February 23, 2012

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DOT official happy with new driver’s license procedure

February 22, 2012 By

The state is approaching the two-year mark since it changed the way driver’s licenses are issued, and the D.O.T. official who oversees the system is happy with the result. The state stopped giving out new licenses on the spot in April of 2010, and instead now gives drivers a temporary driving document that’s good for 30 days.

The new license is mailed out later. Kim Snook is the director of the D.O.T.’s office of driver services. “I would say since we started, there’s only been a couple contacts that people really didn’t like it, but other than that, everyone’s getting their licenses much faster than what we ever had anticipated,” Snook says.

 ”You know, there’s times when we have issues with mailing addresses, but we ‘ve got a system worked out where they get them and can pick them up at certain places within their counties…But, you know, it’s been very successful.”

Snook says waiting to send the license by mail allows them time to do Social Security, address and image verifications to be sure the license is going to the proper person. “We just don’t see the fraudulent activity like we had before when we were issuing over the counter, so I can really say that it was a very successful program,” according to Snook.

There are 19 D.O.T. driver’s license stations, and 81 county treasurers offices where licenses are issued across the state. Find out more on the D.O.T.’s website at: www.iowadot.gov.

Filed Under: Human Interest, News Tagged With:

Iowa City gives final approval to red light cameras

February 22, 2012 By

Another city has voted to use red light cameras. The city council in Iowa City took its third and final vote Tuesday on adding red light cameras, and it passed by a 4-3 margin.

The police department says the cameras will go up at approximately 10 intersections that are the most dangerous based on crash data. The city still has to decide how much they’ll charge violators and how the fine money will be used.

Iowa City will become the seventh city to use the automated devices which have proven to be controversial. Legislators have discussed putting a limit on how much cities can charge for speed or red light camera tickets, and a bill is currently in the works that if passed would ban the cameras altogether.

Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Muscatine, Cedar Rapids and Davenport also use the cameras. Des Moines, the state’s largest city, took in over $192,000 in revenue from its traffic cameras in December. City leaders say the cameras have reduced accidents.

Leaders in Sioux City recently voted to lower the fines they charge for red light camera violations from $195 to $100 dollars if the violator agrees to pay right away. Sioux City expects to take in over one million dollars from its red light cameras.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

Supreme Court hears arguments in Workforce Development item veto case

February 21, 2012 By

The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday evening in Governor Terry Branstad’s appeal of a district court ruling that overturned his item veto of part of a bill that appropriated over eight million dollars to keep 36 Iowa Workforce Development offices open.

Richard Sapp presented the governor’s case and told the justices that the veto was legal because the governor created an alternative to the “brick and mortar” field offices. He says the definition of what constituted a field office was not clearly laid out by the legislature in the bill, and said a definition has been the test since the first challenge of the item veto.

 ”Since 1971 the legislature has been on notice of what it must write if it intends to make something a condition,” Sapp said. “There are numerous examples in this court’s jurisprudence since that first case that do the same thing, and the question is: Why didn’t they do that here? Why is there no conditioning language as to the field office section since they were clearly on notice? Could they not get enough votes in the legislature to make it an explicit condition? We don’t know.”

Mark Hedberg represented the group of legislators and union officials who challenged the governor’s veto. He said the issue was clearly defined.

“If we look at the definition section it says ‘for purposes of this section field offices and satellite offices it shall’…it’s not aspirational, it’s not may or whatever,” Hedberg said. “It says we have a product, this is what it shall consist of, this is how many we are going to make and here’s the money for it. When you take that out, and you’ve got virtual offices, you’ve distorted the whole section and what it was all about to begin with.

Justice Thomas Waterman asked Hedberg about the purpose of the item veto. “The intent of the framers of the item veto amendment was to give the governor more control over the budget than he’d have without it?,” Waterman asked Hedberg, who replied yes. “And wouldn’t you undermine that if you construed the item veto power so narrowly that he couldn’t strike out a policy provision that would tie his hands on ways to save money, ” Waterman asked.

Hedberg replied, “The item veto as I understand it was to prevent pork barrel politics is that fair enough? But I think in this case the governor vetoed the barrel and kept the pork for himself, that’s the problem. And I think that’s why you have got to veto the money. Because now you can take that $8.6-million and use it, distort it.”

Hedberg said in his summary that they are not trying to handcuff the governor’s use of the line item veto. “We’re not asking the governor to go through every line of a budget, we’re only asking to take a look at the ones you’re going to veto and when you veto it, you’d better make sure that it’s not a condition on an appropriation, which we believe this was, either a condition or restriction on that appropriation…and I think that’s all that’s required by our court system, not magic words not red lights, Hedberg said.

