Bill Would Let Caltrans Skip Newspaper Notices
July 1, 2012
Byline: Associated Press/Don Thompson
SACRAMENTO (AP) — California newspaper publishers are objecting to a bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown that would let the state’s transportation department post legal notices on its own website instead of in newspapers and trade journals.
Jim Ewert of the California Newspaper Publishers Association said June 21 that the timing is suspicious because Caltrans has been in a dispute with The Sacramento Bee over articles raising questions about construction of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco.
Ewert said posting notices only on the Internet would make it difficult for the public and the media to track major projects and hold the California Department of Transportation accountable.
Gil Duran, a spokesman for Brown, declined comment. A call to Caltrans seeking comment was not immediately returned.
