HOT FLASH DEPT.: The advance Arbitron ratings...

HOT FLASH DEPT.: The advance Arbitron ratings are out and L.A. has a new rock radio leader--KPWR-FM (Power 106). The hot dance-music station has dethroned longtime L.A. radio powerhouse KIIS-FM as the reigning king of the rock airwaves, with KPWR zooming up from a 4.4 to a 6.0 rating and KIIS dropping from a 7.4 to a 5.9. (All-talk KABC now leads all stations.)

The news was not so good for most of L.A.’s album-rock stations, as KROQ-FM dipped from a 4.3 to a 3.8 and KMET-FM plummeted from a 3.2 to a 2.2, the station’s lowest rating in years. However, tiny KNAC-FM, the 3,000-watt Long Beach-based heavy-metal station, had its best ratings ever, doubling its numbers from a .6 to a 1.2.