News Brief

Jackson County Floridan: If you recall a scene in the 1980s soap opera "Santa Barbara" where a wayward rooster leads Isabella the village girl into a closed-down, boarded-up island casino, you're familiar with the work of Jane Atkins. It was the over-the-top stories she heard growing up in the South, said Atkins, that inspired her to write, which eventually led to a career writing for soap operas such as SANTA BARBARA and DAYS OF OUR LIVES. A native of Calhoun County, Atkins recently visited Chipola College to talk to students about her career as a soap opera and documentary writer. "My family at a certain point after dinner would start telling stories ... . Each one would have a special story and every year they would get a little more dramatic," said Atkins.

Red Bank Green: Where Are They Now: Craig Lawlor, the definitive Adam Munson on AS THE WORLD TURNS, performed over the weekend in "Thrill Me: the Leopold and Loeb Story," an acclaimed 2005 off-Broadway musical, which came to Brookdale Community College where Lawlor currently attends. After focusing on his band, ashes.are.nutritious, over the past few years, Lawlor has been bitten by the acting bug once again.

Bucyrus Telegraph Forum: Earl Musick loves to leave people in stitches. "I love doing comedy because it feels good to make people laugh," Musick said. Musick is not only a U.S. Postmaster in Nevada and a Bucyrus resident, he is a professional cartoonist, humorous illustrator, comedian, spokesperson and ghost writer. "My kids have begun to write jokes since they have done some traveling with me. I call them my roadies. They recently got to meet Reva and other members from the cast of the GUIDING LIGHT and a guy who used to work on MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD," Musick said.

Buzzworthy Radio: AUDIO: Interview with former Soap Opera Weekly Editor-in-Chief Mimi Torchin.

Sky News Australia: Daytime television would never be the same without THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and at 35 years old the show has never looked so good. It is the world's number one midday drama and this month celebrates 35 years of entertaining. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS premiered in the United States in 1973 and is a constant in a television world that constantly seems to be changing, with shows being axed and reality TV taking over. The show has also been popular on Australian shores since 1975 and is known for breaking in some of the world's most famous actors.

Crack: VIDEO: Watch a "minisode" of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS where Victor and Douglas go to a strip club and see young stripper Nikki Reed.

E! Online: Yet another soap opera cheap shot alert: In the latest daytime ratings, CBS' THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS logged its 1000th week at No. 1. Its run extends all the way back to when people actually watched soap operas.

Glasgow Evening Times: Small-screen celebrities dazzled at the Television and Radio Industries Club Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel in London last night. Scots Chef Gordon Ramsay won TRIC's TV Personality of the Year, while Soap of the Year went to EASTENDERS. Elsewhere in soaps, CORONATION STREET's Kym Ryder was named Soap Personality of the Year.

Virgin Media Music: EMMERDALE actor Alex Carter is going down under - to join his brother's band for their Australian tour. Alex's brother Bruce is a member of electronic indie-pop band The Whip.

Serial Drama: [Yester]Day's Dumbest Dialogue on GENERAL HOSPITAL.