Thursday, November6, 2014
HOT TOPICS:
- Gov. Dannel Malloy elected to second term
- California Highway Patrol to roll out new, revised teen driver program
- New York dealing with peeling paint on license plates
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Gov. Dannel Malloy
elected to second term
NBCConnecticut
Foley Concedes Governor's Race to Malloy
Foley conceded through a statement online on Wednesday.
By Ari Mason and LeAnne Gendreau
Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 • Updated at 7:42 PM EST
Gov. Dannel Malloy has won re-election in a bitter race against Republican challenger Tom Foley, who conceded defeat on Wednesday in a reprise of his narrow loss to the Connecticut governor four years ago.
"All right, we've got work to do," Malloy said Wednesday during a post-election news conference at the State Capitol in Hartford. "Elections are about the future. ... I am revved up for the next four years."
Malloy said his priorities include building a stronger economy, creating jobs and following through will his educational initiatives. The governor pledged to have a full legislative agenda ready to go by Jan. 7, the day his second term will officially begin.
Foley's concession came hours after Malloy claimed victory in a speech to supporters around midnight Wednesday. Minutes later, Foley took the stage in Greenwich to give what he said might have been a concession speech had Malloy given him the opportunity to concede.
“I regret that I will not be able to deliver the change that we have dreamed about and feel would be in the best interest of our great state," Foley said early Wednesday morning.
He stood alongside Somers and waved to the crowd, who chanted his name.
"We have forecasted the towns and the parts of the cities that haven't yet reported, and it looks to me that if our projections are right, we've probably not won this race, but we're not going to make that final decision until we've confirmed all the numbers," Foley said.
Malloy said Foley called him Wednesday to officially concede after poring over the numbers. Foley also thanked his supporters in a letter posted to his Web site Wednesday afternoon.
"Thank you for your support with my campaign for governor. We came very close. Our appeal for change in Connecticut – pro-growth policies including lower taxes, more responsible spending, and more support for job creators – was endorsed by more than 48% of Connecticut voters. Governor Malloy won this election with fewer votes than we won in 2010," Foley wrote.
The two candidates traded the lead throughout Election Day. As of Wednesday afternoon, the numbers showed Malloy pulling a three-point lead.
In a news conference Wednesday, the governor said he never expected to sweep 100 percent of the vote.
"We're all Connecticut," Malloy said. "It's time to put our differences aside."
It's the second time Malloy and Foley have gone head to head. When the two last did battle in 2010 race, voting problems in Bridgeport prompted extended polling hours and days of recounts before Foley conceded to Malloy.
Unaffiliated candidate Joe Visconti suspended his campaign and endorsed Foley during a surprise announcement on Sunday, although his name remained on the ballot. Visconti has garnered about 1 percent of the vote as of Wednesday morning.
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California Highway Patrol to roll out new, revised teen driver program
Lake County News
CHP to roll out new, revised teen driver program
THURSDAY, 06 NOVEMBER 2014 04:04 LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
Collisions remain the number one killer of American teenagers, killing almost as many drivers as passengers, and killing more kids than homicide or suicide. The same holds true in California.
Saving teen lives through education is a mission of the California Highway Patrol, which is providing a new, revitalized “Start Smart” teen safe driving program.
The “Start Smart” program is an Office of Traffic Safety funded grant and has been in place for
more than 11 years.
The program is focused on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teens along with their parents/guardians.
The classes are facilitated by approximately 103 trained CHP public information officers and offered in schools, CHP offices and community centers statewide.
The Start Smart program utilizes innovative techniques to capture the attention of teens and parents, providing a lasting learning experience.
The curriculum is built based on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement.
“Education is the most important aspect of a new driver’s ability to develop positive driving habits,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Programs like ‘Start Smart’ are geared towards influencing and educating California’s teen drivers to make the right choices when they get behind the wheel.”
To find out when the next local Start Smart class will be offered, parents and teenagers can call the CHP's Clear Lake Area office in Kelseyville at 707-279-0103.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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New York dealing with peeling paint on license plates
WGRZ-TV
State Dealing With Peeling Paint On License Plates
Dave McKinley, WGRZ11:03 a.m. EST November 5, 2014
Issues remedy for affected motorists, but won;t help those who get tickets.
ALBANY, NY – The New York State Department of Motor vehicles is continuing to alert affected motorists of an effort to make good on a problem, which has been surfacing among the holders of some older, blue and white license plates, from which the paint is peeling.
It is suspected that a batch of paint used for the plates when they were produced several years ago may have been deficient.
Prisoners at Auburn Correctional facility, under a company known as Corcraft, produce plates in New York State.
"Corcraft, the manufacturer of the plate and 3M, the manufacturer of the plate covering, have advised DMV that for reasons currently unknown, a small number of the white and blue Empire plates have experienced peeling," said NYS DMV Spokesperson Jackie McGinnis in an e-mail to WGRZ-TV.
According to news reports across the state, and e-mails sent to WGRZ-TV, many of the plates involved appear to start with the letter "E" suggesting the problem affected a limited batch of plates.
"It is certainly an extremely low number compared to the 11 million license plates currently on the road," said McGinnis.
Stephan Evans of Blasdell knows of the problem all too well.
He contacted 2 on Your Side after getting a ticket for having a plate from which the paint had peeled.
Evans first noticed the paint beginning to peel from his license plate (which begins with the letter E) this past summer. He called DMV, which told him they could take care of it—with new plates,--for $85.
He did not have the money, and the plates had another year to go before they expired, so he hoped the paint would hold out until then.
Unfortunately, a car wash stripped it all off last week.
"We didn't notice it had taken all the paint off the plate for a few days, and then just yesterday (Monday) my wife got pulled over. She was given a ticket for a dirty plate."
When asked if the State DMV might help him fight the ticket, McGinnis indicated it would likely not.
She replied by citing a section of NY Traffic law: "Vehicle and Traffic Law (Section 402-1-b) requires that the operator of a vehicle shall keep the license plate clean and in a condition so as to be easily readable. As such, it is their obligation to replace the plates as soon as they are aware of the peeling condition that prevents them from being easily readable."
McGinnis added:, "It is up to the local courts to decide whether an individual issued a ticket will be convicted for violating this section of the law."
For those affected by the problem, State Motor Vehicles Commissioner Barbara J. Fiala issued the following statement in late September:
"The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles today announced that it will allow customers to exchange any license plate that is experiencing peeling free of charge, and that customers who previously exchanged plates for the same reason can receive a refund of $28.75. The action comes after recent reports from some DMV offices of peeling plates occurring on some older blue and white plates.
"While the peeling plate issue appears limited in scope, we want to work with impacted customers who have plates experiencing peeling and make it easy for them to exchange their plates, or receive a refund. We are continuing our investigation into why peeling is occurring in some of these older plates. In the meantime, we want to make it easy for our customers to exchange plates experiencing peeling, or to receive a refund if they have exchanged peeling plates in the past year. The DMV has taken many steps over the past few years to serve our customers better, including self-service, touch-screen kiosks in our offices and vastly expanded online services. Today's action is part of these efforts to continue to put drivers first. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes our customers."
According to DMV, customers can exchange their peeling plates at their local DMV office. Customers seeking a refund for peeling plates exchanged in the past year may use the form at (customers should write that they turned in a peeling plate in the "reason for refund" area at step 3 of this form) and mail it to: NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, Refund Section, 6 Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12228-0126.
License plates showing natural aging, chips or cracks are not eligible for a free exchange. Customers wishing to exchange plates showing natural aging must pay the $28.75 replacement fee.