rickdamico's Blog

We're now heading into the end of our first week of our new hour at 9 am.  It's been a whole lot of fun for me and the schedule has been wonderful!  I'm getting up at 4:30 am about 15 minutes before my alarm goes off.  (2 hours later than when I used to get up!!) And I actually watch a little bit of our morning show before I come in at about 6:15 am.

But when I get here, I feel a little bit behind the curve because, Ron, Alexis, Andrea and Cory have been on the air since 5 am, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.  So when I hit the air at 6:45 am, I talk with Beth and Bill and that gets me awake really quickly!

The new hour at 9am has been, in my opinion, really wonderful.  We have been keeping in touch with what’s going on, and doing segments that are informative, entertaining and helpful.  And apparently you like it!

Thank you for your suggestions, and for thanks for watching.  Let us know how you feel about the new hour and what you like.

Rick

I got another summons for Jury Duty and then I read E. J. Montini's column about a guy who was outraged that the jury summons asked for his nationality.  And it got me thinking, what difference does it make if I'm white or black or Italian or Russian.  What impact does that have on being a good juror? 

Anyone know what they ask such outrageous questions?

Rick

Do you enjoy your birthdays?  Or is it a real bummer to get older? 

 In our brand new 9 am hour later this week, I’m doing a segment on those decade or milestone birthdays.  You know the ones that end in 0.  Like 30 or 40 or 50 or yikes 60!

 Some people dread them.  Other’s look forward to them.  And a psychologist tells us how to handle them.

 This was fun for me to do…seeing I’ve had my share of milestone birthdays.

 How do you feel about them?

We're getting ready to begin our new hour a 9 am.  It starts Monday.   Andrea and I and Ron and Alexis and Cory have been preparing.  Going through segment ideas - getting creative etc.

Do you have any suggestions?  What would you like to see in the new hour of Fox-10 Arizona Morning 9 - 10 am?

Rick

We're doing a story this morning about how people feel living near a nuclear power plant.

 A survey by Rasmussen shows it's pretty favorable. How do you feel about living downwind of the nation’s largest nuclear power plant?

Let me know.

Rick

While I was driving home from the gym yesterday I was thinking about a news report that just came out that said: “You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy.”  It was a new study that said a surprising number of overweight people — about half — have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity.

Is it all worth it?

San Diego is not perfect. 

 Well we’re all back from our family vacation in San Diego.  And I want you to know, San Diego is not perfect.  While there, we enjoyed 75 degree weather, cool ocean breezes, plenty of sunshine and lots of sailing on “Airtime”.

 We brought our own food, and ate most meals on the boat.  One of the things Ruth brought along was a real treat for me.  Pistachio nuts.  We saved them until the last few days and when we finally got to them.  Guess what?  They were ruined!  The heavy humidity from the ocean air, made them mushy – soft – lousy!

 This was the 2nd worst thing of our vacation.  The first was –for me- not “The Happiest Place on Earth”!  But that’s another story for another day.

 By the way, when we got home, Ruth put the pistachios in the oven on a cookie sheet and baked them for about 15 minutes at 300 degrees.  They were fine when we all gobbled them up that night.

 So you see, San Diego’s not perfect, the humidity makes you soft, especially if you’re a pistachio nut!

I’m so glad to be back.

Rick

I’m moving!  Kind of.   Beginning August 18th, I will be stepping down from the 5 am to 7 am hours of Arizona Morning.  I’ll be coming in a 7 am and co-hosting the show from 7 to 9 with Alexis and Ron and co-hosting with Andrea the new 9 am to 10 am hour.  Ron, Alexis and Cory will also be a big part of the new 9 to 10 am hour.

I have three reasons for writing this.  One is I’ve been getting a lot of questions about what’s going on – on our show.  Two is I want you all to know that we will have an additional hour at 9 am!  And three, I have mixed emotions about leaving the 5 to 7 am hours. 

I have really enjoyed working with Ron and Alexis, Cory and Andrea and the wonderful producers during the first two hours.  I’ll miss sitting at the anchor desk with them the first thing in the morning. 

However, I’m really excited about adding an hour at 9 am.  It will be a little more relaxed and fun and informative.

