Post Opinion pages are not just about speaking out, but speaking up on issues

Post Opinion pages are not just about speaking out, but speaking up on issues

These are busy days, for those of us who assemble The Palm Beach Post’s Opinion pages. Sometimes they’re days of despair that the moral arc of the universe might not be bending toward justice as quickly as we’d like. Sometimes, though, we find ourselves writing of positive things unfolding in our communities that hold out great promise.

Then there’s just the stuff we can hardly believe. Over the past couple of months, we’ve weighed the doings of an elderly felon candidate who couldn’t stay awake during his trial but wants to rule the world, depending on the length of his sentence; and of the elderly incumbent, an expert on global and domestic affairs who sometimes can’t stay awake through the end of his sentences.

Let’s just, everybody, take a nap and get on with it.

There’s been much to weigh in on, in Palm Beach County this year. On the development front, luxury condos are rising everywhere, while a severe shortage of affordable housing leaves teachers, police and other local workers wondering where they’re supposed to live. Elevated mortgage rates and soaring property insurance premiums put housing further out of reach for many.

The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board also opined on Tri-Rail picking up the slack from Disney-focused Brightline by providing new, express commuter service to Miami. And we’ve backed efforts to improve east-west transportation in the county before population growth turns us into another congested Miami-Dade or Broward.

Lately we expressed dismay at enormous retirement payouts our sheriff has been dishing out to his top execs. Likewise with the State’s Attorney’s Office’s years-long battle to keep records of the Jeffrey Epstein serial pedophile case out of public view. We were happy to report the Post finally won that battle this month.

These days, we’re also busy interviewing candidates for local office seeking our newspaper's endorsement. Persuasion is only part of our role, though. We work just as hard at curating a community forum for a variety of viewpoints, left and right. These come in the form of letters to the editor, and locally written and nationally syndicated op-ed essays. Our own local columnist, Frank Cerabino does his best to make readers laugh or cry twice a week, while also taping TikTok videos for our website; we don’t expect him to receive any invitations to the governor’s mansion or Mar-a-Lago anytime soon.

If something in the news strikes you, we’d love to hear. Email us your letters and op-eds, please. Meanwhile, keep track of what we and your neighbors are saying, in the Post Opinion pages, Wednesday through Sunday in print, and every day online. We’ll try to keep you awake.

Meanwhile, below are some stories and photos from our staff from the past week.

You can reach Tony Doris at adoris@pbpost.com. Or send a letter or op-ed to letters@pbpost.com. Subscribe to independent reporting that supports democracy via subscribe.palmbeachpost.com.