Adopt-A-Highway Spot Moved for Vigilantes

The California Department of Transportation recently awarded a stretch of I-5 near the U.S./Mexico border to the San Diego Minutemen for their Adopt-A-Highway program. Controversial from the beginning, considering the track record of that particular group of vigilantes, Caltrans has reversed its decision and moved their cleanup location.

The California Department of Transportation said Monday that the group can't sponsor a two-mile stretch of Interstate 5 near a Border Patrol checkpoint, saying it poses "a significant safety risk."

"The risk is in the potential for disruption to the operation of the state highway as well as public safety concerns for the traveling public and volunteers in the program," Caltrans district director Pedro Orso-Delgado said but did not elaborate.

Although the Minutemen will get another stretch on State Route 52 in San Diego—far from the Border Patrol checkpoint—even that might prove temporary. Caltrans said it was reconsidering whether the group was eligible for any piece of highway.

"We have received information during the past couple weeks that warrants a closer look at the San Diego Minutemen relative to the eligibility criteria for this program," Orso-Delgado said. "The department will pursue this review in an expeditious fashion."

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Hmmm, I wonder if the vandalism at Ranchos Penasquitos had anything to do with it? Or how about the research done by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center on the San Diego Minutemen's various ties to white supremacist groups?

Caltrans should've done their homework. Let's see if they end up issuing a mea culpa and revoking the permission altogether. It will be a small win in the fight to send these extremist haters back to the shadows where they belong.