Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/264109
I could not help but feel bad for City Editor Stan Zimmerman this week. He had to sit through a long City Commission session Tues- day — not to mention the other meetings involving city business that he attended. On the other side of downtown Sarasota, Asso- ciate Editor Cooper Levey-Baker, County Editor Roger Drouin and I split up the County Commission meeting on Wednesday. Then again, by the time Cooper finished with consultant Donna Arduin's fiscal neutrality report on the 2050 Plan, no one could have blamed him for feeling as tired as Stan must have been Tues- day night. Recently, when I was talking with a friend about covering local government meetings, she said she could not imagine having to sit through them. That is all the more reason I am grateful every week for Cooper, Stan and Roger. It does take a special person, I like to think, to find enjoyment in following the ebb and flow of local government. The flip side of that — the view on which I prefer to focus — is that if we did not track all that activity, how would you know what is really going on in this community? I am a firm believer that people should know what their elected officials are doing. After all, our tax money funds those activities. Well, that is enough from my soapbox this week. Given the wide gamut of topics in this issue, I have no fear you will find something of interest, thanks to the time investment we happily made on your behalf. Editor and Publisher WELCOME