I read the recent article “Cancun Mexican Restaurant violated COVID-19 requirements, state says, forcing one-week closure,” April 14, 2021.  While I understand from the article there were patrons and security who did not adhere to state public health guidelines, I was appalled by the blatant character assassination engaged in by your reporter and apparently approved of by your editor before the story went to print. This was done by referencing an unrelated 2014 judicial matter, for which the business owner paid his debt to society. While I can understand that in researching the archives for the current story this remote historical matter was found, I take great issue with the grafting of this unrelated matter to the current story.

You should be ashamed of yourself for sinking so low in your journalistic standards — and I use the term loosely. Instead of character assassination perhaps you could have cited the many community-spirited actions and charitable events that this local businessman has engaged in to support the community of Waterville and those less fortunate.

Hector Fuentes and his family have given much to this community, and God willing he will continue to do so. But your choice to willfully and recklessly inflict damage on this man and his family is reprehensible. In the spirit of balanced and professional journalism and telling the whole story your news organization should invest the time and effort into researching the ways in which this business owner and his family have given back ten fold to the community. You would not have to expend much effort to tell this positive story, and you could begin with the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.

 

Domenic Palleschi

Monmouth

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