Sapp concluded his arguments by asking the justices to think about what their ruling would do to the item veto cases. “I keep thinking, haven’t we decided all the issues of the item veto amendment by now. Apparently not, and what the plaintiff’s proposing are going to take us backwards years and years because they have no good alternative test to give to a governor or to give to a court as to how you determine whether something is or is not a condition,” Sapp said.

The arguments were streamed lived on the court system website and there will be an archive of the arguments posted there too at: iowacourts.gov.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Featured Story, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Western Iowa flood victims have another housing option

February 21, 2012 By

Western Iowa residents forced out of their homes by Missouri River flooding may have another option for temporary housing. Iowa Finance Authority spokeswoman, Ashley Jared, says flood victims can apply for a waiver to live in housing usually restricted by the federal government to low-income families.

“They don’t have to worry about their income to seek some housing assistance in those properties. We just ask that they go to our website and fill out a form and kind of search to see if there’s a vacancy at an affordable housing property. We have all of the contact information at iowafinanceauthority.gov for them,” Jared says.

The waiver applies to flood victims in Monona, Harrison, Pottawattamie, Mills, and Fremont counties. “They just have to verify that they did indeed live in one of those five counties in Iowa during the period of May 25th to August first 2011, and that their property was indeed damaged or destroyed by the flooding. And we will go ahead and see what we can do to get them in to an affordable rental project,” Jared says.

The Finance Authority says over 1,200 Iowans have filed for assistance from FEMA following last year’s flooding.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, News

Supreme Court will hear arguments in Iowa Workforce Development case tonight

February 21, 2012 By

The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tonight in the appeal of a ruling against the governor over the closing of 36 Iowa Workforce Development offices. A Polk County judge ruled the governor’s line-item veto of money set aside by the legislature to keep the offices open was unconstitutional because the governor attempted to redirect the money.

Five Democrats in the legislature and AFSCME, the state’s largest employee union, filed the lawsuit. AFSCME Council 61 president, Danny Homan, said they want to see the offices reopened as they offer services needed by the unemployed.

Branstad said the offices have been replaced by a “much more efficient” system involving computer stations in libraries, homeless shelters and other locations. The Supreme Court will begin hearing the oral arguments in the case at seven o’clock in the courtroom of the judicial building in Des Moines.

The court will also stream the arguments live on its website: www.iowacourts.gov/Supreme_Court/Oral_Argument_Video

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

D.O.T. offers email reminder to renew your driver’s license

February 21, 2012 By

The Iowa Department of Transportation is offering an e-mail reminder for drivers who sign up to let them know their license is about to expire. Kim Snook is the director of the D.O.T.’s Office of Driver Services.

“You know those five years come around pretty fast, or two years, whatever they have. It’s a way they can go on-line and have a notification sent 30 days before they are up for renewal,” Snook says. Snook says the e-mail lets you know the countdown is running on the window to renew your license.

“You can renew it any time, 30 days before or 60 days after (the expiration date) before you are no longer valid to drive. You won’t have to take a written test or anything…we try to do it 30 days ahead so you have that whole 90-day window that you can come in and get that renewal completed,” according to Snook.

There are some other features that’re also available for drivers who go on-line. She says you can look up your own driving record and you can also change your mailing address. Snook says changing your address is important to keeping files up to date.

You are supposed to update your address on your driver’s license within 30 days of your move. Snook says you can still come into a D.O.T. office and for one dollar you get a new license with your new address, but doing it on-line can save you some time.

To sign up for a license renewal e-mail, go to the Iowa D.O.T.’s Motor Vehicle Division “myMVD” website at: mymvd.iowadot.gov.

Filed Under: Human Interest, News Tagged With:

Iowa National Guard to rededicate Davenport facility

February 20, 2012 By

The Iowa National Guard will celebrate the completion of the renovation of its Davenport Aviation Readiness Center Tuesday. Guard spokesman, Colonel Greg Hapgood, says there’ll be a rededication ceremony at 10 a.m. to mark the end of this project.

“It’s the second phase and final phase of a two-phase project which basically renovated the entire facility and added approximately two-thousand square feet,” Hapgood says. Hapgood says the original building was constructed in 1972, and now has modern systems inside.

He says that included all new ceilings, wall and floor coverings, energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems along with other energy efficient measures. Hapgood says this continues their program of updating facilities.

“The goal of the Iowa National Guard is to renovate facilities so that none of our buildings are older than 20 years old that haven’t been renovated yet, so this is one of those programmed renovations and additions that we were able to secure federal and state funding and were able to complete it this year,” Hapgood said.

The renovation and addition costs $2.1-million. The rededication ceremony is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the facility. The Davenport Aviation Readiness Center is home to some 200 soldiers who are part of the 248th Aviation Support Battalion and 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion.

Filed Under: Military, News Tagged With:
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