from then on, reaching its nadir in the February 2008 ratings period, when both Dr. Phil and the 6:00 p.m. newscast finished third behind WJW's and WEWS's newscasts. Another reason for the sustained success was that channel 3 had a measure of stability at the anchor desk for the first time in decades. From 2000 to 2007, its weeknight news team consisted of Tim White and Romona Robinson, chief meteorologist Mark Nolan and sports director Jim Donovan. The long-standing team was broken up in 2007 when Nolan was reassigned to anchor the morning newscast, and weekend meteorologist Betsy Kling was promoted to weeknights. In December 2008, White's contract was allowed to lapse and Robinson anchored the 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. newscasts alone until her departure at the end of 2011. On January 3, 2011, WKYC expanded its weekday morning newscast by a half-hour, to 4:30 a.m. (WJW expanded its morning newscast into that timeslot on that same day). On January 16, 2012, former CBS News reporter/anchor Russ Mitchell became the new primary weeknight anchor and managing editor. On April 2, 2012, Kris Pickel became the new weeknight co-anchor with Mitchell at 6 and 11:00 p.m., marking a return of the traditional two-person anchor team at WKYC after three-plus years of solo anchors. In 2015, Pickel left WKYC and was replaced by Sara Shookman, who was previously a reporter/weekend morning anchor for channel 3. On January 22, 2013, WKYC began using the AFD #10 broadcast flag to present its newscasts and other station programming in letterboxed widescreen for viewers watching on cable television through 4:3 television sets; this change accompanied the switch to Gannett's new standardized station graphics package. Honors A park on the east side of Cleveland was named for Helen Simpson, an advertising and promotions manager at WKYC, who was murdered in 1972 on her way home from work. In 2016, after 37 years of serving as the station's political reporter, longtime channel 3 newsman Tom Beres announced his retirement after covering the election. The city of Cleveland then honored Beres by naming the section of Lakeside Avenue in front of the WKYC building "Tom Beres Way". On May 10, 2021, channel 3 honored alumnus Al Roker—who was in Cleveland reporting on the city's reopening efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic—by naming the radar tower on top of the WKYC building the "Roker Tower", with WKYC chief meteorologist Betsy Kling