Up & Down the Avenue

EURO MEANS BUSINESS. Just moved in are the Chicago brethren of Rubin Postaer Associates (RPA): GCDs Bill Mericle and Paul Janas, copywriter Derrick Halpern, print production director Susan Green and account execs Bill Marks and Tim Reardon. They also brought with them accounts Potbelly Sandwich Works, Calaphon cookware, Direct Buy, GMAC Realty, Greco children’s products and H20 plus. New hire is SVP Paula Airsick as head of new position of strategy and planning. She’s a 16-year veteran of FCB. No staff producers, but Mike McDonald continues as long-time AV department head. Phone, 312/640-3017.

OPTIMUS ADDED Santa Monica-based editor and L.A. native Grant MacDowell, and Justin Amore as junior editor. MacDowell was formerly of Brass Knuckles Editorial of Venice, and Amore freelanced at Superior Assembly and Spot Welders.

ANDY SPORKIN joined Washington, D.C.-based National Public Radio as VP/communications. Most recently she was VP/publicity for Fox and SVP/communications for Tri-Star Television.

DAVID SCHWIMMER was here last week to talk up the “Lookingglass Gglassquerade” fund-raising gala May 13 at the Ritz-Carlton. Schwimmer is a founder of Lookingglass Theatre. Aside: He’s going to star in the play, “Some Girls,” on the London stage.

LAUGHLIN/CONSTABLE picked up the now-defunct Grant/Jacoby’s four person public relations practice: Pat McCauley, Shelley Beeler, Rachel Lukas and Erin Madison.

MIKE DITKA, Y&R and Ch. 2 are developing the marketing campaign to recruit volunteers and increase donations via the 20th annual Misericordia Candy Days, April 29-30. Jelly Belly Candy will donate 1.2 million bags of jelly beans for the event.

MUSICIANS Nicholas Tremulis and Jon Langford will alternate as weekly hosts of “The Eclectic Company,” an ambitious new two-hour show on WXRT-FM (93.1). The show, airing Mondays at 10 p.m., occasionally will have special guests. The idea of the show is to provide a look into the music scene.

POWERWORKS STUDIO is the new boutique agency of Allan Woodrow, specializing in advertising and design with traditional and new media. Another venture is D’NA formed by Woodrow and his art director partner Dino Favale to provide freelance assistance to agencies, et al. Their tagline is: “Advertising. It’s In Our Blood.”

BURNETT CREATIVE DIRECTOR/PLAYWRIGHT Steve Simoncic‘s third play, “Broken Fences,” about gentrification in a changing neighborhood, premieres April 5 at Live Bait Theater.

VO ACTOR Harlan Hogan has written “The Voice Actors Guide to Home Recording” with author/engineer Jeffrey Fisher. Hogan drew on his personal experience in setting up his own 10-year-old home recording studio. The book is available through Amazon.com and major retailers. See harlanhogan.com.

A RADIO RECORD! Chuck Schaden started his “Those were the Days” nostalgia radio show in 1970 featuring choice episodes of radio’s Golden Age. To celebrate his 35th anniversary, Schaden will broadcast his show April 30 from the LaSalle Bank Cinema auditorium. Not surprisingly, tickets to the show, a benefit for WDCB, have been sold out for months. He is a former newspaper editor and marketing executive.

CAPPS, once Leo Burnett’s in-house preprint division and now a separate division housed within Burnett, has opened a New York office to better serve parent Publicis Groupe agencies there.