How dare People magazine suggest that Chesapeake’s “American Idol” contestant, Chris Richardson, may be having a romance with Alaina Alexander, who was bumped from the competition some time ago?

So writes Richardson’s girlfriend, Gayle Barnett, in an e-mail from Maryland, where she moved after meeting and dating Richardson when they both worked at Hooters on Battlefield Boulevard in Chesapeake.

Calling it a backstage secret, the magazine said Alexander was sitting with Richardson’s family during the shows and that the pair were hanging out in Los Angeles.

“At first we tried to ignore the rumor . The Internet spread it everywhere. So now we’re sick about getting that kind of publicity,” said Barnett, who has visited Richardson in Los Angeles, where the Fox show originates.

Nice person, Gayle. When Richardson’s parents took off for Los Angeles to see their son advance to the final eight, Barnett spent a week in Chesapeake looking after the Richardsons’ dog.

Casual chic I’m surprised American men haven’t adopted the Simon Cowell look. The “American Idol” judge makes a fashion statement with Armani jeans worn with a gray or black T-shirt or sweater.

Bench strength Having booted Don Imus off the air for good after making racially insensitive remarks on “Imus in the Morning,” CBS Radio has picked Mike Barnicle to fill in for him. Starting Monday, he’ll be heard weekdays from 5:30 to 10 a.m. on Hampton station WLRT-AM (1490).

Barnicle, a frequent Imus guest, hosts a program on a Boston radio station and contributes to The Boston Globe and New York Daily News. He was named as a two-week fill-in. No word on a permanent Imus replacement.

Locating the Cubbies Note to Emmett Markey of Virginia Beach and other readers who asked where to find Chicago Superstation WGN (and Chicago Cubs baseball) on Cox cable after a recent lineup shuffle: You’ll find WGN re-located from Channel 72 to 97. Channel 72 is now Cinemax, so if you don’t subscribe to that, you’ll get nothing there.

He estimates that 400 model wannabes reported for the most recent auditions at The Gallery at Military Circle mall two weeks ago. Some were rejected because they were too short to meet the show’s height requirement, Soldinger said.

Are we next? Television stations owned by the Belo Corp. in Dallas, Seattle and Houston have converted their local newscasts to high-definition. Will the Belo station in this market, WVEC, soon join that group?

Not likely. Channel 13’s general manager, Lawrence “Nick” Nicholson, expects it to be a while before his station’s newscasts will be seen in high-def. “It’s on our radar, but we don’t have a date for when it will happen. When it does happen, it will be a great experience for the viewers,” Nicholson said.

Thirty-six stations in the U.S., including WRAL in Raleigh, N.C., do their local newscasts in high-def. Are the anchors in Hampton Roads ready for their close-ups?

They said it would never last Comedy Central’s “South Park,” which one critic called the stupidest smart show on television, is celebrating its 10th birthday, proving there’s an enduring appetite for tasteless programming on cable.

Still famous Brittany Diiorio of Virginia Beach didn’t make it past the second round of “The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll” on The CW, but her fame has not faded. She appears big as life in a tight-fitting tank top on the cover of Broadcasting and Cable magazine, the industry’s bible.

Readers forum Kay Bray in her e-mail says she loves watching “CSI: Miami” in high-def because of the spectacular scenery. But she’s annoyed with David Caruso’s acting style – his stance, his double takes, his delivery.

This is cache, read story here