Dan Gross: Shallow send-off for NBC10's Lake

VETERAN NBC10 anchor Tim Lake worked his last shift at the station Friday night, though you wouldn't have known it had you seen the 11 p.m. news.

Lake, whose contract was not renewed, sources tell us, made no reference to leaving the station, where he had worked for 20 years.

News Director Anzio Williams emailed staff about 11:55 Friday night to say: "I would like to thank Tim Lake for his many years of service as a reporter and anchor at NBC10. Today was Tim's last day. We wish him well in the future. A search for a new anchor is under way."

We're told that Lake knew for several months that his contract was not being renewed by the station but that the announcement blindsided most of his colleagues.

Sources say they expect management to do more housecleaning of on-air talent, in addition to recent firings of writers, producers and other off-air staffers.

Lake had co-anchored the 6 and 11 p.m. news with Renee Chenault-Fattah for 11 years.

Reached at home Sunday, Lake declined comment. An NBC10 spokeswoman confirmed that Lake is no longer with the station but would not provide any additional details or say why the station did not mention Lake's departure.

* Liam Hemsworth, in town

shooting "Paranoia," and some friends stopped at Continental Midtown (18th & Chestnut) late Saturday night for a few bottles of wine and some beers and snacks. The actor stopped to pose for pics with a group of female fans.

* Food Network producer and

"Double Dare" host Marc Summers, Fox 29's Mike Jerrick, Sheinelle Jones, Sue Serio and Howard Eskin, and Eskin's former radio rival, 97.5 The Fanatic's Mike Missanelli, all attended the annual Cashman & Associates holiday party Wednesday at Tendenza (969 N. 2nd).

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, state Sen. Larry Farnese, Councilman Mark Squilla, CBS 3's Lesley Van Arsdall, Nicole Brewer and Jenn Bernstein, 6 ABC's Ali Gorman, NBC10's Aditi Roy and Comcast SportsNet's Lisa Hilary also helped Nicole Cashman celebrate along with many clients of her PR and special-events firm. Dawn Stensland, who recently debuted a weekly show on WMCN-TV, was also in the house.

The titanium silver, 616-horsepower McLaren 12C in which Hemsworth and fiancee Miley Cyrus were seen riding around Los Angeles recently is now for sale at McLaren Philadelphia (1231 West Chester Pike) in West Chester for about $250,000.

Hemsworth, who drove a Fisker Karma in the film "Paranoia" over the summer, developed a relationship with RDS Automotive Group of Newtown Square, which is also supplying Porsche, Maserati and McLaren cars for the film.

In another Hemsworth/ McLaren tie, Chris Hemsworth, the actor's brother, plays McLaren Formula one drive James Hunt in Ron Howard's next film, "Rush." Hunt's 1977 Grand Prix-winning car is on display at McLaren

Philadelphia.

Daily News sportswriters Ed Barkowitz and Mike Kern will guest-bartend and collect money and toys for needy children from 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Shamrock Pub (2nd & Reed). You can watch the Eagles game and discuss it with two great sports minds and help a good cause at the same time.

Local pastry chef Karl Isaiah of Cake Boulangerie will be on the Food Network's "Sweet Genius," at 10 p.m. Dec. 20. On the show Isaiah competes with three other chefs in a dessert contest.

Bucks County dentist Ken Pakman is just out with his first novel, Domestic Tranquility, a story of America as it could have been had the country sunk into martial law after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The story covers from the early 1960s to present-day New York. The book is available at Amazon.com.