Minutemen's Adopt-A-Highway sign replaced !!!!
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nort ... 4sign.html
By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
7:34 p.m. July 24, 2008
OCEANSIDE – A group opposed to illegal immigration that sued the state transportation department over the removal of its Adopt-A-Highway sign got a replacement Thursday.
Caltrans announced that, as required by a court order late last month, it had replaced the San Diego Minutemen's sign in its previous spot along northbound Interstate 5 near the Border Patrol's San Clemente checkpoint.
The activists obtained state approval to participate in the highway shoulder cleanup program in November and, while they initially applied for a portion of state Route 78, were given the spot on Interstate 5.
They sued Caltrans, alleging free-speech discrimination, after the agency reassigned them in January to a stretch of state Route 52 near Santee, a spot they refused to take.
Caltrans officials cited safety reasons for the move, saying the controversial group might become a target or otherwise prompt a disturbance along the freeway. The location of the activists' sign near the checkpoint had drawn the ire of several critics, among them local Latino groups and some state elected officials.
While the lawsuit remains pending, a federal judge last month ordered the agency to reinstate the group's permit to conduct highway shoulder cleanups at the original site. The agency had 30 days to restore the permit and sign.
On Thursday, the group's attorney, Howard Kaloogian, said he hadn't seen the sign, but that he had heard from others that it was back up. He said the group was waiting for a new permit to schedule shoulder cleanups again. According to Caltrans, however, a new permit isn't needed, and the group is free to resume cleanup activities.
Kaloogian said there was no new hearing date set for the lawsuit. Caltrans said the sign is to remain in place unless there is another court decision made as part of the ongoing suit.
OCEANSIDE: In clash with Minutemen, Caltrans fights on
OCEANSIDE: In clash with Minutemen, Caltrans fights on
State agency files response to lawsuit, demands jury trial
By CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Friday, July 25, 2008 6:13 PM PDT ∞
OCEANSIDE ---- Caltrans isn't backing down in its legal battle with the San Diego Minutemen, despite a federal judge's assessment last month that the Minutemen's free-speech discrimination lawsuit against the state agency has a "high probability of success."
On Friday, Caltrans filed its formal answer to the lawsuit, demanding a jury trial and denying allegations that Caltrans violated the Minutemen's constitutional rights by removing an Adopt-A-Highway sign bearing the group's name.
Earlier in the day, legal representatives for the Minutemen discussed the case with Caltrans attorneys, said Howard Kaloogian, a former state assemblyman who is representing the anti-illegal immigration group.
"They (Caltrans) indicated that they're going to continue to fight," said Kaloogian, who wasn't at the meeting but was briefed on it by a member of his firm.
"I am shocked that they still don't see the First Amendment issue," he added. "To me it's glaring. It's obvious. To the court it was obvious. And they still don't see it."
The Minutemen sued Caltrans in January after the agency took down the sign and revoked the group's permit to clean up trash near the San Clemente Border Patrol checkpoint.
Caltrans officials said they were concerned about vandalism and confrontations along the busy freeway.
The Minutemen accused the agency of bowing to the group's critics.
Last month, Judge William Q. Hayes issued a preliminary injunction ordering Caltrans to replace the Minutemen's sign and reinstate the permit pending trial.
There is "little, if any, evidence" that the Minutemen's participation in the Adopt-A-Highway program at that location posed a safety hazard, Hayes said.
Caltrans put the sign back on Thursday.
"The Minutemen are free to resume the cleaning of northbound I-5, within their assigned Adopt-a-Highway location," Caltrans spokesman Ed Cartagena said Friday in an e-mail.
The lawsuit is still pending. No hearings have been scheduled.
Jeff Schwilk, founder of the Minutemen, said Friday that he had only seen pictures of the replacement sign but was "thrilled" to see it back.
"We are going to do a cleanup there, eventually," Schwilk said. "Nothing this weekend or anything that soon. But we'll do another cleanup in due time."
Last month, Caltrans announced that it had temporarily stopped processing permits for its Adopt-A-Highway program so that officials could review the program guidelines. The suspension did not affect groups already enrolled in the program.
Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/07 ... 585734.txt
