The FCC announced on Thursday that it has extended its deadline for comments on upcoming broadcast spectrum auctions. The original deadlines, Dec. 21 for comments and Feb. 19, 2013, for replies, are now set at Jan. 25 and March 26, 2013. The National Association of Broadcasters and CITA — The Wireless Association both requested the extension, which the FCC decided “is warranted to provide commenters with sufficient time to prepare comments and reply comments that fully respond to the complex economic, engineering, and policy issues raised” in its Oct. 2 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

WNET in New York City has hired Carole Wacey, a former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Department of Education, as vice president, education, effective Dec. 17. Wacey spent the past decade as executive director of MOUSE, a national nonprofit that uses educational technology to help empower underserved youth, and she will continue to serve on its board of directors. Prior to MOUSE, Wacey was director of the Interactive Media for Children program at the Markle Foundation in New York City, and before that was deputy director of the Office of Education Technology and senior policy adviser at the Department of Education during the Clinton Administration, consulting on development and implementation of national educational technology policy.

Huell Howser, the California pubcaster whose popular destination shows ran on stations throughout the state for two decades, is no longer producing new programs, reports the Los Angeles Times. Because there’s been no formal announcement, rumors have been swirling that Howser may be ill. “Huell is retiring from filming new shows or making appearances (or interviews) but the show will continue to air in reruns for awhile,” Howser’s assistant Ryan Morris told the newspaper. “We have been gradually winding down all year but Huell has decided to stop, come Dec. 31.” As for Howser’s health, Morris added: “I have heard the rumors and while Huell does not always tell me everything, he seems to be doing fine.

This item has been updated and reposted with additional information. Wendell Garrett, an appraiser on Antiques Roadshowsince 1997, died Nov. 14 at a hospice facility in Williston, Vt. He was 83. “Garrett was an important member of Antiques Roadshow’s appraisal team,” the program said in a statement, “displaying a generosity of spirit and intellect over the years to the Roadshow community and viewers. Behind the scenes at Roadshow, Garrett was considered a master and scholar — a Grand Poobah — and he will be missed by all.” Garrett had muscular dystrophy since he was 19 years old, and by his 60s walking had become difficult.

Opponents of aid to public broadcasting created plateaus in CPB spending in early 1980s and again in 1990s. But the general upward swing of this chart doesn’t mean more spending power. After adjusting for inflation, FY2000’s $300 million is worth 5 percent less than the FY90 figure of $229.4 million. Figures are rising again since failure of the zero-it-out movement: $300M for FY2000 and $340M for FY2001. CPB’s first appropriation in FY68 was just $5M, but from there the sum often rose by $10M or $20M a year. Reagan-era cutbacks halted CPB’s rise for years, starting with $35M cut in in FY 83 (to $137M).

A third accuser is alleging that Kevin Clash, the former puppeteer of Elmo the Muppet, had an improper sexual relationship with him while he was underage. The anonymous accuser, a Florida resident, seeks $75,000 in damages in a lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Clash resigned Nov. 20 from Sesame Street after two men came forward with similar complaints.

Boston NPR news station 90.9 WBUR-FM is wading into the Cape Cod resort market and going toe-to-toe with WGBH’s network of stations with its planned purchase of 92.7 WMVY-FM on Martha’s Vineyard. WBUR is buying the Tisbury, Mass.-based station for an undisclosed amount from Housatonic, Mass.-based Aritaur Communications Inc. The sale is expected to close in early 2013 pending FCC approval. Now broadcasting an adult alternative format, WMVY, known as mvyradio, will switch to WBUR’s news format, reaching up to 60,000 listeners with a 3,000-watt signal. The market includes Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and coastal towns including New Bedford, Fall River, Falmouth and Westport.

The National Endowment for the Arts today announced recommendations for 832 grants totaling $23.3 million through Art Works, its largest funding initiative. The 13 categories include Media Arts, encompassing 47 grants to filmmakers and film festivals. Several of those organizations have ties to public media, including the Center for Asian American Media in San Francisco, under the direction of Stephen Gong, which got $40,000 toward the 31st San Francisco Asian American Film Festival; Firelight Media in New York City (Freedom Riders), $50,000 to support a mentorship and professional development program; and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, Santa Monica, Calif.,

Actress and soprano Audra McDonald, winner of five Tony Awards and two Grammys, is the new host of Live from Lincoln Center. McDonald will appear on seven broadcasts from December 2012 through spring 2013, including the New York Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve gala, One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch. The WNET icon performance series has not had a regular host since opera legend Beverly Sills, who died in 2007. “Audra’s Lincoln Center roots run deep and wide,” said Elizabeth Scott, executive in charge of the series, in the announcement. “She’s performed on every major Lincoln Center stage.” McDonald earned her first Tony for her role in Lincoln Center Theater’s 1994 production of Carousel.

Filmmaker Ken Burns’ latest documentary, The Dust Bowl, more than doubled PBS’s average primetime rating during its premiere last week, according to PBS and Nielsen. For Nov. 19, the program’s household average rating was 4.3, with some 6.6 million viewers. Its conclusion the next night scored a 3.5, with around 5.2 million people watching. PBS’s nightly primetime average is around 2.1 million viewers.

Brooke Runnette, who spent a year as a producer at Frontline, is the new president of National Geographic Television. Runnette worked at WGBH’s icon investigative news program from 1999 to 2000. From there she became a producer at ABC News Nightline, executive producer at TLC/Discovery Communications (Little People, Big World) and, most recently, executive producer and director of development at Discovery Channel — where she oversaw the popular “Shark Week” strand for four years. She  joined National Geographic Channels as a vice president of development and special projects earlier this month. In her new role, she will oversee the production arm of National Geographic, reporting directly to John Fahey, National Geographic Society chair and c.e.o.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a nonprofit research and philanthropic organization based in Chevy Chase, Md., is getting into the documentary arena. It announced today the launch of its own Tangled Bank Studios, a film and production company that is already at work “in close collaboration with PBS” on two science documentaries, it said in a statement. Heading the new company is Executive Producer Michael Rosenfeld, a former president of National Geographic Television. The docs under way are the three-part Your Inner Fish, produced in collaboration with the U.K. production company Windfall Films, a science adventure tale about how the lives of our ancient ancestors shaped modern human anatomy; and The Quest to Map the World, also a three-part series, produced with National Geographic Television, telling the story of how scientists and explorers mapped the planet.

The departure of Kevin Clash, the Elmo puppeteer who resigned from Sesame Street last week, is leaving a large void in the close-knit Sesame Workshop community, reports the New York Times. Clash, who left after allegations of sexual impropriety surfaced, played more roles than the furry red Elmo. He also worked with writers on technical problems, he directed, was a co-executive producer and the puppeteer behind many other characters. He also traveled internationally to train puppeteers for Sesame Street productions in other countries. Production of the show is on a pre-planned two-week hiatus. When work resumes, the Times noted, “a therapist may be on hand for those who need support.”

This item has been updated and reposted with additional information. Emily Squires, who won six Daytime Emmy Awards for directing episodes of Sesame Street, died Nov. 21 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She was 71. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Squires directed more than two dozen Sesame episodes, beginning in 1982. Most of her work on the show came between 2005-07, the entertainment trade publication said. Squires also wrote and directed episodes of Between the Lions on PBS, and earned a Primetime Emmy nod for Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!, which aired in 1984 on ABC.