Vehicle Registration

The City Council says that proposals aimed at eliminating vehicle registration fees could become detrimental to local government. The council adopted a proclamation Monday opposing Assembly and Senate bills that would immediately eliminate or phase out fees for noncommercial cars, trucks and motorcycles. The average California family could save $240 a year if the bills pass, according to some reports. Fees raised $3.

SACRAMENTO — Lawmakers are considering a new proposal to save dozens of state parks from the budget ax, rather than follow through with plans to close them in the middle of summer vacation season. Seventy parks were set for closure to save money, and 20 could still be shut. Some have already been rescued, at least for the short term, by pledges from outside donors. But a proposal to charge for entrance at more parks, tap vehicle registration fees to maintain park roads and redirect other state funds would keep dozens more open.

David Lost Horse has lost his house. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department seized the 1977 Dodge motor home in which the self-proclaimed Cheyenne spiritual leader lives and keeps his religious talismans, including eagle feathers, stone tools, bear claws and animal skulls. Authorities impounded the vehicle July 1 for bearing a license plate of the Lakota nation--a collection of prairie Indian tribes--instead of California.

Nick Franco squinted across Morro Bay to the potential future of the California state parks system. The district superintendent of this coastal jewel, Franco ticked off money-making possibilities: Install gates and charge to get in the parking lot. Sell off the nearby county-run golf course. In the marina, bring in more concessions. Outsource to allow motorized recreation in the wetlands. And in the wild, undulating spine of sand dunes at Montaña de Oro State Park, he could foresee a string of profitable billboards facing beachgoers on the opposite shore.

In what appears to be a bright spot for an often embattled state agency, thousands of Californians have flocked to the Internet to take advantage of the Department of Motor Vehicles' new online registration program. The state has collected more than $25 million from owners who registered 136,261 vehicles since the program began in April.

Life just got easier for some folks trying to clear up less-than-perfect driving records in Orange County. As of Monday, drivers who have a date before a judge in Municipal Court here--but who need to clear up any old tickets with the Department of Motor Vehicles first--can take care of both in one stop. Through a new state program, limited DMV services became available at the Harbor courthouse. Simultaneously, a "court station" opened at the DMV office in Costa Mesa.

Faced with angry reactions from local officials up and down the state, Democratic leaders of the California Legislature said Tuesday that they are prepared to raise vehicle registration fees in order to avoid deep cuts to cities and counties. Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) said restoration of the fees to earlier levels, which Gov.

Question: Could you look at the issue of California residents licensing their cars in other states? I know of Californians who live and work in the state but have cars and motor homes that are licensed in Nevada and Montana. How can these people get away with this? The vehicle code is clear that these individuals should have their cars licensed in California, which needs all the tax revenue it can get. Answer: You're right.

The City Council has approved an ordinance supporting an increase in motor vehicle registration fees to raise money to help fight air pollution. The council's approval makes the city eligible for $38,000 in state funds that will be used to improve local air quality. The money will be deposited in a special trust fund. In 1990, state lawmakers passed a bill increasing motor vehicle registration fees $2 in 1991 and another $4 in 1992.

Starting May 15, residents in the Old Town West area must display a one-year parking sticker on their vehicle and guests must have parking passes. Residents may pick up permits and passes at the Police Department, 3201 Katella Ave., with proof of residency such as a driver's license, utility bill or vehicle registration. Information: (562) 431-2255, Ext. 402.

Some small cars and crossovers, typically from foreign automakers, are more likely to be bought by women than men. That's the finding of a study of 13 million U.S. vehicle registrations over the last two years by TrueCar.com, the Santa Monica auto pricing information company. Volkswagen's Beetle was the auto most likely to be purchased by a woman. Just over 56% of the buyers registering a new Beetle were women, the study found. But after that, female buyers tended toward small sport utility vehicles.

Women prefer to purchase small cars and crossovers, typically from foreign automakers. That's the finding of a study of 13 million U.S. vehicle registrations over the last two years by TrueCar.com, the Santa Monica auto pricing information company. Volkswagen's Beetle was the auto most likely to be purchased by a woman. Just over 56% of the buyers registering a new Beetle were women, the study found. But after that, female buyers tended toward small sport utility vehicles.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration Wednesday rushed out its latest plan to cut state spending, raise taxes and borrow heavily to stop California's budget deficit from climbing to $41.6 billion by mid-2010. Mike Genest, the governor's finance director, said the state's financial troubles were so urgent that the administration wanted to release its budget plan for the next fiscal year -- due Jan.

SACRAMENTO -- Fast-food restaurants may still fry food in artificial fats, but they'll have to tell customers about it under measures dispatched by the California Legislature in a final 17-hour day. The food bills were among hundreds that lawmakers handled before ending their regular session after 3 a.m. Wednesday. Legislators sent to the governor bills to raise car registration fees by $3, ban smoking in cars carrying children and put the source of water on bottled-water labels. Gov.

Worried about the Stars and Stripes waving from your tail fin as you land in a country hostile to the United States? Concerned about your security if kidnappers or terrorists realize that a billionaire might be aboard your plane? Need to slip into an executive airport without the competition knowing you're in town? Flying incognito isn't just for celebrities anymore.

Whoops! Somebody pushed a couple of wrong buttons on a California Department of Motor Vehicles computer just before New Year's Day, mistakenly sending 30,000 car owners letters saying their car registrations were being suspended. "It's human error. What are you going to do?" asked DMV spokesman Mike Miller. The department moved quickly to contact the affected motorists and offered a "sincere apology."

San Joaquin Valley officials decided not to impose a $2 vehicle registration fee on motorists. The nearly $5 million raised by the fee could have been used to clean up some of the nation's dirtiest air by buying cleaner farm diesel engines and school buses, among other measures. But the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District board rejected the fee in a split vote Thursday.

My recent column about California residents breaking the law by registering their vehicles out of state to save money drew heated responses from readers and requests for information on how to report these scofflaws to authorities. Many of the two dozen-plus e-mails about the column came from readers angry at residents who are cheating the state out of registration fees at a time of budget woes.

Since Oct. 1, the Department of Motor Vehicles has notified more than 180,000 car owners in California that it is moving to suspend their auto registrations because their cars are uninsured. Hundreds of thousands more suspension warnings are expected to go out in the months ahead as the state's latest crackdown on uninsured motorists moves into high gear.

Like many undocumented immigrants in California, Jesus Nava drives without a license. And while the debate over whether illegal immigrants should be able to obtain driver's licenses continues in Sacramento, the Anaheim man has a more immediate concern: parking without a license. Nava's apartment complex, Hermosa Village, has begun requiring tenants to show vehicle registration, proof of insurance and a driver's license for a parking permit.