Fly on the Wall, Edition No. 9

Here we go again, as the Fly buzzes around town and sees what's up.

Long may they 'rein'

One of the first things the Fly noticed about the Manatee County Tourist Development Council meeting on Monday was that it was darn cold in the commission chambers. Indeed, if they were looking for a mood, it was an Alaska mood.

Next was the array of ads for the TDC, including a new logo that actually mentions Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch. The ad for riding horses on the beach included a typical spelling error, though. "Take each day by the reigns (sic)," the copy read.

The Fly is a pain in the mandibles when it comes to spelling, so he asked someone from the TDC, "You're going to fix that spelling error, right?" The proper word is "reins" when you're talking about horses.

Excuses were mumbled, and that was about it.

Early escape

The Palmetto City Commission meeting on Monday night had a sweet, sweet surprise. It ended before Jay Leno comes on.

The Fly saw a short agenda and no CRA meeting and rejoiced. Mary Lancaster and Tambra Varnadore were out, as was Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant. At 8:05 p.m., people were racing for the door after Commissioner Brian Williams adjourned the meeting, including Commissioner Tamara Cornwell, who said, "I'm going home to be with my two boys."

It's a pity is was dark outside, but the Fly was glad to be out at a reasonable hour.

Right time, wrong date

The Fly got a press release on Wednesday pitching an event at USF Sarasota-Manatee, and like all editors, the first thing he looked at was the date of the event to see if it needed to be dealt with right away or could be delayed.

The event was scheduled for "Friday, Oct. 29," the release said, so the Fly filed it aside for later consideration.

On Thursday afternoon, the Fly looked at it again for possibly covering it next week, and made an interesting discovery: Oct. 29 is a Thursday. So the Fly called USF for clarification and got the sender of the release, who revealed that the correct date of the event was Friday, Oct. 23. Ooops on her. The Fly had scheduled an interview with someone in Bradenton at that day and time, and wasn't about to break it.

A few seconds later, a correction came through the e-mail ether for the media, correcting the date. But too late for the Fly to change his schedule.

The Fly is pretty hard on public relations people who send bad information. As a copy editor at the Herald-Tribune, the Fly had to edit calendar information that often included impossible dates (one business event was scheduled for Feb. 30, an impossibility even in a leap year) and weird times.

The 'buzz' around town

Most folks who are in the know turn off their cell phones during government meetings, though a few people forget, but at a recent Council of Governments meeting it became obvious that phones can be loud, even in "silent" mode.

Instead of hearing ring tones or songs or hymns, you can hear the loud buzz and then see someone duck down. In fact, some people read screens and text during meetings. The Fly wonders what they're saying in those texts.

The Fly just checks his e-mail, the Dow and the latest news when the topic is especially dull.

That's all for this week.