Winn-Dixie announced on Tuesday it plans to close 30 of its “underperforming” supermarkets, and today we found out that Louisiana was largely spared the axe — except for the Winn-Dixie in Marrero on Lapalco Boulevard. And, of course, the first thing I thought of was: Johnny Fasullo!

OK, it’s not terribly logical, but the late great WWOZ-FM DJ with the accent that made Buddy D and Ernie K-Doe sound like Queen Elizabeth was always name-checking “da Winn-Dixie on Lapalco” on his Sunday morning Cajun music show. In between spinning old Cajun 45s, Johnny kept up a steady stream of patter, and I always loved it when he would get to the inevitable “Dis one goes out to Miss [whomever], one of da checkers at da Winn-Dixie in Marrero!” (Does ANYONE else remember this?)

Johnny died in November 2005 at the age of 63 at his home in (where else?) Marrero. To all the checkers at the soon-to-be-shuttered Winn-Dixie — sorry about your jobs. I know Johnny would’ve had a song for you this Sunday.

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They said “cock-up”.

Now in the second half of its first century of programming, WTUL continues its annual Rock On Survival Marathon, a few-weeks-long fundraiser to keep the Tulane University radio station (and New Orleans’ only FM college radio station) on the air. Check in now through Sunday (stream online or dial to 91.5 FM) to hear the brave DJs manning the 24-Hour DJ Weekend.

Last weekend the station held a three-day court at Maison 508 with a stellar showcase for the Foburg Music Festival. Tomorrow night at One Eyed Jacks, 9th Ward warriors Quintron and Miss Pussycat share the venue with the West Bank’s sons of bounce Ballzack and Odoms. Next weekend holds a CD release and the annual Hootenany concert and crawfish boil. Proceeds keep the station’s independent programming running — the dough WTUL receives from pledges and events during the marathon are its primary sources for funding. (You can donate online or call to make a pledge.)

Tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., WTUL hosts its second (not-annual) record fair, a new addition to the marathon. It’ll host more than 21 vendors including Domino Sound Record Shack, the Iron Rail, Louisiana Music Factory, Community Records, Skullyz Records, Jim Russell Records and others. Admission is free (records are not).

The location is a bit tricky — it’s at Pocket Park, next to the university’s Lavin-Bernick Center off McAlister Drive near Freret Street. (Click here for a map or get directions here.)

The popular NPR news quiz show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me recorded this week’s episode at the Mahalia Jackson Theater last night in front of a packed house. The episode will air at 10 a.m. Saturday on WWNO 89.9 FM.

Host Peter Sagal and judge/scorekeeper Carl Kasell (pictured) were joined by panelists Mo Rocca, Roy Blount Jr. (author of Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans) and Amy Dickinson. George Porter Jr. was the celebrity guest tested on an area of knowledge totally unrelated to his expertise. He also was quizzed about the meaning of Mardi Gras Indian and Meter song titles (but it seemed no one briefed Sagal on how amicable the Meters breakup was). Tune in to hear the secret of a professional musician staying married for 43 years; what Dickinson thinks Houston is for; thoughts on the tickling and nudist habits of congressional members; and Mo Rocca’s bold prediction about Drew Brees’ greatest secret.

From the Failing Up Dept.: Seems that Michael “Brownie” Brown has been given his own three-hour evening talk show on KOA radio in Denver, which seems to be the Mile-High City’s version of WWL-AM minus some of the Hebert-Deke-DelGiornoisms.

But why Brownie? Let’s ask Clear Channel honcho Kris Olinger:

Regarding the notoriety Brown earned from his Katrina actions, Olinger says, “I think it’s a definite positive. He has great insight into what happened in New Orleans and how government works. He takes responsibility where he needs to, but he’s also pretty candid about other things that went wrong. I think people get the inside story from him.”

And here’s Brownie showing how he takes responsibility later in the same story:

“People get beaten up and thrown under the bus all the time,” he notes. “You’ve got the choice of letting the bus run over you three times, and wallowing in that, or getting up and moving. And my choice was to get up and keep moving.”

If your radio doesn’t pick up signals from Denver, you’ll have to wait until June, when Brownie’s book Deadly Indifference: Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, Disease Pandemics and the Failed Politics of Disasters hits bookshelves. And if you’re shaking your head that Michael “FEMA” Brown would actually have the temerity or boneheadedness to write a Katrina book called Deadly Indifference, you don’t know Brownie.