No name change for Galveston

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how a marketing firm suggested that adding "Island" to the city of Galveston's name would make tourists flock to the island. Presumably, tourists would then realize that it actually is an island, and everyone knows islands = fun (well, OK, there are some exceptions).

But if you got excited about the possibility of the City of Galveston Island, simmer down: The Galveston City Council pretty much shot down the name-change idea during a workshop yesterday.

"I'm not in favor of a name change," said Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, who seemed to echo the feeling of the rest of the council. "There would be too many legal and legislative issues."

Dianna Puccetti, chairwoman of the city's Park Board, which oversees the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, was blunt: "The name's not going to change. It's part of the city charter, and it would be too hard to change it."

The name change was one of several suggestions from North Star Destination Strategies, which conducted a year-long marketing study for the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. Among the others: adopting a logo of a Texas-shaped conch shell with the slogan "The legend continues" and celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day (no kidding). Another suggestion was building a pirate park in Houston and filling it with some of Galveston's "fine brown sand." Uh ... yeah. Good one.

The suggestions are still being considered; a Galveston marketing campaign will probably launch early next year.