always, the quest for higher ratings drives the decision, especially with advertisers slashing spending. This is WRAL's third annual switch and last year ratings rose 38 percent among its target demographic, women aged 25 to 54, said program director Barry Fox.

"We lose a few listeners, but we gain many more," Fox said. "We were receiving a lot of calls and e-mails [this year], asking when we were going to start. Then when we made the switch, we got some complaints."