Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/88739
I recently had the occasion to revisit a statement I made many years ago to new colleagues at a daily paper in North Carolina: The best part about a career in journalism is that you never know what will happen on a given day — and that's also the worst part of the job. Fortunately, I have found the anticipation far outweighs any anxiety about the uncertainties. Just this week, for example, our associate editor, Cooper Levey-Baker, and I started out with tentative lists of the stories we planned to tackle, only to see the lists transformed quite a bit as the week wore on. Cooper did get a good story about the first Legislative Summit of Suncoast organizations working for unity on policy proposals to present to the 2013 Florida Legislature. What Cooper hadn't anticipated, however, was a raucous discussion among members of the Sarasota County Commission and the Venice City Council during a joint meeting of the boards on Oct. 16. A meeting I planned to attend on Wednesday didn't mate- rialize. In fact, I haven't been able to find out yet whether it was moved or rescheduled. When I returned home, I started making some phone "rounds," which led me to a tale about a couple wanting to start a food-truck business in Siesta Key Village — an idea island organizations oppose. Stan Zimmerman probably long ago lost count of how many story lists he has torn up through the years. Yet with Stan, an editor never has to worry about copy. Stan manages to ferret out more stories and more interest- ing takes on stories than any other colleague I ever have known. This week, among other topics, he tack- led what I will call "The Lewis Legacy" at Sarasota City Hall and the downtown noise ordinance debate, mixed in with City Commission actions and other tid- bits from around town. School Board reporter Scott Proffitt is rounding out things nicely this week with his take on the School Board's vote on proposed new charter schools and a "Telephone Town Hall" the school district held last week. All in all, we feel you have a wide array of timely topics to peruse in the Oct. 19 issue of The Sara- sota News Leader. With warmest regards, Editor and Publisher