License

Los Angeles police will not pursue through the courts scores of motorists with unpaid tickets from the city's defunct red-light camera program. The city Police Commission voted this week to end its contract with the company that operated L.A.'s cameras until they were shut off last summer. And authorities are now planning to reassign a small group of officers who regularly appeared in court to testify in contested photo enforcement cases. With the cancellation of the contract, officers will no longer have easy access to the photo and video evidence that courts require.

Privacy rights groups on Monday filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County's two major law enforcement agencies after they refused to turn over information collected by electronic license plate scanners, the suit claimed. The Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County Sheriff's Department have made use of the plate-reading technology for several years. Typically mounted on patrol vehicles, the small cameras continuously scan license plates and check them against criminal databases in search of stolen cars and cars registered to known fugitives.

Magnus Walker steps between the scarred carcasses of Porsche 911s lining his garage wall. He pauses and points to a gaping hole where the car's front hood should be. "Cars in here have to die," he says, "so others can live. " With a chest-length beard and finger-thick dreadlocks, the 45-year-old English immigrant doesn't look like a prototypical buttoned-down Porsche collector. But for more than a decade, Walker has worked in downtown L.A.'s arts district, transforming scrap heaps into one-off custom 911s, earning him the nickname "Urban Outlaw.

The Medical Board of California would be stripped of its power to investigate physician misconduct under a sweeping reform plan by legislators who say the agency has struggled to hold problem doctors accountable. The medical board has come under fire for failing to discipline doctors accused of harming patients, particularly those suspected of recklessly prescribing drugs. Under the proposed legislation, amended Thursday, investigations of doctors would be handled by the California attorney general, leaving the board to deal mostly with licensing doctors.

Question: What are the travel requirements for going to Cuba? Is it possible to fly out of Tijuana, Mexico, to Cuba with a U.S. passport? Are there any other ID or passport cards required? Patricia Morrison San Juan Capistrano Answer: Yes, an individual can fly to Cuba from Tijuana, but a license - that is, a special permission - is required to do so (although some websites argue it's not necessary). Treasury Department regulations say this: "The Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR Part 515 (the 'Regulations')

Re “ Proposed driver's license for immigrants draws fire ,” Feb. 23 The Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, N.C., claims the proposed driver's license to be issued to illegal immigrants would create a “class of 'inferior' citizens.” Clearly, that is not the case because the people receiving the license are not citizens. Deferring legal action against someone in this country illegally does not make that person a citizen. It merely makes them un-deportable. Gerry Swider Sherman Oaks More letters to the editor ...  

Re "On the road to sanity in licensing," Column, Sept. 5 Anyone from Britain, France or elsewhere in Europe who visits this country can obtain an international driving permit from his country and drive in this country for as long as his visa permits. Is there not some way to grant this courtesy to those who come here, do so much for us and who are so willing to work? Mexicans doubtless remember that California was part of Mexico and was taken from their ancestors by methods that cannot bear the light of day. They as well as we are a proud people and deserve to be a part of California, as they were and have been for hundreds of years.

A student midwife has been convicted of practicing medicine without a license after she delivered a baby without supervision, leading to medical complications, officials said. Katharine "Katie" McCall, 37, was convicted Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court on one felony count after an investigation by the Medical Board of California's Operation Safe Medicine team, which probes allegations of unlicensed practice of medicine. The investigation was triggered by a complaint from a witness who saw McCall deliver the baby Nov. 24, 2007, at the mother's home and said she "appeared to lack knowledge and experience," according to a medical board statement and Hubert Yun, the deputy district attorney who handled the case.

Plaxico Burress no longer has a driver's license, according to a report by TMZ.com. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles is said to have suspended the Pittsburgh Steelers receiver's license Monday after he failed to cough up the damages he was ordered to pay a woman who claimed to be injured in a 2008 car crash with the NFL veteran. The woman, Alise Smith, sued to have Burress pay the medical bills for her neck and back injuries and was awarded $125,000 plus interest by a judge in January 2012.

“Nanny” alert! Two essays in a journal this week explore a radical idea: People who smoke tobacco should have to buy licenses. OK, so something like that may be a nonstarter in the U.S. today, but it's enough within the realm of possibility elsewhere to engage two public health experts in open debate. As one of the writers notes, “endgame” discussions are already taking place among smoking cessation circles and New Zealand, for one, has declared a goal of becoming smoke-free by 2025.

