Regarding Dr. Ted Silver’s departure from his 11-year position on the Eastern Maine Medical Center board, I know firsthand that Silver is a fine cardiologist, and also that I have received excellent care as a patient at EMMC.

I am distressed, however, by the unbalanced report by the Bangor Daily News, particularly in its front-page headline, “EMMC board axes cardiologist; Bangor physician resigns in protest” (BDN, Nov. 14) – a title worthy only of a supermarket tabloid like the National Enquirer.

That your reporter chose to devote almost half of the article to the ruminations of the new EMMC board chair, George Eaton, including such inflammatory, unrelated remarks about “corporate corruption,” “economic disaster of Enron” and “corporate financial scandals,” is unfortunate. It does not illuminate a range of possible underlying issues such as the apparent need of EMMC to exert control over the medical community and the threat that successful private medical practices pose to medical centers.

Is not “nearly unanimously” akin to “almost pregnant”? These were a misleading choice of words.

Mary B. Whittemore

Castine