Idaho Public Television has removed spots touting the importance of public television that featured state legislators, reports the Twin Falls, Idaho, Times-News website. In a recent hearing before the state joint finance-appropriations committee on funding for the station, a senator asked IPTV g.m. Peter Morrill if the appearances gave the politicians a political advantage. Morrill looked into the spots, then replied to the committee in a subsequent letter. The legislators “did not advocate for any funding proposal, only for the general public service that we provide,” Morrill wrote. “To avoid any further confusion, I have instructed my staff to take these spots off the air during the legislative session.”

Plenty of interesting comments in this week’s Mailbag (well, Snowbag) from the PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler. Topics include “The Bombing of Germany” from American Experience, and Frontline’s “Flying Cheap.”

Illinois Public Media in Urbana-Champaign will realign its AM, FM and TV staffing to survive its budget woes. The operation at the University of Illinois will eliminate nine staff positions, phase out the weather department, add news to its FM classical format, shift its AM news staff to more local coverage and outreach, and add three staff positions in “areas with potential for revenue growth.” General Manager Mark Leonard announced the overhaul in a statement on its website. Illinois Public Media has been operating with a deficit during the current fiscal year as a result of $110,000 in budget cuts from the Illinois Arts Council that were announced in October, Leonard said.

Tom Bettag, who authored a recent advisory report for PBS on its news and public affairs initiative, has joined CNN Worldwide as senior e.p. for State of the Union with Candy Crowley and Reliable Sources, effective immediately, according to a CNN statement. PBS had asked Bettag last year to consider how public TV could reinvent its news offerings, and Bettag spent time meeting with executives in both pubTV and radio news units (Current, May 11 and 26, 2009.)

John Boland, former PBS chief content officer, was today named president and CEO of Northern California Public Broadcasting. Boland succeeds Jeff Clarke, retiring after nearly 45 years in pubmedia and broadcasting. Boland was the system’s first chief content officer (CCO) at KQED in 2002. He became PBS’s first CCO in 2006. Clarke’s last day is March 19 and Boland will take the helm on March 22.

Want a PBS-style ringtone? That catchy theme for Nova is now available. Download it here. It’s free.

Actress Loretta Long, 71, who has starred at Sesame Street’s Susan Robinson since its debut, suffered head wounds after being struck by a car, according to the Times of Trenton. She was crossing a county road about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in East Windsor Township, N.J., when the accident occurred. A vehicle making a left turn struck Long, who was thrown onto the hood of the car. It traveled about 70 feet before she fell and struck her head. She’s in fair condition in a local hospital.

KERA/North Texas Public Broadcasting in Dallas is being sued by four Democratic candidates for Texas governor for not being included in a televised debate, reports the ValleyCentral.com news site. The candidates, Star Locke, Alma Aguando, Felix Alvarado and Clement Glenn, filed the lawsuit Tuesday asking for $400 million. They allege racial discrimination for being Native American, Hispanic or African-American. KERA released a statement Wednesday: “We are disappointed that these candidates have chosen to ignore years of judicial precedents upholding our right to use viewpoint neutral criteria in selecting candidates to participate in the Texas Debates. We are confident in our debate policy, and we will seek the speedy dismissal of this complaint as we have successfully with others in the past.”

StimulatingBroadband.com is offering a free webcast, “Broadband Stimulus National Town Hall Meeting,” starting at 11 a.m. Eastern tomorrow. It’s sponsored by the National League of Cities TV. Peter Pratt, for 30 years a telecom industry analyst and public policy specialist who runs Stimulating Broadband, said two main questions will be addressed: Is there a “secret sauce” seen in the Round I winning applications announced to date? And, what are the lead strategic considerations for Round II applications? Pubcasters nationwide are applying for the grants (Current, Sept. 21, 2009). Interested? Click here to register.

KCET’s SoCal Connected today announced a partnership with the News21 team at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Tomorrow they launch a web-based, multimedia project, “Dream Interrupted: California in Crisis.” Reports will focus on the economy, education, transportation, housing and government in five areas of the state. News21 is part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education.

Pubcaster and blogger John Proffitt is leaving his home of nine years, Anchorage, Alaska, and venturing back to the Lower 48 and KETC in St. Louis. He’s taking a new position at the station, director of digital engagement. In a post at his blog Gravity Medium, Proffitt said that over the past few years, KETC has “embarked on a remarkable transformation, developing closer relationships with their community and using media to solve problems.” He cited its collaboration with the nonprof news site the St. Louis Beacon, now housed in the station (Current, March 30, 2009), and its multi-media and outreach work on the mortage and economic crisis (Current, July 14, 2008).

Longtime producer and station exec Fred Flaxman has written a “tongue-in-cheek” memoir of his life in broadcasting, Sixty Slices of Life … on Wry: The Private Life of a Public Broadcaster (Story Book Publishing). Flaxman is currently producer and presenter of classical music program Compact Discoveries, distributed by PRX. He worked as v.p. for national programming at WTTW in Chicago and spent time in management at KUAT-TV in Tucson, Southern Oregon Public Television, and WXEL in West Palm Beach, Fla. So no doubt he has plenty to talk about in his book.

Current’s office in suburban Washington, D.C., remains shuttered as another severe winter storm is battering the region. This week’s issue also is delayed. Need to reach an editor? Email probably is the best way. Above, cars buried after the first round of snow, as captured by Currentron Dru Sefton in her District of Columbia neighborhood.