ORLANDO ANCHOR MARK MCEWEN NOT SCHEDULED BACK UNTIL MARCH

While much of Polk County tunes into Tampa television and radio stations, much of the eastern areas are closer to Orlando and, thus, tune into that city's media outlets.

Many of you remember Mark McEwen, who did the weather and a lot of entertainment segments for CBS' The Early Show as well as appearances on other network offerings. For the past year or so, he has been working as the morning/noon anchor at Orlando's CBS affiliate WKMG. However, he has not appeared on-air since suffering a stroke in November.

Last month, the Orlando-area media blog RogerSimmons.com reported that McEwen would not likely return to work before March as he continues to recover. Florida Today in Melbourne printed a story last week that confirms Simmons' initial report and quoted WKMG management.

"I've seen him several times, and he still has some therapy to undergo before he's ready," said WKMG general manager Henry Maldonado. "It's just a matter of getting him up to speed."

Anyone wishing to send get-well wishes can do so by e-mailing firstnews@wkmg.com . Of course, I4J sends it's best wishes for a speedy recovery. While I can't get WKMG's signal here in north Lakeland, I always enjoyed Mark's work on CBS and have heard nothing but good things about his show in Orlando.