EX-SHOCK JOCK BUBBA CLEM PLANS TO RUN FOR SHERIFF

Ex-shock jock Bubba Clemplans to run for sheriff
TAMPA, Fla. -- An out-of-work shock jock is seeking a new job -- sheriff.
Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, who was fired by radio giant Clear Channel Communications in February after it decided his raunchy radio show didn't fit its standards, will be the lone Democrat on the ballot for Pinellas County sheriff.
His name will appear on the ballot as "Bubba Clem." His given name was Todd Clem before it was legally changed to reflect his on-air moniker.
"For over a decade I've been the voice of the people," Clem said Friday at a news conference announcing his candidacy. "Now, I want to give the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office back to the people."
Clem will face either Chief Deputy Jim Coats or retired Ohio Deputy Sheriff Tim Glassburner in November. Coats and Glassburner are vying for the Republican spot on the ballot.
"We can't afford to have somebody like that be in charge of public safety in Pinellas County," Coats said. "This is a law enforcement agency that employs almost 3,000 people and has an annual budget of about $225 million."
Clem paid a filing fee of about $8,500 to get on the ballot.
His sexually explicit morning show, which aired on stations in Callahan, Clearwater, Port Charlotte and West Palm Beach, prompted a $755,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year.
NATS: Plane incidentinvolved Prince Charles
LONDON -- A Royal Air Force plane carrying Prince Charles was involved in a "near miss" incident with a passenger jet earlier this year, air traffic controllers said Friday.
The National Air Traffic Service said neither plane had been in danger when the prince's jet neared the flight path of a Heathrow-bound Airbus A321 over southern England on March 24.
The service said both pilots filed an "air proximity report" after the incident, which occurred at about 11,500 feet.
It said an air traffic controller had acted quickly to correct the problem, and that the planes had remained 3.1 nautical miles apart horizontally and 900 feet apart vertically.
It said the Independent U.K. Airprox (air proximity) Board was investigating whether there had been a risk of collision.
"At no point was the safety of either aircraft compromised in NATS' view," the service said in a statement.
A spokesman for the prince said Charles and his traveling companions "were informed of the incident afterwards but they weren't actually aware of it while the flight was taking place."
The near miss occurred as Charles was flying to Spain to attend a memorial service for more than 190 people killed in the March 11 Madrid train bombings.
Deceased rapper's albumto be released this fall
NEW YORK -- Elliott Smith's final album, "from a basement on the hill," will be released Oct. 19, a year after his death, his estate has announced.
The album cover shows Smith sitting on a set of brick steps.
He died in his Los Angeles apartment Oct. 21, 2003, at age 34, of knife wounds. Though it was widely speculated that he'd killed himself, tests were inconclusive in determining whether it was suicide or murder.
The album was assembled and mixed by longtime friends Rob Schnapf and Joanna Bolme. Schnapf produced Smith's last three albums, the most recent of which was 2000's "Figure 8."
Pulled together from three years of studio work, the album is largely made up of material never before released. It features 15 tracks and will be released by independent label Anti-Records.
Today's birthdays
Former South African President Nelson Mandela is 86. Former Senator John Glenn, D-Ohio, is 83. Skating champion and commentator Dick Button is 75. Author-journalist Hunter S. Thompson is 67. Actor James Brolin is 64. Blues guitarist Lonnie Mack is 63. Actor Kurt Mann is 57. Singer Ricky Skaggs is 50. Rock musician Nigel Twist (The Alarm) is 46. Actress Audrey Landers is 45. Actress Elizabeth McGovern is 43. Rock musician John Hermann (Widespread Panic) is 42. Rock musician Jack Irons (Pearl Jam) is 42. Actor Vin Diesel is 37. Rock musician Tony Fagenson (Eve 6) is 26. Actor Jason Weaver is 25.
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