Just when you thought it couldn't get worse
The Gazette's July 27-28 weekend edition featured the following front page headline: "Memoriam on bars takes effect" over an article by the paper's staff reporter, Gerardo Recinos.The word "Memoriam" drew my attention. I had never heard nor read it before standing alone like that. It's most often connected with the word "in," as with "In Memoriam," followed by an epitaph for a departed soul.
In the newspaper business great care is usually taken with headlines. They aren't left for drafting by any Tom, Dick or Harry. It's a job for the editor. Their purpose is to convey the gist of the article and attract readers' attention, encouraging them to read on.
What could this article be about, I wondered? A "memoriam on bars." What kind of bars? chocolate bars? jail bars? And what about "takes effect?" How could a "memoriam" take effect?
After wading through several subjects seemingly unrelated to the headline (whatever it meant) – like mention that the Laurel Knoll project was not the only item on the Martinez City Council's agenda, that a new City employee had been introduced at the Wednesday night Council meeting, that an update on the status of the Marina had been given by the community services contract manager, etc., etc. – the staff reporter finally got to the point: "Council also approved. . ." (what else had been approved was somehow left out) . . . "a 45-day moratorium on the establishment of bars in the downtown area . . ."
Aha! "a moratorium!" on bars, like on Ferry Street. Finally it makes sense.
Being a Gazette reader continues to be alternately amusing, disconcerting, and taxing.
