Dan Gross: 'Hurricane' Schwartz's engagement is off

NBC 10 meteorologist

Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz

and Bucks County's

Christie Wood

have called off their engagement, informed sources tell us.

Schwartz proposed to Wood, whom he met on Match.com, on Christmas morning. The pair had dated for nearly a year. Schwartz, who was divorced from wife Wynette in 2006, did not return multiple requests for comment.

Our efforts to reach Wood, who works as a school guidance counselor, were unsuccessful.

Baseball tix? Yes.

Staff paid? No.

Some Old Original Bookbinder's (125 Walnut) employees are outraged that owner John Taxin recently paid $16,000 for four Phillies season tickets near the visiting team's dugout at Citizens Bank Park, while nearly 15 employees haven't been paid in a month. The landmark Philadelphia seafood house, which Samuel Bookbinder opened in 1865, closed last month. Bookbinder's voice mail blamed the closing on "mechanical emergencies," and called it temporary, but the restaurant has not yet reopened. Taxin has not responded to any of our messages left over the past month.

WHYY lays off 17 employees

WHYY laid off 16 full-time employees and one part-timer yesterday throughout the public radio and television stations.

No "direct news content production staffers" or anybody regularly on-air on TV12, or 91 FM were cut, says WHYY spokesman Art Ellis. Ellis said that compared with other nonprofits and public stations 'HYY "has been healthy this year and has had four years of balanced budgets . . . This is about looking ahead for next year and wanting to invest in new directions on Web content and new media," Ellis said yesterday.

Several WHYY employees told us they were curious whether the salary of CEO Bill Marrazzo would be cut. His compensation, more than $400,000 plus $300,000 in expenses and benefits, has long been sore point with 'HYY employees. "I have no further information to provide about executive compensation," Ellis said, when we asked whether Marrazzo's pay would be decreased.

Sexy 'Slumdog' star shops A.C.

Frieda Pinto, the gorgeous star of "Slumdog Millionaire," just picked up a black sheath dress at Banana Republic at The Pier Shops at Caesars in Atlantic City.

We're told that the actress, recently cast in a Woody Allen film, bought the dress for an TV interview in London.

* And speaking of "Slumdog," in a tribute

to the Oscar-winning-film from their native India, father and son dentists Nalin and Arpan Patel of Langhorne's Oxford Valley Dental Excellence (270 Middletown) are holding a contest called "Smiledog Millionaire," to award a smile makeover worth up to $30,000 in restorative and cosmetic dentistry.

That's about 1.5 million rupees in India. People 18+ can enter online through May 31 at smiledogmillionaire.com.

Out and about

* Flyers center Jeff Carter dined at Del

Frisco's (15th & Chestnut) Sunday, when Mario Lemieux and other Penguins execs were also at the steak house. The Penguins had a team dinner at Del Frisco's on Monday night.

* Canadian hockey broadcaster Mike

Milbury and his family dined at Ralph's (760 S. 9th) Monday night. The former Boston Bruins defenseman is in town for the Flyers series. Also at Ralph's over the weekend was Phillies broadcaster Gary "Sarge" Matthews, who was chatted up by diners at nearby tables.

Five-minute plays staged Sat.

The Philadelphia Dramatists Center is staging its annual spring fund-raiser at 7 Saturday night at the German Society (611 Spring Garden) where a series of five-minute plays will be performed. Playwrights David Witz, Richard Kotulski, Alex Dremann, Thomas Tirney and P. Seth Bauer were the winners of a contest to write the shorts over 72 hours last weekend. All submissions will be printed and sold at the event for $8, and can also be read afterward online at pdc1.org. *

Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest stories. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. For recent columns, visit go.philly.com/dangross.