It seems The Monument newspaper, self-proclaimed arbiter of good and bad in Gray, is in violation of state filing laws for corporate paperwork, with the subsequent fines outstanding. The Monument was created as a corporation with what appears to be seven shareholders, and was recently bought by The Current newspaper chain of weeklies here in Maine.
Corporation paperwork is due annually on June 1, and the previous Monument corporation has apparently failed to file on time for the third time in seven years.
Liz Prata, the newest cub reporter for The Current newspapers and the former editor of The Monument, recently responded to an anonymous commenter on her blog that she no longer owns The Monument and is dissolving the corporation, making this a moot point.
I think she's got it completely wrong. Until the dissolution is completed, a corporation exists and must follow the rules laid out for all corporations, whether public, private, or not-for-profit. The corporation must still file all reports and paperwork. And if the corporation is being dissolved, then that corporation must file the dissolution paperwork.
It's disturbing that Prata, for all the noise she has made over the years about the wrong-doing and "missed deadlines" by everyone else, has failed to meet a required deadline herself and then makes light of the failure. If she is going to be an "investigative reporter" as she claims, she must be above reproach herself. If she's only human and prone to mistakes like the rest of us, she should give others the same "benefit of the doubt" that she appears to be looking for in this case.
Failure to file on time generates a fine of $25 for not-for-profit corporations, so it appears that the state does not consider this an egregious violation.
However, this certainly makes Prata look foolish!
From the state website:
http://icrs.informe.org/nei-sos-icrs/ICRS?CorpSumm=20001172+D :
"This record contains information from the CEC database and is accurate as of: Mon Jul 03 2006 06:30:33. Please print or save for your records.
Legal Name
Charter Number
Filing Type
Status
THE MONUMENT NEWSPAPER
20001172 D
BUSINESS CORPORATION
NOT IN GOOD STANDING
Filing Date
Expiration Date
Jurisdiction
12/30/1999
N/A
MAINE
Other Names
(A=Assumed ; F=Former)
NONE
Clerk/Registered Agent
BRUCE A. MCGLAUFLINP.O. BOX 17555 PORTLAND, ME 04112 8555"
Nathan Tsukroff
