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Monday, June 23, 2008

Caltrans halts Adopt-A-Highway applications after Minutemen sue

Caltrans officials say move isn't tied to anti-immigration controversy, but agency chief wants program reviewed.
By MICHAEL MELLO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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Caltrans has announced it will no longer accept applications for its Adopt-a-Highway volunteer cleanup program.

The move comes after members of the San Diego Minutemen sued the state agency over the right to sponsor a stretch of I-5 south of San Clemente near a Border Patrol checkpoint.

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Caltrans routinely posts signs noting the individuals or groups who sponsor that particular stretch of highway, but removed the Minuteman group's sign in January. Caltrans officials said then that they feared vandalism or protesters along the freeway.

Caltrans offered the group another stretch of San Diego County highway, but the Minutemen have sought to regain a section of I-5.

Applications already accepted will be held up. Current participants will be unaffected.

"As of this time, we're not accepting any new ones," said Hayden Manning, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation district that includes the checkpoint.

Manning said the decision wasn't directly related to the controversy with the Minuteman Project, an anti-illegal immigration group. The issue is one the state will not comment on because of litigation.

"We're evaluating the whole program. Until we get an answer from the director (Will Kempton) on how he wants to handle things, he's decided to suspend it," Manning said.

The Adopt-a-Highway program started in 1989. Since then, according to Caltrans, more than 120,000 volunteers have helped remove trash and graffiti and maintain landscaping along the state's highways.

In 2006, Adopt-a-Highway volunteers and court-mandated work crews filled 31,500 bags with trash from Orange County's state highways alone.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3796 or mmello@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/calt ... up-manning