Mayor Gavin Newsom and members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors figured they could help reduce a $338 million deficit by doubling the fees newspapers pay to use the city’s green modular news-racks. But the SF Weekly’s John Geluardi reports that many newspapers will react to the increase by reducing the number of racks they use.

“Now because of the financial barrier, smaller publishers will have to consolidate, which will decrease their … presence,” Alex Popovics of the Newsrack Fairness Coalition, which represents 50 publishers, told the SF Weekly. “There is a chance that a lot of the pedestals will be partially empty.”

Geluardi also says that local news publishers are hinting they may sue the city for violating their free speech rights. (Photo credit: SFPPC)