Opinion ID: 2599528
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: A genuine issue of fact exists as to whether the Tundra Drums is a newspaper of general circulation in St. Mary's.

Text: We next address whether there was a newspaper of general circulation in St. Mary's in 1994. The superior court agreed with ACC and SMNC that the Tundra Drums was, as a matter of law, a newspaper of general circulation in St. Mary's. The superior court reasoned that the city's failure to place a notice in the Tundra Drums resulted in inadequate notice of the public hearing. In Moore v. State, [44] we determined that a newspaper is one of general circulation in a community when it contains news of general interest to the community and reaches a diverse readership. [45] In support of its contention that the Tundra Drums satisfies the general interest prong of the Moore test, ACC and SMNC offered the affidavit of Bonnie Jack, the circulation manager for the Tundra Drums. Jack stated that [t]he Tundra Drums contains news on a variety of subjects of general interest including, but not limited to, public notices, news articles regarding events in various village communities including St. Mary's, a calendar of events in various villages, listings of employment opportunities, and various news articles concerning relevant political events. ACC and SMNC also offered the affidavits of St. Mary's residents Raphael Mike, a member of the SMNC Board of Directors, and Lawrence Mike, the President of SMNC. Both asserted that the paper contains news of general interest to the people of St. Mary's. The evidence offered in support of the second, diverse readership prong of the Moore test is less clear. Jack's affidavit states that in one week in April 1996, almost two years after the May 3, 1994 hearing on Ordinance 94-4, just over 100 copies of the Tundra Drums were sent to St. Mary's for sale. Twenty-one of those copies were returned. In March and July 1994, approximately 100 copies were sent to St. Mary's, with no report of how many were returned. [46] Although ACC and SMNC's evidence generates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Tundra Drums was a newspaper of general circulation in St. Mary's in 1994, it is not sufficient to support the trial court's conclusion that the newspaper is one of general circulation as a matter of law. The affidavits do not establish that the distribution was widespread at the time of the public hearing, and there was no evidence that anyone in St. Mary's subscribes to the Tundra Drums. And a St. Mary's ordinance specifies that the city shall publish notice by posting in public places, which may reflect the council's view that there is not a newspaper of general circulation in St. Mary's. The Tundra Drums is delivered only to St. Mary's two stores and the post office. [47] Also, there is no evidence in the record that other bush communities publish their ordinances in the Tundra Drums. As noted, AS 29.71.800(18) contemplates that there may be no newspaper of general circulation distributed in particular municipalities. Under such circumstances, the statute calls for posting in three public places. In our view, in cases where it is fairly and reasonably debatable as to whether there is a newspaper of general circulation distributed in a community, the presumption of government regularity requires deference be afforded to that position which upholds the ordinance. [48] Finally, our case law on publication requirements reflects deference to the government's decision whether a newspaper is one of general circulation. [49] In Moore, we concluded that the Division of Lands satisfied a publication requirement when it decided to publish notice in the Anchorage Times for a land sale in the Kachemak Bay area. [50] In that case we relied on evidence that 130 of Homer's 3,500 residents subscribed to the Anchorage Times to conclude that it was a paper of general circulation in Homer. [51] But Moore should not be interpreted as setting a threshold ratio of the number of papers to the number of residents required to establish that a newspaper is one of general circulation. Instead, Moore stands for the principle that courts should defer to a government's judgment regarding whether a newspaper is one of general circulation. In Moore, we concluded that the Anchorage Times was a newspaper of general circulation despite the fact that a relatively small percentage of Homer residents subscribed to it. [52] Nothing in Moore suggests that if the Division of Lands had decided that the circulation of the Anchorage Times in Homer was insufficient to make it a newspaper of general circulation, such a determination would not also have been upheld. [53] In this case, St. Mary's decision not to publish the notice in the Tundra Drums does not appear to be an attempt to frustrate public notice. Instead, St. Mary's acted according to its established publication procedures, which require posting at three locations, including the city offices, for at least five days. Here, the police posted copies of the ordinance and the agenda for the May 3 hearing at the city offices, the post office, the school, and two local stores, including ACC. Because courts should defer to the judgment of local government as to what constitutes a newspaper of general circulation in the community, and because a genuine issue of fact exists as to whether the Tundra Drums was a newspaper of general circulation in St. Mary's, we conclude that the superior court erred in deciding this issue as a matter of law.