After 31 years with the same radio station, Chris Turner is no longer with Entercom San Diego and KSON 103.7-FM, San Diego’s country music station, after his job was eliminated by parent company Entercom Communications Corp. His last day on the job was Friday, July 19. Since 2018, he had served as senior marketing and promotions director. “I am very sad to be leaving KSON and Entercom San Diego due to the corporate restructuring. But, on the other hand, I have been the luckiest guy in radio to have worked for three great companies and too many wonderful people to mention,” said Turner. “I have made many great friends, and I have many great memories after 31 years. I’m very proud of everything I did to support the success of KSON. Plus, it’s been an honor to have been associated for this long with the radio industry’s best format.” Turner started with the radio station at age 19, and survived ownership changes from Jefferson Pilot Communications to Lincoln Financial Media and then to Entercom, as well as format flips with several sister stations plus the acquisition of two former-CBS Radio stations (KWFN-FM and KYXY-FM). The unplanned departure from KSON has been especially emotional for Turner because his father, Al Turner, began working for the station in 1974 when Chris was only six years old. “I’ve worked here for 31 years but I’ve been associated with KSON for over 45 years,” said Chris. In the 1970s, Al Turner appeared at public events as the KSON cowboy mascot before he helped create the KSON Flatbed Band, a traveling music group. The chassis of a fifth wheeler was converted to a stage where musicians, including Al, performed in thousands of locations over more than 20 years. Al Turner passed away in 2015 from throat cancer. Other Entercom staff to lose jobs due to the restructuring included on-air hosts Dave Mason, Sunny 98.1, and Mark Blackwell, KYXY-FM, along with engineer Steve Cilurzo.

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KFMB 100.7-FM has added Karen Harlow to the weekend on-air team, starting with the 2-7 p.m. shift on Saturdays. Mike Vasquez, director of programming, said Harlow, who goes by the nickname “Cha Cha,” also will fill-in at other times as needed. Harlow, who has worked in radio for about 40 years, was previously at XPRS 105.7 MAX-FM before that station went off the air in December 2018. The native San Diegan and SDSU graduate started her radio career in the 1980s with San Diego’s XHTZ-FM Z-90 for 12 years followed by KHTS-FM Channel 93.3 for 10 years. She then worked in Los Angeles as an anchor and reporter on KNX-AM 1070 Newsradio. In June 2016, Harlow joined MAX-FM after applying for a disc jockey job in an unusual way. Instead of the typical submitting an air check, she rented a scissor-lift that hoisted her 30 feet above Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, next to a billboard for MAX-FM. For seven hours, she stood next to a banner that said: “MAX, Need a Job. Hire Cha Cha.”

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The San Diego office of J Public Relations (JPR) said it has been named the agency of record for the 1,000-room Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, considered Arizona’s largest hotel, according to JPR. The hotel, which opened in 2006, is currently under renovation, which began in May and is scheduled for completion in 2020. The remodeling is part of Marriott’s transforming of the Sheraton brand. In 2016, Marriott International merged with Sheraton’s parent company, Starwoods Hotel & Resorts. Specializing in travel and hospitality clients, J Public Relations, with offices in California and New York, was founded in 2005.