Viewsday

We didn’t post Up on the Board earlier today, because the editorial board went out to lunch to celebrate our nomination as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Newsday was named on April 15 as one of three finalists for editorial writing, for our coverage after superstorm Sandy.

And over lunch, things changed. Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced midday that the Boston Marathon bombers had been...

Self-esteem issues used to be rooted in comparing your body to a supermodel’s, but now that social media dominates our culture, they're more about comparing yourself to your peers. Now, networks upon networks have access to your best and worst candid moments. They might be embarrassing. They might be shameful. They might make you think twice about having a burger for lunch. What could be worse than...

Much of Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino's fourth State of the County address Tuesday night sounded like his others: He pledged another year with no tax increase, touted his plans for changing Playland and outlined his efforts to promote business and spur economic development — all while protecting social services.

And there were shout-outs to county residents who accomplished great...

An intelligence briefing about the Boston Marathon bombing has left some members of Congress feeling as though we've reverted back to the bad old days before the Sept. 11 attacks. That is, our many U.S. intelligence agencies aren't talking to one another. If the FBI had interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev on suspicious activity, why didn't his return trip from Chechnya last year trigger an alert? The...

State Sen. Greg Ball has dug in his cowboy boots and is defending his belief that  the use of torture on the Boston bombing suspect would be justifiable — the suspect he called "scumbag number 2" in a tweet sent to his more than 5,000 followers.

It's the tweet that set off this latest Ballapalooza.

"Who wouldn't use torture on this punk to save lives," he wrote,...

For tomorrow's Newsday, the editorial page is taking a closer look at reports about Long Island school district contracts with a Bellport data-systems company that advertised it could help maximize their "yes" vote during budget elections. It's not clear whether any school districts ever used this premium service from Bold Systems. But if they did, that's a problem. Spending tax money...

The editorial board is planning to weigh in about the immigration bill being introduced in Congress this week by the bipartisan "gang of eight" senators. The bill does a number of important things that need doing, such as reining in illegal entry into the country and retooling legal immigration to help employers, workers and the economy.

We're also talking about the retirement of...

The Boston Marathon bombings shook the nation. The media reports -- man hunt updates, Amtrak service suspended, family interviews, how many suspects, link to Al Queda, where is Chechnya— are overwhelming. What's important, what's not, what does this all mean?

I'm too young to remember how I felt on 9/11 so I have no frame of reference for how to analyze all the implications of the last 24...

Starting today, with this new Up on the Board feature, the editorial board will be blogging about what we just discussed at our weekday morning meeting. These meetings are where we talk about the news of the day and hash out our positions for the opinion sections of Newsday, Newsday Westchester and amNew York.

With the events in Boston developing so quickly, the editorial board decided to...