And, instead of getting out of bed at 2:44 in the morning, I’ll be getting out of bed at 4:44 am!  An extra two hours of sleep! 

5 to 10 on Fox 10 begins August 18th! 

I can’t wait!

Rick

I’m enjoying this Monsoon a little more than ones in the past.  Monsoon is a season not a storm, and this season seems to be a little easier to take.

The humidity seems to be a little higher, so it brings the temperature down, and it’s not as hot.  It feels better getting out of the pool, because the water doesn’t evaporate as well, and you don’t get cold.

The storms are violent, but they do seem to cool things down.  And it’s fun to see the clouds in the sky, especially in the afternoon and evening.  They do make for spectacular sunsets, don’t they?

This weekend could be a challenge, however, if the moisture from “Dolly” gets caught up into our air flow. That means a lot of clouds and a lot of rain.  Dave, Cory and Jamie will be watching that.

And we have not had a rash of childhood drownings,  although the ones we have had are just tragic.

So all in all, I’m enjoying this summer.  I hope you are too.

Do you want slot machines at Sky Harbor?  

I often think of this.  Once when I was flying out of town, I checked with the airlines web site and it said get to the airport extra early because there would be long security lines.

I arrived two hours early!   I got thru security, with no problem about 15 minutes, and then when I get to the gate, they announce the flight will be delayed about an hour!  I’m there 3 hours early!  And as it turns out, the flight was actually an hour and a half late.  What am I going to do for 3 and a half hours?

This is where slot machines come in.  We talked with Mayor Phil Gordon this morning about his idea of putting slot machines at Sky Harbor to raise more money for the city.

If the slot machines had been installed then, I would not only be late, but also arrive at my destination broke!

What do you think – slot machines at Sky Harbor? 

Rick

It cased you missed us talking about this the past couple of mornings, our show now streams live on this web site, “MyFoxPhoenix.com! Every morning, Monday through Friday, 7 to 9 am.

I shameless plug this because, well for one thing, I think it’s really cool. Also, if your going out of town, on vacation or whatever, you can always keep in touch just by bringing your lap-top along! And soon we’ll be adding a fifth hour! 9 to 10 am.

See you on TV and on the internet on myfoxphoenix.com!

Rick

I was a little ticked off this morning about a story we had about a 2nd grade teacher who appeared on the Howard Stern Show in a bikini.

            Here’s part of the story from the Foxnews.com: 

“SOUTHINGTON, Conn. —  A former second-grade teacher who resigned after making an appearance in a bikini on the "Howard Stern Show" is suing Southington school officials and her union.  Marie Jarry, who resigned abruptly in May after taking a paid sick day to appear on the shock jock's satellite show, claims she was forced into resigning.”

My take on this is she should have been fired.  But most of those who responded on our poll question this morning did not agree with me and sided with her saying, she should be able to teach 2nd grade and appear in a bikini on the Howard Stern Show? 

How am I wrong?  Would you want your seven year old look up to her teacher who does something like this?

Rick

Happy 4th of  July! 

Working on the 4th of July is really kind of fun.  The station takes on a totally different atmosphere.  Everyone seems to be in a good mood. 

And because we’re working on a holiday, we also did a little celebrating on our own.  Ray Garcia- one of our directors -  manned the barbecue and did an amazing tri-tip.  And everyone else brought in a dish to pass.  It was an amazing 4th of July cookout – the only thing weird about it?  It was at 9 am!   That’s lunch time for us!

We’re all sitting around our desks right now, trying to stay awake after that huge meal.

I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend and also I hope we all keep in mind our men and women in uniform overseas fighting to insure our liberty and freedom.

Rick

When I started in Broadcasting way back when, my first job was in Ashtabula, Ohio.   I was assigned the county beat and I got to know the sheriff at the time.   I remember him telling me that he as sheriff was the supreme law enforcement officer of the county, and police chiefs mostly don’t like him interfering in their cities.

Nothing has changed over the years.  Here in 2008, Sheriff Joe Arpaio with his deputies trained by I.C.E. are conducting anti-immigration sweeps in Mesa and the police chief, George Gascon seems to be thwarting Arpaio’s efforts.  I don’t get it.

How do people in Mesa feel about this.  If you live in Mesa let me know.  Do you agree with Gascon or Arpaio?