shattered by a lightening strike

According to the staff report, cedars rot with age from the inside out and most old specimens are hollow at the base. In this case, the report adds, decades ago a portion of the circumference also rotted or was shattered by a lightening strike, leaving a doorway to the hollow core. For the last century this anomaly has been the backdrop for thousands of amateur photographs of people standing in the hollow.
-- 'Hollow Tree' teeters on the brink of destruction in The Vancouver Courier, Wednesday March 26th 2008

Must've been an insanely bright light. Unless, of course, they meant lightning strike.

WINDSHIMES

-- Sign at a shop on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, a block or two west of Las Vegas Blvd, Tuesday March 18th 2008

The shop is near the Four Queens Casino and Hotel, where we participated in a Dinner & Murder Mystery show. I don't recommend the show.

If you brake the merchandise

-- Sign at a shop on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, a block or two west of Las Vegas Blvd, Tuesday March 18th 2008

They should "have to pay for that" spelling error. The shop is near the Four Queens Casino and Hotel, where we participated in a Dinner & Murder Mystery show. I don't recommend the show.

NECKCLACES

-- Sign at a shop on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, a block or two west of Las Vegas Blvd, Tuesday March 18th 2008

The shop is near the Four Queens Casino and Hotel, where we participated in a Dinner & Murder Mystery show. I don't recommend the show.

last seen

"He was last seen when leaving a voicemail on a relative's cell phone."
-- Said by an anchor on Global's Noon News Hour, Saturday March 29th 2008

Very slim chance that the anchor means that someone saw him making a phone call, so shouldn't it be, He was last heard from when... I like how they call Saturday's noon news, Noon News Hour, when it's only half an hour long.

SUBSTITUE TEACHER

TOMMY'S MOTHER WAS A SUBSTITUE TEACHER.
-- Bottom-of-screen factoid on Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Thursday March 27th 2008

The show's title officially ends with a question mark. Therefore, I want to know why, on Fox's online schedule, the question mark is absent?

If your not // wet your appetite // for it's fifth season

To date, nearly 20,000 Canadians have experienced the Laughter, Adventure and Discovery of the Chase. If your not one of them ... what are you waiting for?
...
A new video showcasing the 2007 City Chase Series from around the world. Hopefully this will wet your appetite for the coming World Broadcast Premier on National Geographic Adventure One.
...
As final preparations are made for it's 5th season in Canada, City Chase is also awaiting the launch of the newly formed US Series.
-- Email from City Guru of City Chase, Wednesday March 26th 2008

#1: it's you're. #2: it's whet. #3: it's its.

Nathalie Merchant // think if the children

[Michael] Stipe, who has been allegedly romantically linked to both Nathalie Merchant (the chick from 10,000 Maniacs) and Stephen Dorff, referred to himself as a "queer artist" in a 2001 interview with Time Magazine...
...
It seems that gay people are everywhere in every day life but become fewer as we near the upper echelons of the art world, and out gay, mainstream rock stars can be counted on one hand, maybe two, which can only mean people are forced into the closet. And what kind of message does that send the children? Won't someone think if the CHILDREN???
-- Michael Stipe's sexuality not news on Sympatico / MSN Music, Tuesday March 25th 2008

The chick's name is actually Natalie Merchant. As for the latter bold-type, if children think then at least one person should think? Is that what you're saying? Or should if be of? That's more likely..

1,000 or 8,000?

On this Vegas.com page, under MGM Grand Details, is the following: Pool: Yes, the 27,000-square-foot Grand Pool complex features five pools, a 1,000-foot-long lazy river pool and three Jacuzzis.

However, clicking the Grand Pool complex link brings up a page with this at the top of the MGM Grand pool Details list: Number and size of pools: The 6.6-acre Grand Pool complex features four pools and an 8,000-foot-long lazy river pool.

since it's all-American Idol issue

Poignant and unexpectedly funny, Rabbit Hole was pegged as a "transcendent and deeply affecting new play, which shifts perfectly from hilarity to grief" by no less a publication than Entertainment Weekly. (Which, by the way, we've been boycotting since it's all-American Idol issue months ago.)
-- Down in the Hole in The Vancouver Courier, Wednsday March 19th 2008

It's its.

