HARTFORD, CT — The owners of adult shops just can’t win for losin’ sometimes. A current case in point stars the LUV Boutique and an assortment of “Adopt A Highway” signs.At issue is the presumably nefarious decision by the LUV Boutique to participate in the highway clean-up program, which credits each participant on a sign placed along the stretch of highway to be tended.

“I was completely stunned. At first I wasn’t quite sure what I was reading,” Sen. Joan Hartley [D-Waterbury] told the Associated Press after spotting one of the four signs assigned to the shop’s clean-up areas.

According to Hartley, the adult shop has no business helping keep the roadways clean. Not if it expects anyone to know that those associated with the business have anything to do with the good work, at least.

“We’ve got a lot of good and viable businesses in the state of Connecticut that we’d really love to be featuring before the LUV Boutique,” Hartley concluded, effectively invalidating the efforts of the shop’s employees and management, as well as their economic contribution to the state’s coffers.

Naturally, Hartley took her concerns to state transportation commissioner, Joseph Marie, who claimed ignorance about the not-particularly-interesting matter. A representative for the department assured Hartley that the district office had evaluated the company’s request to participate in the Adopt A Highway program and “found no concerns that would warrant not allowing for the placement of the signs.”

Apparently the department didn’t realize that the mere existence of the shops should, in Hartley’s opinion, be reason for refusal.

Part of Hartley’s frustration and confusion likely arises from the fact that Gov. M. Jodi Rell had previously declared adult business billboards to be visual “clutter,” ruining an otherwise pristine landscape. New billboards for the industry have not been allowed on state property.

Christopher Cooper, who speaks for Rell, confirms that even the governor can see the difference between a billboard and an Adopt A Highway sign, pointing out that “The governor’s primary goal in removing billboards was to beautify the state and keep inappropriate content off our most heavily traveled highways. The Adopt A Highway program has strict guidelines on signage and what can be posted on them. These are guidelines the Department of Transportation ensures are followed.”

In other words: Don’t litter on the highway or some evil porn clerk will just come along and clean up after you.