Christina Stoffo

Christina Stoffo

Jim Dolan, WABC/Ch.7's roll-up-the-sleeves and work reporter, earlier this week was standing by the FDR trying to put a good spin on the pending closing of the roadway for repairs. For example, WNYW/Ch. 5 staffers are having fun Googling and then ogling images of fill-in traffic reporter Christina Stoffo. Joe Torres, sitting in for Bill Ritter at the anchor desk, tossed to Dolan in the field to ask viewers to imagine the pending traffic chaos and frustration. "Joe, that all sounds so negative," Dolan said. "I'm a glass half-full kind of guy, and the good news here is there will be no traffic problems on the northbound FDR, north of Houston St., for roughly the first time since, oh, the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. Go figure, nobody was celebrating that tonight."

And there sure was plenty this week. Haven't heard of any layoffs locally - yet there were a couple of fun stories: found out Sam Ryan was staying at WCBS/Ch. 2, and there were a couple of spots worth mentioning. Not that anyone is complaining, mind you, but some of the shots online show a side much, ah, different than the meek business wardrobe she's sporting on "Good Day New York." Speaking of "GDNY," Brett Larson, whose second cup of coffee segments are being reworked for the better, asked 25 models if any of them would date Greg Kelly. "I'm flattered," Kelly said. "The other 24 girls can take their chances with Derek Jeter and we'll see what happens."

Also at Ch. 5, it was loads of fun to see Charles Leaf run after former Bernie Madoff pal Jodi Crupi earlier this week in his exclusive about how investigators are on her tail. Anything, of course, that forces Leaf not to scream into the camera, like, well, running, is a good thing. And, not to be forgotten, Ch. 5 had Bert Ammerman, the brother of one of Pan Am Flight 103's victims, in the studio to talk about the release of the Lockerbie bomber immediately after it happened. Elsewhere, parents have a reason to drop their kids off at the beach in Point Pleasant, N.J., tomorrow and not drive off, leaving them there for the day. That's because Ch. 7 weatherman Bill Evans will be on the boardwalk at Jenkinson's, signing copies of his new thriller, "Frozen Fire," in what seems like the 2,231,007th appearance he has made since the book was released.