The Lisbon Reporter

WELCOME TO THE LISBON REPORTER. In an effort to keep our community informed of what is going on at local and Federal levels of government, we decided to create this on-line newspaper. It is our hope that this on-line newspaper will help you stay informed so that you can get involved and take action for the benefit of our ENTIRE community. Thank you for visiting and please check back frequently for information about what is happening in LISBON/LISBON FALLS, MAINE USA

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Citizens Letter To Maine Governor LePage

Dwight E. Hines, Ph.D.

IndyMedia

42 Israelson Rd.

Livermore, Maine 04253

207-897-2032

dwight.hines@gmail.com

January 15, 2014

The Honorable Paul Lepage, Governor,
State of Maine
State House
Augusta, Maine 04333

Dear Governor LePage:

I was stunned to read of the attacks on you for alleged violations of Maine’s Freedom of Information Act. I can not understand how your future opponents for election, Mr. Cutler and Mr. AHWA, failed to read the Maine FOAA, specifically Section 5, before they complained to the press. I am especially concerned that the Maine Attorney General, Ms. Mills, also did not know how the law is applied here. You were more than in compliance in responding the the public records requests at “your convenience”. I do not like section 5 but it has been used to delay answering my requests by different individuals.

It is of interest that the Attorney General has never supported a private, little person, FOAA request.

Governor, it appears to me that Attorney General Mills is holding you to a standard that she does not attain on FOAA. Indeed, my FOAA requests to her office to view a $300,000.00 grant last year was met with delay that was longer than the delay you were criticized for so roundly. Note that the grant was not competitive and there was no cost benefit analysis. I believe it was not a good decision to award the grant.

Please note that the attached letter putting the SunJournal on the Newspaper Death Watch list only applies to the the SunJournal. We have no data on other newspapers at this time. However, given the response to your FOAA decisions by the SunJournal, it appears they are not objective.

Governor, I don’t know who I’ll be voting for but I wish that we had better,

more reasonable and thoughtful media coverage of these issues

than we do now.

Indeed, it would be difficult to have this letter published by the traditional print media in Maine.

Dwight Hines

Attached
Maine law on when FOAA response is required
Letter to Newspaper Death Watch

Request Letter to Newspaper Death Watch by Dwight Hines

§408-A. Public records available for inspection and copying

5. Schedule. Inspection, conversion pursuant to subsection 7 and copying of a public record subject to a request under this section may be scheduled to occur at a time that will not delay or inconvenience the regular activities of the agency or official having custody or control of the public record requested. If the agency or official does not have regular office hours, the name and telephone number of a contact person authorized to provide access to the agency's or official's records must be posted in a conspicuous public place and at the office of the agency or official, if an office exists.

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/1/title1sec408-A.html