On Saturday, lefty blogger Shaun Richman alleged that the Times-Ledger, a chain of weekly newspapers in Queens, axed a column he'd been retained to write, after Rep. Meeks called the paper to complain about posts on Mr. Richman's blog.

Roz Liston, the managing editor of the Times-Ledger, confirmed that Rep. Meeks contacted the paper's publisher last week. Rep. Meeks was upset, she said, because a voicemail he'd left for Mr. Richman had subsequently appeared on his blog, without acknowledging that Mr. Richman had already initiated contact with Rep. Meeks through his spokesman during a press conference. It's a bit convoluted, but there's another factor, too: the paper's philosophy on columnists.

"We do not want them to conduct campaigns on issues," explained Ms. Liston.

Scoop credit: The Daily Gotham first called attention to Richman's allegations this weekend.