Vacation time for columnists

If you're a regular reader of The Star's op-ed pages, you've noticed that things have been a little different the last few weeks. Here's why:

Everyone is on vacation. Or so it seems.

Like most op-ed pages, The Star's page features a semi-regular lineup of columnists, some local, some syndicated. And it seems that for the last month all, or nearly all, of our syndicated writers have been doing 12-ounce curls on the beach.

These faces have been absent from our pages:

- Thomas Friedman, New York Times.
- Maureen Dowd, New York Times.
- Bob Herbert, New York Times.
- George Will, Washington Post.
- Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
- And a few others that I can't remember right now. (Not enough coffee yet.)

So, we've searched for a few temporary replacements, and will have to do so for the next few weeks, as well. We'll get back to normal soon.

I hope.

Now back to my coffee.