Re "State misses out on license plate fees," April 19 The article reports that the state has failed to collect up to $22 million in fees for special license plates. California seems to be missing out on a much larger source of income: unregistered vehicles. State law requires motorists to register their cars in California 20 days after becoming a resident. And yet every day I see cars and trucks with expired registration stickers or license plates from other states. These scofflaws cheat the state out of registration fee revenue and may be driving cars that do not meet our environmental standards.

SACRAMENTO -- California motorists can get specialized license plates with pictures of whales, firefighters and palm trees to benefit certain state programs, but the state auditor said Thursday the state has failed to collect up to $22 million owed for the plates. In addition, state Auditor Elaine Howle found that state agencies that receive money from the special plates have not properly handled the cash. "This report concludes that the State has not collected all revenue due from special plates and has spent some of the special plate revenue on expenditures that were unallowable or unsupported,” Howle wrote to Gov. Jerry Brown.

SACRAMENTO - Californians can buy special license plates featuring pictures of whales, firefighters and palm trees, but the Department of Motor Vehicles has failed to collect up to $22 million from drivers who have them, a new audit shows. The agency appears to have undercharged some people for the plates by nearly $10.2 million, according to the study, released Thursday by state Auditor Elaine Howle. Some fees were set below the level required by the law. DMV officials said they acted "in good faith" in setting the fees, which were created by different pieces of legislation, but said they would review the matter further.

At the main TED conference a few weeks ago in Long Beach, the fifth and final one in that city, the organizers spent time on the opening day celebrating the remarkable influence and reach of this once-obscure technology and design conference. Among the highlights was TEDx, a program under which TED licenses its name to independent conference organizers to host their own events. Since launching in 2008,  more than 5,900 TEDx events have been held around the world, a remarkable number considering these events get no financial support from TED. But as was noted at the TED conference, this growth creates potential new risks to the TED brand and reputation.

Question: What are the travel requirements for going to Cuba? Is it possible to fly out of Tijuana, Mexico, to Cuba with a U.S. passport? Are there any other ID or passport cards required? Patricia Morrison San Juan Capistrano Answer: Yes, an individual can fly to Cuba from Tijuana, but a license - that is, a special permission - is required to do so (although some websites argue it's not necessary). Treasury Department regulations say this: "The Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR Part 515 (the 'Regulations')

Plaxico Burress no longer has a driver's license, according to a report by TMZ.com. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles is said to have suspended the Pittsburgh Steelers receiver's license Monday after he failed to cough up the damages he was ordered to pay a woman who claimed to be injured in a 2008 car crash with the NFL veteran. The woman, Alise Smith, sued to have Burress pay the medical bills for her neck and back injuries and was awarded $125,000 plus interest by a judge in January 2012.

LONDON -- British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite TV network partially owned by Rupert Murdoch, remains a “fit and proper” holder of a broadcast license despite the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed Murdoch's media empire, Britain's communications watchdog said Thursday. However, the regulatory agency harshly criticized James Murdoch, the former head of BSkyB, for his lackadaisical response to the hacking scandal, saying he “repeatedly fell short of the conduct to be expected of him as a chief executive officer and chairman” of News International, the British arm of Rupert Murdoch's giant News Corp.

Re "Religious license," Opinion, June 21 The cartoon poking fun at South Carolina's new Christian license plates made its point. However, the (Vermont) Buddhism plate used the yin-yang symbol of Taoism instead of the eight-spoked wheel of Buddhism, and the Hindu sacred word "Om" rather than a Buddhist prayer such as the Nembutsu. Nor will Mormons be pleased at being called "weird" on the Utah plate. I would have preferred "HOLSUM" with the bugling Angel Moroni symbol and the words, "Got tithes?"

The operator of the troubled San Onofre nuclear plant might request a license amendment before restarting the plant through an expedited process that would not require public hearings before a restart. Southern California Edison said Friday that it has requested a meeting with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to discuss the possible license amendment. The NRC has not yet responded. Also Friday, a special NRC panel heard arguments from Edison and Friends of the Earth, an environmental group that has pushed for the commission to require a license amendment with a full trial-like public hearing process before deciding whether to allow the plant to fire up again.

Transportation officials in North Carolina have backed down from a plan to issue driver's licenses with a prominent pink stripe to young immigrants who qualify for a federal program that delays deportation for two years. After protests from immigration and civil rights groups, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has quietly removed the pink stripe from the proposed special licenses, which it will begin issuing Monday. Opponents have said the pink stripe and the phrase "NO LAWFUL STATUS" on the licenses would stigmatize young immigrants who have earned temporary lawful status.