Snyder's Gambit May Silence D.C.'s Last FM Classical Music Station

Commercial classical stations are a dying breed -- nationwide, their numbers have dropped from 40 to 27 since 1998 -- but what will now make Washington almost unique is that this city will have lost classical music on both commercial and public radio. Never mind that WETA (90.9 FM) has seen its ratings drop since it dumped the classics two years ago to adopt a news-talk format: Its managers see classical music as a passion of old folks who are less likely than younger news listeners to donate to the station.

"What's tragic is that we were on the cusp of having three classical stations here," says Thureen, describing WGMS's plan to launch two digital stations, available on new HD (high-definition) radios, featuring full-length classical works and vocal music. "Instead, we may well have none."

To a true fan, you can never have too much of the Redskins. But nobody likes a bully. Snyder can buy up as many stations as he has free agent players, but as we've learned, that doesn't make you a winner.

* * *

Marina Alvarez, the illegal immigrant from El Salvador whose story I told Thursday, was released from a detention center on the Eastern Shore yesterday after Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) intervened on her behalf.

Alvarez is a Howard County resident who was about to close on her first house when she was stopped for a traffic violation and police discovered a decade-old deportation order. Because of the detention, she had been separated from her two U.S.-born children for six months.

According to the woman's attorney, Peter Asaad, Dorgan negotiated a release that will allow Alvarez to return to her children, 8 and 11,while she awaits a decision on her appeal of the deportation. She will wear an ankle bracelet that lets federal authorities monitor her location.

More on the demise of the classics on the radio can be found athttp://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher.