Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/207831
As City Editor Stan Zimmerman put it just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, "Nothing quite like deadline to get the ol' juices flowing." Our publication has many advantages, thanks to its digital format, but our staff — like those of all publications — has a cut-off point for delivering copy. On Wednesday, Stan called to say the City Commission would be meeting at 11 a.m. on Thursday — our production day — to talk about settling the latest Government in the Sunshine lawsuit filed against it. Having no idea how long the session might last, I told him to call the next day after it ended, and we would decide how to proceed. As it turned out, County Editor Roger Drouin and I both had stories to finish, so when Stan called, I told him he could go home and write, and I gave him about an hour and 15 minutes to do that. He beat the timer. The only thing better than a late-breaking story is producing articles about significant topics that can be found nowhere else. We take much pride in pursuit of that endeavor, and you will see quite a few examples in this issue. Even Staff Photographer Norman Schimmel has a big scoop. Our Sarasota Leisure section this week also is brimming with articles I have seen nowhere else. And while I am loathe to "toot my own horn," I want to put in a plug for my story about Operation Second Chance in Sarasota County — not because of my involvement with it but because the people I interviewed are among the most inspiring I ever have encountered. Editor and Publisher