The cameras have been rolling since the $200,000 broadcast system was installed in commission chambers at the county administrative center. Those who watch the meetings live or in the three reruns can watch commissioners playing to the invisible crowd. "Explain that for our 40,000 viewers out there," is a typical comment.

The county actually has no idea how many are watching, Technical Operations Manager Louis F. Dellanoy said, because Nielsen doesn't rate the little county channel. But commissioners hope someone from Martin County's 40,000-plus households is tuned in.

Port St. Lucie was the first Treasure Coast city to televise its meetings. At first, there were problems with camera crews refusing to focus on gadflies who appeared so often before the city council. After a few months and a few complaints, the gadflies were on the air whenever they spoke.

A Sewall's Point commissioner has asked about televising his town's meetings, and St. Lucie County plans to air its meetings after the election this fall. St. Lucie commissioners want to avoid the appearance that incumbents would use TV exposure to boost their campaigns.

No such conflict seems to have entered the minds of Martin commissioners, who are encouraging more than just coverage of meetings. And there are enough televised meetings to send even the most serious insomniac directly to Dreamland: County Commission, Development Review Committee, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Code Enforcement Board and Local Planning Agency.

Ms. Williams, who joined the MCTV staff in October, recently produced a 37-minute "Airport Facts" segment, which included all the facts about Witham Field the county wants citizens to know. It includes interviews with Airport Director Mike Moon and aviation firm representatives about encouraging pilots to fly quietly. A helicopter flight over the various runways shows ways pilots can take off and land without making too much noise. The silent flight rules are voluntary, and no enforcement plans are in the works.

No representatives of Witham Airport Action Majority, the group that wants to move the airport, were interviewed. The county does not have to include them, said Assistant County Administrator David Graham, because MCTV is licensed as a government channel rather than as a public access channel. The commission has no obligation to be fair or present opposing viewpoints. Ms. Williams said she tried, but failed, to interview a member of the airport study committee.

The county also airs two regular monthly shows in addition to all the meetings. One, a 15-minute capital improvement projects update, shows the progress of work on parks, roads and other projects. The second, a show called Snapshots, offers features about such things as Sheriff Bob Crowder's 11 new gas-electric patrol cars.

Ms. Williams also is working on a series to explain how the growth-management department works, with details about the county's growth plan and land development regulations. "We're trying to inform and educate," she said, "and we try to be as neutral as we can get away with."

"Communicating through the local media," Mr. Dellanoy said, "the message gets changed as it gets processed. Through MCTV, the county can talk directly to the people."

This county commission seems determined to do that. Besides the TV station, the county buys a full-page ad in The Stuart News each month to explain -- in an upbeat way, of course -- such things as changes to the county's growth plan that will allow developers to destroy wetlands. There's also the "Martin County Update," a weekly newsletter.

Who's watching and reading? From Ms. Williams' chat with a supermarket admirer, it's new residents, trying to learn all they can about their new home. Unfortunately, they are seeing it through the eyes of a commission that favors uncontrolled growth. I don't want my taxes helping to pay the $162,996 annual tab for that.