Letters: Dave Aronberg deserves praise for punditry

Aronberg deserves praise for punditry

“Aronberg’s cable news punditry criticized” relied on reporting of several defense attorneys and former prosecutors, mostly anonymous, to criticize three-term Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg because he appears two or three times a week for five-minute expert commentary on national television. He speaks on such topics as school shootings, constitutional abortion rights and other subjects of national legal interest, all on his own time, before or after his workday.

Rather than be criticized for claimed low morale in his office due to low salaries provided by the state budget, Aronberg should be praised for the national media’s recognition of his expertise in educating the public on the vital public interest legal subjects that he talks about. Could it be that the critics are envious or jealous of Aronberg’s legal talents?

If critics want higher morale and salaries for prosecutors, they should complain to the state legislators and governor who set the budgets for the Office State Attorney.

Ira Rabb is a retired New York Supreme Court Justice living in West Palm Beach.

Aronberg's an exemplary state attorney

Dave Aronberg is an example of what a state attorney should strive to be. We no longer see queues of people wrapped around pill mills waiting for their oxycodone. The tsunami of sober homes that entered our municipalities has ebbed in the past few years.  These are examples of the legislative work of State Attorney Aronberg, the excellent working relationship he has with our Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw’s office and his legal expertise and that of his staff.

Aronberg engages with the local community. It is no wonder that he caught the attention of news and talk shows. The State Attorney’s Office is similar in ways to a medical training hospital. The brightest and the best professionals are chosen to work there coming from varied backgrounds and experiences. There are many personal and professional reasons for staff to move on. There has been a steep increase in the cost of living in Palm Beach County, with housing prices soaring. If there were exit interviews of those 23 assistant state attorneys, we would probably hear remuneration is the issue and not the working environment or the personality of our state attorney.

Dr. Lori Vinikoor, Delray Beach

Magera's death best left unreported

I read with sadness the article about Bam Magera. Other than sensationalizing this young man’s persistent troubles with substance use disorder, what possible value was there in running this story? There are about 20 million Americans with some form of substance use disorder and only 10% of those get treatment. Individuals with SUDs deal with so much shame on their own that keeps them oftentimes from seeking treatment. It is an important part of the treatment process to begin to heal this shame.

The article is a form of "piling on" more shame. To subject this individual to public shaming does him no good. Moreover, the article mentions the Marchman Act, a law designed to help people into recovery. That information  is confidential. The state of Florida decided not to make these matters public so that people could get help. Please consider these matters.

Joe Considine, West Palm Beach

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: State Attorney Dave Aronberg deserves credit for his presence in media