FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 13, 2008

Jeff Schwilk, Founder, San Diego Minutemen

760-525-1655
 

Caltrans Denies San Diego Minutemen Another Adopted Highway
 

Caltrans San Diego District Headquarters has again denied the San Diego Minutemen secure borders group the opportunity to adopt a highway on I-5 in North San Diego County. SDMM applied for the open stretch of southbound I-5 near Las Pulgas (#64-62) on May 15th and were the first group to submit an application for that stretch. In June, Caltrans sent a letter to Jeff Schwilk denying SDMM's application, claiming that a different group got their request in prior to SDMM. A public records check indicated that Jobing.com was offered and accepted the freeway on May 17th via phone, but no application was submitted by them.

Caltrans was questioned about this apparent discrepancy and then gave a new reason for denying SDMM’s application. Caltrans now says that Jobing.com had priority for that site because they were a “displaced group”. It was then discovered that Jobing.com had been displaced in February from the southbound side of exact same site near the San Clemente checkpoint as the San Diego Minutemen were displaced from on Jan. 28th. Obviously SDMM was “displaced” from that location before Jobing.com was displaced.

When that fact was pointed out to leaders at the district office on June 13th, their response was that Caltrans does not consider the San Diego Minutemen a "displaced group", but their own guidlines (attached) clearly state that SDMM falls under that category.

The San Diego Minutemen are now contemplating new civil action to force Caltrans to comply with their own written regulations and guidelines and stop creating false excuses for denying SDMM a highway on I-5.

SDMM has been trying to adopt a new highway in the area after being displaced from the original location in January. Many of our over 600 members and supporters in San Diego County have been anxious to participate in this community service program for over 5 months and Caltrans has been completely uncooperative in helping us to acquire another freeway.

Jobing.com currently has 12 adopted highways in San Diego County and 64 total in California.

Also of note, the Minuteman Project in Orange County was granted a highway adoption on Highway 133 in Irvine in March of this year. That brings the number of Minutemen groups in the nation who are in the adopt a highway program to four. The other two groups are the Campo Minutemen in east San Diego County and the Rocky Mountain Minutemen in Grand Junction, CO. Clearly, law-abiding, pro-American Minutemen activist groups far exceed the qualifications to participate in this popular nationwide program.

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