DALLAS -- From our "Where Are They Now" file, congratulations to former NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) reporter Ray Villeda, who recently landed a top-5 market job as a reporter with NBC affiliate KXAS-TV in Dallas, Texas.  For the past two years since leaving Syracuse, Villeda was reporting and anchoring at CBS affiliate WFSB in Hartford, CT.  Villeda started in Dallas last month, but his official bio was just added to the station's website today.  Dallas-Ft. Worth is the #5-ranked market in the country.

SYRACUSE -- It's the perfect blend for lovers of jazz and Christmas music.  Starting tomorrow at noon, WCNY-FM will be offering continuous holiday jazz on its HD3 channels in Syracuse, Utica and Watertown.  If you don't have an HD Radio receiver, no worries -- you can still "tune in" online.

UPDATED 11/21 at 6:00pm -- We're back from a little more than a week "off the grid" (a.k.a. vacation).  Here's a quick recap -- bullet points first, details to follow -- on some of the stories that happened while your editor was away.

• No More Night Host at 93Q
• Y94FM Goes All-Christmas
• Syracuse PD Wins National Award
• Utica/Rome Cluster Nominated for Business of the Year

ITHACA -- We're back from a solid week off (anyone notice?) with a double Picture of the Week.  Our thanks to Rudy Paolangeli, who sent in two historic shots related to heritage Ithaca news/talker WHCU.  We've got one shot from the 90s and another that goes back to at least the 70s.

SYRACUSE -- Although quite a few people spotted the Google Maps Street View car over the summer (including Utica's WLZW, Syracuse's NewsChannel 9 and the Syracuse Post-Standard), it seems most people catch it after it has passed by.  But morning host "Big Mike" Fiss of Sunny 102 (WZUN) and Mix 102.5 (WUMX) was lucky enough to spot the car before it arrived -- with enough time to run outside and pose for the camera.

UTICA/ROME -- Less than two weeks after crosstown competitor Mix 102.5 (WUMX) went all-Christmas, the market's heritage AC station, Lite 98.7 (WLZW) has made the switch. Today's start date is notably earlier than years past: in 2009 and 2010, WLZW waited until the day after Thanksgiving to roll out its holiday playlist.

HAMDEN, CT -- Two well-known local journalists who used to work at Syracuse CBS affiliate WTVH are featured in a new documentary about
the television news business. The documentary was produced by two Quinnipiac University journalism professors. Shooting started in 2009, and the finished product just recently hit the web.

WASHINGTON, DC -- For months, broadcast engineers across the country have been counting down to November 9.  That's the date federal authorities have set for the first-ever national-level test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).  If the system works as expected, you'll notice the test interrupting normal programming on nearly every radio and TV station in the country at 2pm on Wednesday.

SYRACUSE and UTICA -- Plenty of news to share this weekend from local PBS affiliate WCNY-TV. The station is set to debut three brand new locally-produced series tomorrow.  Construction is now underway for the station's future home in Syracuse.  And observant CNYTVNews.com readers say the new digital repeater in Utica appears to be up and running.

ALBANY -- Former NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) reporter Jennifer Lewke, who left the Syracuse ABC affiliate earlier this year, is back on television.  Our thanks to an observant CNYTVNews.com reader, who spotted a report from Lewke yesterday on CBS 6 (WGRB) in Albany.