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THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2009
The public’s
interest
It's been suggested that what goes on at The Inn at
Little Washington is really none of our business.
It is a private operation and access to information regarding the health and well-being of a private business is privileged and confidential.
So say town officials who have denied us access to tax records broken down by individual establishment in the Town of Washington.
If this were The Washington Post or Washington Business Journal, no one would say a thing about reporting on the financial status of say, The Willard Hotel, or of Capital One or of any business significant to the economy of Washington, D.C.
We are at pains to point out the obviops implications: that the Town of Washington last year committed the town, and its property owners, to $4 million in debt to finance a new sewer system; that The Inn by far will provide the greatest portion of funds (through access and user fees) to pay for it (upwards of 30 percent of the entire project); and that should The Inn run into trouble, as it most surely has, that does not bode well for the town.
There are clear implications here and although we certainly' hope the economy recovers (as Mayor Eugene Leggett said he believes will happen), it is nonetheless both right and necessary for the citizens of this town and county that we report on the financial health of the largest and most critical business in our area.
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