Its your own island getaway

Tropical oasis. Sunbathers paradise. Whatever you call it, the Grand Pool Complex is the most elegant swimming and sunbathing experience in the world. You have your choice from 5 shimmering swimming pools and three relaxing whirlpools. Or sit back and enjoy a ride down our meandering river. Like any exotic paradise, the Grand Pool Complex is surrounded by lush foliage, bridges, fountains and waterfalls. Its your own island getaway.
-- Grand Pool Complex on MGMGrand.com

It is, isn't it?

It is also features

"The City of Entertainment," MGM Grand, features 5,034 art deco-themed guest rooms and suites, world-class entertainment venues, signature restaurants, a state-of-the-art gaming complex, and the $100 million Conference Center for meetings and conventions. It is also features a one-of-a-kind Lion Habitat and the CBS Television City Research Center.
-- Monorail station property highlights on LVMonorail.com

Depends what your definition of is is. But why is is here?

CONVIENENCE

-- Sign at Cypress Mountain, Wednesday March 12th 2008

I am inconvenienced by the placement of the I in CONVIENENCE.

Patti Bachhus

[Patti] Bachhus' report also noted she's worried about the slow pace of seismic mitigation projects. She pointed out work on Strathcona and Carleton appear to be on indefinite hold pending education facilities review decisions.
...
Bachhus told committee members the first scenario would be DPAC's recommendation, preferably combined with more highly trained teams in the second scenario. A representative from the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association supported that idea, and made a motion to combine the two scenarios into one as a budget item.
-- Schools not prepared for emergencies, says report in The Vancouver Courier, Friday March 14th 2008

Her name is Patti Bacchus, which you'll begin to see if you browse the rest of the article. Five time it's Bacchus (including photo caption), twice it's Bachhus - five correct out of seven equals 71.43%. A low score for an easy task.

dont // exotic locals

And while the Active Adventure Passports dont provide travel opportunities to exotic locals, the parks board hopes they will expose them to the world of local activities and sports.
-- East Side students receive 'active adventure' passports in The Vancouver Courier, Wednesday March 12th 2008

The above refers to the hand-held print edition. As of this posting, the online version has been edited to fix the first error, but the second error remains.

$6.950 // QMs // replay the fees

The $6.950 [Ken Dobell] will repay to the city equals just over 27 hours work at his rate of $250 an hour.
...
[Special prosecutor Terrence] Robertson said that's because "Dobell held an honest but mistaken belief throughout that his activities were lawful" and "he co-operated fully" with the investigation."
...
He was also willing to replay the fees he received while he was in default of the act.
-- Dobell cut a deal on charges in The Vancouver Courier, Wednesday March 12th 2008

Bold #1: That's either supposed to be a comma, or he works long hours to afford a McDonald's Value Meal. Bold #2: an odd number of quotes. Bold #3: So he's willing to get illegally paid again?

slow load of no load // its no // its now

In fact, the traffic became too much for the servers to handle at times between 2pm and 4pm. If you tried to hit the [New York] Times homepage you found a slow load of no load at all.
...
If [Eliot] Spitzer formerly resigns at 3AM, well past the deadline for the Times final print edition, it will still be the lead story online. Its no longer all the news that’s fit to print — its now all the news that’s fit to post.
-- All The News that’s Fit to Post, Not Print on NowPublic, Monday March 10th 2008

I'd go with a slow load or no load at all. And it's it's, wrong twice in one sentence.

women's, mens & kids'

50% off all women's, mens, & kids' reg. priced pants
-- Sears ad in The Vancouver Courier, Friday March 7th 2008

