In Palm Beach County, triumph and tragedy marked 2024 and the Palm Beach Post had it all covered.
The Post reported on everything from Trump and traffic tragedies to water safety and weather extremes. Sadly, the bad news seemed to dominate our daily newsroom discussions.
Two car crashes claimed 12 lives, once again a reminder of the fragility of our existence:
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Nine people died Aug. 5 when a Ford Explorer tumbled into a canal northeast of Belle Glade. The SUV contained 10 members of a family traveling to a South Florida airport after a reunion near Fort Myers.
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Two and a half months later, on Nov. 21, three road-patrol officers — Cpl. Luis Paez and Deputies Ralph “Butch” Waller and Ignacio “Dan” Diaz — were killed in a crash along Southern Boulevard west of Wellington. An SUV trying to avoid hitting another vehicle overcorrected in traffic, driving onto the side of the road and hitting the officers as they stood waiting for help in restarting a PBSO motorcycle. Paez and Waller died that day at St. Mary’s Medical Center. Diaz died four days later.
Memorial service for three fallen Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies December 03, 2024 in Palm Beach County.
But there was good news as well:
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Alexcia Cox became the first Black person and the first woman elected as Palm Beach County’s top prosecutor. Voters on Nov. 3 chose her to lead the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, succeeding Dave Aronberg, who chose to leave office at the end of his third term.
Alexcia Cox greets supporters and colleagues at the State Attorney’s Office in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla., on November 6, 2024. Cox is the first woman and the first Black person to win the office of Palm Beach County state attorney after her win on election night.
Still, what has made The Palm Beach Post so vital to its readers is the impact stories our team of journalists produce.
Our goal has always been to be a trusted news organization and provide compelling stories that reflect the diversity and changing trends of our ever-growing county.
The Post produced a number of investigative and comprehensive stories that were geared toward how our community was affected:
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A six-story series on why a new condominium law, spurred by the 2021 Surfside condo collapse, will potentially cause a financial strain on condo owners.
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A project that examined why the recent surge of wealth moving into Palm Beach County was both a blessing and a challenge. The project involved nearly every journalist at The Post and produced multiple stories.
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Post reporter Kimberly Miller led the way in the detailed reporting on a plan to develop parcels within a number of Florida state parks, including building a golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Kim was among the first reporters to break the news and turned out multiple follow stories detailing the outcry and political fallout.
It’s hard to believe all that news happened in 2024, but the year went by so fast and 2025 will as well. And as always, The Post will guide you with our relentless coverage.
James Coleman is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jcoleman@pbpost.com and follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @JimColeman11. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: The Palm Beach Post coverage of events in 2024 had details and depth