This is in response to the story “FairPoint’s credit ratings downgraded” that appeared May 9, placed below the fold.
Is anyone supposed to be surprised by the news? I hope not. The writing was on the wall when FairPoint bought Verizon’s lines last year with virtually no money, mostly loans — $2.3 billion, according to the story.
The article states that “regulators and opponents of the deal questioned FairPoint’s financial ability…”  That’s an understatement. If there were concerns on allowing the sale to go through, why did the regulators ultimately allow it? 
Perhaps an investigation needs to be done of the regulators to see if they benefited in some way from the sale. 
Also interesting is FairPoint seeking protection from answering the Maine Public Advocate’s questions regarding their finances. What does it have to hide? Probably that it shouldn’t have been allowed to buy Verizon in the first place.
Alan Elze, Auburn