Why would the advertisement writer correctly use an apostrophe in women's but then incorrectly omit the apostrophe in mens?

faciilites

I laughed at the thought of your poll question--simply because I think it's obvious we need to have better mental health faciilites here in the Lower Mainland. As a person who deals with mental illness, it seems to me that not using buildings for the very purpose they were built is insane. Perhaps opening up Riverview, and keeping it open is the key to success in dealing with those who are mentally ill. Consistency, after all is what we need for a healthy life.
-- Crazy poll question about mental health in The Vancouver Courier, Friday March 7th 2008

We have a wandering i in the facilities. Sometimes two letters in a word get acceptably transposed, but this is absurd. In the final sentence, I'd like to see a comma after all.

it was it was

Then there's [Sam] Sullivan's taxpayer-funded spokesman David Hurford. He was present when [Peter] Ladner announced he was seeking the mayoral nomination. Somehow Hurford felt it was it was directly related to city business for him to attack Ladner by alleging that he planned to run as an independent if he failed to win the NPA nomination. "I think it shows he's not a team player, quite frankly," Hurford said.
-- Mayor holding on to war chest in The Vancouver Courier, Friday March 7th 2008

"Jimmy, did you eat all the cookies in the jar?" "No, it was Susie." "I don't believe you." "It was, it was!!"

nutrionist

Marge hires a nutrionist to put Homer on a diet. It doesn't take.
-- Simpsons episode summary on FOX.com, Sunday March 9th 2008

Hayden Christiansen

-- TV schedule on NBC.com, Friday March 7th 2008

That would be actor Hayden Christensen. But at least they correctly spelled Will Ferrell's name.

our student's needs

-- Nightingale brochure, March 2008

Multiple teachers, resource teachers, and support staff for just one student's needs? More likely, based on the subsequent sentence and good ol' common sense, the apostrophe is supposed to be after the s, for plurality's sake.

Our "Proud to be a HAWK Program has helped

-- Nightingale brochure, March 2008

Once again, Nightingale can't seem to finish what they start when it comes to quotation marks.

One of Vancouvers Top Realtors

-- Notepad received in mail

Let's play pin the apostrophe into the slogan. Paul, you missed the board completely! We were looking for Vancouver's. Yes, Vancouver's. The error is at the top of every single page. I can't get away from it. Help!

who better... then

Having finished in a less-than-stellar place in the Courier's first annual "Peter Ballard Classic" beard-off, Seven Days Ahead is in a particularly cranky mood. And who better to take this out on then rebel-with-a-marketing plan Avril Lavigne?
-- Real Complicated in The Vancouver Courier, Wednesday March 5th 2008

In then, replace the e with an a and then it's correct, rather than wrong.

try and pass along

Mar 4 ... [Mike] Ribeiro's status for Wednesday won't likely be known until after the morning skate, but we'll try and pass along an update on Wednesday.
-- News and Notes on Yahoo! Sports, Tuesday March 4th 2008

My educated guess is that they mistakenly guaranteed an update, and meant to write, we'll try to pass along...

Will Farrell

-- The Georgia Straight front cover on February 28, 2008

The article inside had actor Will Ferrell's name spelled correctly throughout.

Which begs the question:

Which begs the question: just how loudly does a protest movement have to scream to get the attention of government?
-- "Government ignores wage protest" The Georgia Straight, Thursday February 28th 2008

See http://begthequestion.info and this similar post.

Marie Phillips' novel

Marie Phillips' novel Gods Behaving Badly imagines the gods living among us.
-- Author with a God complex in The Vancouver Courier, Friday February 29th 2008

From a photo caption that is directly next to a paragraph* that opens with this: Same goes for the Greek gods in Marie Phillips's debut novel, Gods Behaving Badly. (* In the online version, the photo caption is directly below said paragraph.) I guess if you know there's supposed to be an apostrophe, but are unsure if there should be an s after the apostrophe, then by doing one each way, you're guaranteed to be correct once - and wrong once.