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Wrong sentence: I’m usually willing to excuse WCSH-TV anchor Cindy Williams for her frequent fumbling of words. Sometimes, the mix-ups are even humorous, as in the 5 p.m. newscast on March 19, when she referred to a cop accused of domestic violence as a “14-year-old” veteran of the Portland Police Department. (Kiddie krime unit, I assume.) But in a later story in the same newscasts, Williams told her viewers that Steven Ricci, a recently released felon who had threatened to find a woman to rape and mutilate, had been returned to jail on a “parole” violation. You’d think a veteran journalist like Williams would know that Maine abolished parole in 1976, long before Ricci was convicted of anything. The term she should have used was “probation.” The difference is significant. Parole is a system that allows inmates to be released before they’ve completed their court-imposed sentences, usually because a special board has determined they’ve been rehabilitated. Probation is a part of a criminal’s original sentence that can be served in the community, so long as the convict abides by certain conditions. In my court, Williams is on probation.

Wrong question: As a customer of Hannaford Bros. supermarkets, who had to cancel my debit card because the number might have been stolen by hackers in the company’s giant data breach, here’s what I want to know: Why didn’t Hannaford notify me when it first discovered the problem, rather than waiting over two and half weeks to go public? But that’s not the question the Portland Press Herald is asking in its March 21 edition. Instead, the newspaper went with: How come Hannaford isn’t doing more public relations and advertising to counteract all the bad publicity it’s getting? I have to wonder if the Press Herald chose that line of inquiry over mine because there’s a good chance that prodding Hannaford into doing more spin might result in a few full-page advertisements in the local daily newspaper. Asking important-but-unsettling questions hardly ever accomplishes anything so lucrative.

Right channel: According to the March 21 Lewiston Sun Journal, WSKI-TV and Time Warner Cable have formed “a partnership” that will allow the cable-only station in Carrabassett Valley to continue operating on Time Warner’s Channel 17 (see “Snow job”). WSKI’s use of the channel was called into question last year, when a local resident discovered the for-profit operation had been occupying what was supposed to be the town’s not-for-profit public-access channel for several years. Details of the agreement were not mentioned in the article, and WSKI co-owner Nadene McLeod could not be reached for comment. But Peter DeWitt, spokesperson for Time Warner, called it “a collaborative partnership, where the needs of both parties will be met.” He said financial arrangements were still being worked out, but would not be made public. In January, McLeod said Time Warner was demanding $16,000 a year from her company for continued use of the channel. Her response: “We’ve always thought they should be paying us.” As for replacing that lost public access, Carrabassett selectmen are asking Time Warner to reserve Channel 22 (currently occupied by Ion Television and lots of infomercials) for that purpose. A town committee is currently examining the costs and other issues associated with operating such a channel. A final decision on local cable-casting would have to be approved by residents at a town meeting.

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

Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 in Permalink