Results tagged “dmv”

License to Drive You Crazy: DMV Offices Closed 12 Straight Fridays

Yesterday was yet another Friday on which the state's DMV offices were closed down, thanks to Executive Order S-13-09--a furlough mandate launched in July that sees the department darkened for the first three Fridays of each month. However, do a little figuring with the calendar, and yesterday kicked off a long string of Fridays when the DMV just won't be an option for motorists. "[F]actoring in upcoming holidays on top of those mandated furlough days, Friday marked the start of a 12-week stretch in which DMV offices will be closed for business every Friday," reports the Daily Breeze, which "means that the next Friday employees will be on the job - and that motorists can get their licenses and vehicle registrations renewed - won't come until Jan. 29."

Today will forever be remembered as The Day The Fun Died for those Californian motorists who revel in texting-while-driving. As we flip the calendar to 2009, that act becomes illegal whether you have an iPhone, a Blackberry, or a hefty Zack Morris phones from 1992.

Text Messaging (SB 28) This new law makes it an infraction to write, send, or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communication device, such as a cell phone, while driving.

This week the DMV released a reminder list of the new laws taking effect January 1, 2009. It was a busy year, according to the DMV website. 772 bills were signed into law, including over 80 changes to the vehicle code.

In a court case that's so pedestrian other than the defendant (and even that could be disputed), it's big news. The Britney Spears driving without a valid license case has finally come to a close, days after the the jury tried, but failed, to agree on a verdict.

Governor Schwarzenegger's budget has called for many job losses and service cuts, and the Department of Motor Vehicles has been one of the most prominent in recent days to be on the chopping block. With many DMV employees already out of work and reduced hours announced at several locations statewide comes the news that there will be no Saturday hours offered for the month of August.

For 14 years California drivers have been able to select a whale-themed license plate designed by Laguna Beach artist Wyland which is offered by the DMV in partnership with the state Coastal Commission.

Today's issue of LA Weekly holds their top few picks of the 740 new California laws coming our way in 2008.

Driving under the speed limit can cause you to fail your drivers test. From the Top 10 Reasons for Failing the Driving Test In October, the California DMV took a step out of the 1970s and into the current generation. Okay, so they have had online reservations for awhile now so you can avoid waiting in line. And now you can avoid some reading by watching the 55 videos they uploaded on YouTube. The...

I’m writing this from bed, plan on returning to sleep when I’m done and will be too busy cleaning up the residue from my birthday celebration last night to post on dear ole LAist anytime soon, but...in my bleary, horizontal state, I felt moved to write while still basking in the glow of the Old Crow Medicine Show’s concert last night. It’s a miracle I made it at all, having hours before returned from...

The LA Times has definitely had its fair share of scandals in the near past with firings and hirings. Yet recently, content wise, the watchdog coverage of scandalicious politicians has been riveting. There is Mayor V and then there was the daily pounding of Rocky Delgadillo. The newest politician in the ring is 74-year-old 2nd district county supervisor Yvonne Burke who represents Watts, Culver City, Compton, South LA, Hollywood, Marina Del Rey, Inglewood to...

She acts like a princess, talks like a princess, and thanks to the LAPD, Paris Hilton continues to be treated like a princess. According to fly-on-shit gossip site TMZ.com, Paris was arrested around 12:30am after police noticed her driving erratically, conducted a field sobriety test, and when she blew a .08, she was taken into the Hollywood police station for drunk driving. The star was not blind, she was boozed. Not long after Paris...

Last night was "about community. It's about you playing the role of the community-based policing component essential to keeping crime down," explains Mayor Villaraigosa. Best lede: "They're calling it 'Slaughterfest' and promising concertgoers will "bleed metal" at the Whittier Community Theatre later this month." NPR visits some local DMVs: Drivers license photographs are notoriously ugly, even for the beautiful people of Los Angeles. Producer Ayala Ben-Yehuda visited two Department of Motor Vehicles offices in...

Owners of hybrid and electric cars can go another year without having to feed the meter within the city of LA. Yesterday the city council extended the program that allows properly documented alternative-fueled vehicles to ignore parking meters. However, posted street signs must be obeyed, as must residential permit parking on certain streets.

We saw this billboard on Vine at Selma, across from the DMV (whose website tells us that the current wait time for non appointment customers is .23 minutues). Is the billboard still up?

Arnold will have to overcome many obstacles to pass his plan. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has all but announced his opposition. If the plan isn't "perfect," he says, "I think it's going to run into a lot of problems." Furthermore, civil service unions will fight with ferocity to protect their members' jobs. The authors of the report seem to recognize this fact of government life. Check out this language: “Once the envy of the nation, today our state government fails the people of California, and it fails the men and women who have given their careers to its service.”

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