A Little Fine Tuning

 A Little Fine-Tuning
Dec. 31 marks the last day of KRON-TV's affiliation with NBC, officially ending the station's 52-year relationship with the peacock network. Instead, the Bay Area's demand for NBC fare like Friends, Law & Order, and Dateline NBC will be handled by San Jose-based KNTV. While many San Franciscans are concerned about whether they'll be able to tune in to the station with halfway decent clarity, another important question looms: How on earth is KRON-TV going to fill airtime? An SF Weekly investigation has uncovered documents revealing what a typical day of programming will look like:

6 a.m. KRON Daybreak Local news, traffic, weather

7 a.m. The Best of Sit Down! With Gary Radnich Interviews with 49ers coach Bill Walsh, Giants slugger Matt Williams, A's slugger Mark McGwire

9 a.m. Sally Piercings

10 a.m. Jenny Jones My daughter's a hooker, but she dresses like a stripper! (Repeat)

11 a.m. Bay Area Backroads "San Leandro (Part 1)"

12 p.m. The KRON Noon News

1 p.m. The Best of the KRON Noon News Art Agnos inauguration

2 p.m. Bay Area Backroads "San Leandro (Part 2)"

3 p.m. Bay Cafe Prosciutto

3:30 p.m. Three's Company Roommates have misunderstanding

4 p.m. The KRON Afternoon Movie Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976) How large corporate network destroys soul of America

6 p.m. The KRON 6 O'Clock News

7 p.m. The Best of Bay Area Backroads Highlights from "Serramonte Mall" and "San Leandro (Part 2)"

7:30 p.m. Entertainment Tonight

8 p.m. Lawn Order Landscaping tips

8:30 p.m. Lawn Order: Special Victims Unit Dutch elm disease, aphids, rot

9 p.m. Pals Comedic look inside the life of producer of The Best of the KRON Noon News and his acquaintances

9:30 p.m. Bay Cafe II Focaccia

10 p.m. UC: Undercover Berkeley undergrads stress out over finals, empty keg

11 p.m. The KRON 11 O'Clock News

11:35 p.m. The Henry Tennenbaum Show Guests: Sit Down! host Gary Radnich, Bay Area Backroads host Doug McConnell, Bay Cafe host Joey Altman

12:35 a.m. Sit Down! With Gary Radnich

1:30 a.m. The Mary Tyler Moore Show Station boss disgruntled

2 a.m. The KRON Late Late Movie The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder, 1945) Catastrophic descent into alcohol, misery, and privation

4 a.m. Paid Programming

5 a.m. Robert Schuller's Hour of Power Coping with a devastating loss (Repeat)

--Mark Athitakis

The Battle Ends
Debra Schmidt, the San Joaquin County mother who was extradited from Texas by Alameda County prosecutors to stand trial for violating a custody order by taking her children to the Lone Star State ("Law and Borders," Nov. 14), remains in Santa Rita Jail awaiting sentencing Jan. 11.

Her case provoked an epic battle between the two states, during which courts in Texas and California issued contradicting custody orders. Two Texas governors, including George W. Bush, refused to send Schmidt back to California until a federal judge forced her extradition in September.

Schmidt was convicted of two counts of felony child abduction earlier this month. She claims that she took her two daughters out of state because authorities weren't closely monitoring her children's court-ordered visits with their father, Manuel Saavedra, a registered sex offender.

But the jury didn't hear anything about Schmidt's motives, which her attorney, Rollie Pennington, says will likely form the basis for an appeal of her conviction. The Hon. Donald Squires disallowed any mention of Saavedra's sex offender status and past conviction for child molestation, or of a letter from Schmidt notifying the Alameda District Attorney's Office of her whereabouts in Texas.

Squires also denied bail, unless Schmidt arranges to have her daughters return to California from Texas, which Schmidt has refused to do. In a separate action in San Joaquin County, Schmidt also faces contempt charges for taking the children out of state.

--Lisa Davis