Q. I paid for black and gold vanity plates in May. I was to get them in six to eight weeks. I attempted to contact the Department of Motor Vehicles in various ways, talking to “Miles” the bot at the DMV website, on the phone and in person at a DMV office. No luck. I remembered that I requested the plates to be delivered to the Santa Ana DMV office so I then went there and a clerk told me that vanity plates are on back order. Apparently they are still made in prison, which I thought was an old fable, and there are restrictions there because of COVID-19. You know anything?
– Robyn Banks, Anaheim
A. Honk called up to Sacramento, and a DMV spokesman was kind enough to get someone to look into the case, and Robyn’s plates, he said, ended up being made in November and mailed to the Santa Ana office last month, perhaps after Robyn went there. They are back in the mail and on the way to Robyn.
The pandemic has indeed slowed down the production and delivery of personalized plates, said Nicholas Filipas, a DMV spokesman.
“The plates will be manufactured in the order received and issued as soon as possible,” he said. “We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Now, he said, it can take four to six months to get them.
Honk suspects the clerk was right. He called Folsom State Prison to see if fewer inmates are allowed in the factory at one time, slowing down production, but couldn’t get an answer on that by deadline.
Q. Hi Honk: After almost two years of construction, the Oso Parkway bridge/underpass where the 241 toll road ends was completed. However, can vehicles on the toll road drive beneath the bridge and straight onto Los Patrones Parkway – NO! It now has been another nine or so months, and it still can’t be used! Can Honk get to the bottom of this?
– Roger Johnson, Coto de Caza
A. Kind of.
Back in early November, Coto de Caza’s John Costigan asked Honk about that tiny stretch below the Oso Parkway bridge that will connect the 241 and Los Patrones, and he told John and others that the roadway was projected to finally open by early December at the latest.
John had also wondered why traffic on top of the bridge had been allowed for a while, but that short stretch below, which appeared finished, wasn’t open.
Well, John and Roger, your wait is about over.
Cones will be removed at 5 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, said Kim Mohr, a spokeswoman for the 241, clearing the way for motorists.
But why the delay?
“As I mentioned when we spoke for your previous column, just because the road appears ‘done’ to the average driver doesn’t mean it’s ready from an engineering standpoint,” she told Honk in an email. “Everything is all set at this point, and we worked with our partners at the county and Caltrans to set an opening date.”
Sadly, a county and a Caltrans spokesperson didn’t shed any more light on the delay, both referring the question back to toll road officials.
Honkin’ fact: Santa Ana’s Chris Guenzler finished 2020 with 1,686,041.9 miles logged while riding trains; he began keeping tabs on his mileage in 1980. On Dec. 31, which happened to be his 63rd birthday, he marked his 9,479th day of sobriety. He credits riding the rails with helping him reach that magnificent figure.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
Source: Orange County Register
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