No taxpayer $$ too dear to squash Maine digital daily that dares cover Rochester

It didn't take long for the City of Rochester to file an appeal following the state's Right To Know Ombudsman deciding to not rule on The Rochester Voice's complaint that the city was violating 91-A, the statute upon which the state's Right To Know is based.
Using taxpayer money, the City of Rochester filed its appeal in Merrimack Superior Court on Nov. 8. Rochester City Attorney Terence O'Rourke declined to comment on the case, including why it was filed in Concord, but it's possible that venue was chosen because that's where the RTK Ombudsman's Office is located.

The Rochester Voice filed the original complaint against the City of Rochester because the city cut off supplying digital Right to Know requests on the basis that The Rochester Voice is domiciled in Maine. Rochester Voice editor Harrison Thorp contends that "citizen" in 91-A refers to citizen of the United States.

A hearing on the merits of the City of Rochester's case will be heard next year. No hearing date has been scheduled.
O'Rourke also declined to say what the city's goal is in appealing the RTK Ombudsman's decision.
The way I see it, there could be one or two outcomes the city would be thrilled with.
Since the City of Rochester has doubled down on its opinion that The Rochester Voice is not entitled to the protections of 91-A because the digital daily is domiciled in Maine, it is likely that the City of Rochester would be ecstatic if Merrimack Superior Court Judge Brian Tucker agreed with that argument.
Alternatively, there is no doubt in my mind that if Judge Tucker refuses to rule on the matter, that it will be headed for the state's Supreme Court and the city will giddily take it there with all due dispatch.
It is clear that the City of Rochester will unabashedly spend as many taxpayer dollars as it takes to prevail in this case.
So why is the City of Rochester so hell bent on beating up on The Rochester Voice, seeking by any means to hamstring its reporting efficacy of government matters?
How bout arrogance, pettiness, vengeance, hubris, retribution and retaliation. The Voice has been highly critical of city government in the past, including reporting on the botched trial of a sitting city councilor and a flawed land purchase of a Highland Street property for a third fire station in 2022.
They'll spend thousands of your dollars if they have to, from Superior Court to the Supreme Court without so much as a blink of an eye,
Me, I have to start budgeting for gas mileage to Concord and back. I'll probably pack a lunch.