Their Opinion

The flap over the denial of entry to a Spanish-language reporter for La Opinion, the largest circulation Spanish-language daily in the state, to a Schwarzenegger "town hall" event last week continues. Today, Speaker Fabian Nunez and the chair and vice-chair of the Latino caucus sent a letter to the governor's office demanding he explain. I have pasted the letter below: Dear Governor Schwarzenegger, On behalf of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, we are writing to express our concern over your staff barring a La Opinión newspaper reporter from an event you held on Monday, September 12th in Riverside. Based on information from the reporter and La Opinión, your staff directed a uniformed security officer to refuse reporter Miguel Morales access to the event. Mr. Morales presented all necessary credentials, but was still denied entry. We were also troubled to learn that as Mr. Morales was driving away, he was pulled over by an unmarked police car and was again asked to identify himself. We understand that both security and logistical constraints sometimes limit the ability of elected public officials to offer unrestricted press access, however, the reporter’s rejection was highly suspect as La Opinión is the second largest circulation newspaper in the state of California. These actions, if true, give the appearance of inappropriate intimidation of journalists by your security detail. We will also contact the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to clarify why Mr. Morales was denied entry to the event and further harassed by officers. We trust that this is a terrible misunderstanding on the part of your staff and Mr. Morales’ affiliation with La Opinión played no part in this incident. It would be helpful if you could clarify for us the criteria for the admission of journalists to your events and further clarify the issues regarding Mr. Morales. Thank you for your timely consideration of this matter. Sincerely, FABIAN NUÑEZ Speaker of the California State Assembly SENATOR MARTHA ESCUTIA Chair, California Latino Legislative Caucus ASSEMBLYMEMBER JOE COTO Vice-chair, California Latino Legislative Caucus