WMHT CUTTING STAFF, TRIMMING 24-HOUR DAY.(Living Today)

Byline: John Dieffenbach Staff writer

WMHT will cut back on its 24-hour programming in July and lay off two employees to try to balance a budget the station's chief said fell short because of reduced revenues from private and government sources.

William E. Haley Jr., president of WMHT (Channel 17), said he expects the new schedule to save the station $88,000 a year in "power, personnel and costs."

Channel 17 will sign off at 12:30 a.m. and sign on at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 7 a.m. Sunday.

Haley said the two engineering positions that were responsible for operating the station at night will be cut, and other jobs will be …