By Steven Green, Publisher/ Editor
Originally published July 30, 2010

Liquor Control Board (LCB) Chairman Donald Hastings got some things off his proverbial chest at this week’s meeting. Hastings, former spokesman for the board, made it clear he is unhappy with this paper’s ongoing coverage and specifically went on the offensive against Staff Writer Bryan Russo.

It’s not surprising that he is not pleased with the nature of the articles about the LCB. We, along with the state Comptroller’s Office, have put the LCB under the microscope and it’s exactly where it belongs. Something is amiss with the LCB, a monopoly that has control over every drop of liquor sold in this county but is turning a miserable profit.

In recent years, the LCB has recorded a steady stream of sales, totaling about $14 million annually. During its last fiscal year, the LCB saw its profit suddenly plummet compared to previous years. That deserves intense scrutiny. Clearly, the LCB is either being poorly operated or there is funny business at work. This newspaper is trying to get to the bottom of why the LCB is suddenly turning such pathetic numbers. The LCB says it’s because efforts to save licensees money on their purchases went too far. We find that unlikely.

Hastings, like anyone else, has every right take umbrage with our coverage and the controversial nature of the situation. However, at this week’s meeting, he went after the messenger, singling out Russo in a public meeting and telling how he was personally impacting his family with the ongoing coverage of the LCB, saying his reporting lacked “decency”. He even told Russo he had a vendetta against him, “and I admit it.”
Hastings did not stop there. “How come other people don’t write like that? Some people have decency,” Hastings said. “I can’t tell you how angry I am at the things that I have seen that are going in that paper that just are hurting people, okay? … We don't like the throwing stones issues. My family feels terrible about what you've put in that paper, and I don't know if that could ever be fixed. I don't like seeing things like this. We have wives and children ..."
Hastings said Russo and this paper are “sensationalizing things to blatantly destroy them.” Unlike fellow Board member Larry Wilkinson, the new LCB spokesman who has maintained a professional tone with Russo despite some pointed and awkward questioning, Hastings is taking everything incredibly personal, adding, “People are saying that we are bad men because of your paper."
At the same meeting, LCB Executive Director Brian Sturgeon felt the need to explain the diatribe by Hastings.

“In defense of Don, the reason why tempers have flared and emotions have gotten so heated about this situation is that Don Hastings has established a fantastic reputation in this community over five decades,” Sturgeon said. “He's been on the Board of Education, he's a business owner, and a family man, in addition to being someone that's been appointed by the governor of this state to oversee this body. To have allegations come out that tarnishes this reputation he's built is the reason why emotions are running so high and I can't blame him for that.”

We wholeheartedly defend Russo’s coverage of this issue and am appalled by Hastings’ sensitivity. This paper is dedicating resources to investigate the dispensary and the flood of accusations facing it. While most of the other media coverage has been shallow, steering clear of the issues at the heart of this controversy and even the ongoing investigation by the state, this newspaper is looking into whether the LCB violated state law and made suspect moves that ultimately led to the LCB’s shambled financial picture.

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