Westward ho: Pseudonymous blogger Thomas Cushing Munjoy has again taken leave of his self-appointed role as arbiter of all things Portland Press Herald.

This time, he swears it’s for good.

Munjoy has called it quits a couple of times in the past, once for health reasons, once out of disgust with the lack of improvement in the editing and reporting at the Press Herald. In an e-mail from his new digs in Oklahoma City – he actually moved a few weeks ago – Munjoy explained why this farewell is forever:

“I was there [in Portland] then and I'm long gone now. No fit, no feel, no context if I'm not there. Did it on instinct for a little while, but I could see right through it.”

And what prompted the longtime Mainer to become an Okie?

In a word: love.

“[I] told her I'd move to OKC, but I wasn't wearing any string ties and no cowboy hats,” he wrote. “Those were my only demands ... and I'd have given in on those.”

Happy trails, amigo.

Or maybe it should be:

Who was that masked man?

It ain’t news until we say it’s news: Munjoy would have been frothing over this one.

In the April 7 Press Herald, there’s a story by staff writer Kelley Bouchard about local reaction to the announcement that MaineHealth and the United Way of Greater Portland have canceled plans for an office building in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood.

Bouchard says the decision was “announced Friday,” which was April 3.

But the Portland Daily Sun had the story in its April 3 edition, so it must have been announced the day before, which was Thursday. Or maybe the Sun did some real reporting for a change and got the scoop before the official release. Hey, it could have happened.

In any case, the Press Herald missed it. And missed it. And missed it some more. Because the first word of the cancellation in a Blethen paper came in the Maine Sunday Telegram on April 5.

Shane! Come back!

Al Diamon can be e-mailed at aldiamon@herniahill.net.
 

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