because of the number of applicants, the fcc arranged a hearing in 1989. during that time orion tried to negotiate with the other applicants, offering up to 2 million dollars at one point, which they declined. in 1990 and 1991, the fcc's administrative law judge (alj) and review board had both ruled in favor of orion broadcasting based on their track record of public affairs with wsky and awarded the station's construction permit on the condition that wsky was sold. the station signed on july 29, 1994 under test authority as wzls with a classic rock-leaning album rock format under the "z96.5" handle (the call sign for the station stood for "z"eb "l"ee's "s"tation). after the sound of a ticking clock, the first song was "fm" by steely dan. in the meantime, some of the other applicants for the license had merged to form a group called biltmore forest radio inc., headed up by u.s. house representative mel watt. the group was successful in pointing out in the u.s. court of appeals in a separate case bechtel v. fcc (10 f.3d 875) that the fcc's "interrogation preference" was "arbitrary and capricious". this ruling eventually forced the fcc to place a freeze on new station licenses for a time and to revoke orion's construction permit for wzls. on june 2, 1997, after several appeals, wzls was forced off the air by midnight. biltmore forest radio's wzrq signed on that same day under a time-brokered agreement with styles broadcasting out of panama city, florida. for a period of 12 hours, both stations were broadcasting at the same time, which caused interference with each other since they were on the same frequency. wzrq had featured a similar album rock format to what wzls had, with the exception that it was mostly voice-tracked. in the meantime, u.s. senator jesse helms appealed to the u.s. court of appeals on orion broadcasting's behalf, and was successful in getting the construction permit returned to the lee family. on january 17, 1998, wzrq shut down by court order and wzls returned to the airwaves after a seven-month absence, with a ticking clock and "fm" by steely dan. during its absence, station revenue and personnel were lost. on august 1 of that same year, zeb lee died. his family carried on in operating wzls while fighting the fcc for the license of the station.