Remember the blue and yellow California license plates in the 1970s and '80s?
Yes? How about the black plates with yellow lettering from the '60s? Or the yellow plates from the '50s?
OK, you're officially old, but at least you still have your memory. And soon, you may be able to have your old favorite license plate color back.
A law going into effect Jan. 1 will allow California car owners to apply for "retro" plates from their favorite era, for a $50 fee.
It's not certain yet if the program will get off the ground, though. State officials say they don't want to incur the cost of printing the retro plates unless demand is high enough.
So, they set a threshold: As soon as 7,500 car owners request one of the plates, the DMV will begin printing that version.
The law was pushed by car club members who wanted vintage plates on their vintage cars – and have been victimized in the past by unscrupulous people claiming to sell them real vintage plates, only to discover they were forgeries.
The DMV says it will have an order page on its website soon. Check www.dmv.ca.gov
Kings close two gates
Another sign of a shrinking empire? The Sacramento Kings basketball team recently sent a note to ticket holders informing them the team is closing two of the seven vehicle entrance gates to the Sleep Train Arena parking lot. It's a cost-cutting move. With attendance down, the team decided it doesn't need to keep entry gates 6 and 8 open.
"If we get feedback that this is causing an inconvenience for fans, we'll revisit it," team spokesman Chris Clark said. "But that hasn't been the case."
American River bridge
The city of Sacramento conducted an unscientific online survey about what type of bridge it should build over the American River between downtown and Natomas. The results weren't surprising. Slightly more than 61 percent of respondents said the bridge should be designed to accommodate cars, bikes, walkers and light-rail trains.
That trumps the 22 percent who don't believe cars should be allowed on the bridge – just light rail, bikes and pedestrians.
The "no cars allowed" concept is supported by some Natomas residents who don't want more cars dumped into their neighborhood and by some environmentalists who don't like the idea of encouraging more car use in general, especially through the American River Parkway wildlands area.
Six percent said the bridge should be for cyclists and pedestrians only – no cars or light rail.
Another six percent were against a bridge of any type through the parkway.
The city is still years away, however, from coming up with the money for the bridge.
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