Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/55349
8A Daily News – Tuesday, February 14, 2012 DMV wants your feedback In a continuing effort to improve customer service and satisfaction, customers now have the opportunity to rate their DMV experience by sharing valuable feed back on a new "How are we doing?" web survey page. "The opinions and suggestions from our customers are the most valuable tools that the DMV can utilize to improve on services," said DMV Director George Valverde. "We take the opinions of our customers very seriously." DMV customers are now able to go to the DMV website and choose a service rating from 1 – 10 with an optional comment box designed to share any additional thoughts, suggestions, or compliments. The department will use this data for future consideration in the development of addi- tional customer services. The DMV has deployed a series of new service options and enhancements with the customer in mind. Last month, the department increased the number of Self Service Ter- minals (SSTs) to 35 offices around the state where cus- tomers can get their registration cards and tags within sec- onds; in October, DMV launched a new, expanded appoint- ment system that is providing advance appointments in greater numbers and in a more timely manner; in May, cus- tomers began receiving the option of a call-back from the department through Virtual Hold; and, DMV deployed Appointment Notify, where customers receive a reminder call three days prior to a scheduled appointment. These improvements followed DMV's successful launch of DMV Now, which allows customers with Android and iPhone smart phones to find a local office with real-time wait times and provide turn-by-turn directions based on GPS location, take sample written driving tests, and, access a large library of DMV driver education videos and other important DMV alerts. LaMalfa introduces bill to assist rural law enforcement Sen. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) Thursday intro- duced SB 1067, which provides California peace offi- cers the ability to request aid from law enforcement agencies in bordering states should they deem it neces- sary. California's outdated laws require such requests to be routed through state government in Sacramento, a process that could waste vital time during emergencies. "It doesn't make sense that requests for aid must be approved through the state government, when officers may be just minutes away," said LaMalfa. "Every minute wasted with a middleman while conducting law enforcement duties can place our local personnel at risk. This bill puts the ability to call for assistance in the hands of local officials who are in the best position to make these decisions." SB 1067 allows California agencies to directly request interstate aid while responding to criminal activities, traffic accidents, public safety concerns and other emergencies. The bill is coauthored by Assem- blyman Jim Nielsen and supported by the California Police Chiefs Association. Metallic balloons can causeoutages, injuries With Valentine's Day here, many customers will celebrate the day with helium-filled metallic bal- loons. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) urges customers to securely tie a weight to all metallic balloons con- taining helium to prevent them from floating away. Metallic balloons that contact overhead power lines can disrupt electric service to an entire neigh- borhood, cause significant property damage and potentially result in seri- ous personal injuries. Last year, metallic bal- loons that drifted into PG&E power lines caused nearly 300 outages, affect- ing electric service to more than 150,000 PG&E customers throughout Northern and Central Cali- fornia. In order to significantly reduce such outages, and filled metallic balloons are securely tied to a weight that is heavy enough to prevent them from floating away. Never remove the weight! •When possible, keep metallic balloons indoors. Never release them out- side. • Do not bundle metal- lic balloons together. •Never attempt to so everyone can safely enjoy their Valentine's Day, PG&E reminds cus- tomers to follow these important safety tips for metallic balloons: •"Look Up and Live!" Use caution and avoid cel- ebrating with metallic bal- loons near overhead elec- tric lines. • Make sure helium- retrieve any type of bal- loon, kite, or toy that becomes caught in a power line. Leave it alone and immediately call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the problem. •Never go near a power line that has fallen to the ground or is dangling in the air. Always assume downed electric lines are live. Stay far away, keep others away, and immedi- ately call 911 to alert the police and fire depart- ments. Magnitude-5.6 quake strikes rural Northern Calif. HOOPA VALLEY INDIAN ''It was just a mild shaking. It RESERVATION (AP) — A moder- ate earthquake struck Northern Cali- fornia's coast Monday afternoon, rattling nerves around the Oregon border but yielding no immediate reports of major injuries or damage, officials said. The magnitude-5.6 quake struck at 1:07 p.m. about 18 miles inland in an unincorporated part of Humboldt County, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter was a rural area near the small community of Weitchpec on the Hoopa Valley Indi- an Reservation, about 240 miles north of San Francisco and about 60 miles south of the Oregon border. The temblor was widely felt with- in a 100-mile radius, according to the USGS website. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Department and Eureka Police Department sent deputies and offi- cers to check on residents, but dis- patchers said there were no immedi- ate reports of emergencies. Things also seemed fine on the Hoopa reser- vation, according to Byron Nelson Jr., the tribe's vice chairman. wasn't a sharp jerk,'' said Sgt. Gene McManus of the Del Norte County Sheriff's Department, a neighboring agency that also saw no immediate problems. Children's building blocks tum- bled at Weitchpec Elementary School, but the staff and students took the shaking in stride. Kate Lowry, the school's sole teacher, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that she, her aide and the 19 children followed their earthquake drill procedure and filed out of the building. ''We were still moving as we were walking across,'' Lowry said. ''Once we got down in the field, it had stopped.'' At nearby Pearson's Grocery Store, Karen Pearson watched cans fall off the shelves as a man yelled for people to get out. ''It was very scary because you have no control of these things,'' Pearson said. ''Hopefully it's over.'' Debbie Bailey, who owns an office supply shop in Hoopa, about five miles from the epicenter, said only a few items fell off shelves there. She described the jolt, which lasted four or five seconds, ''like a pick-up-and-move, like a soft wave.'' Seismologists say the far-north- ern coast of California is the most seismically active area in the state, but the potential for damage and injuries there is smaller because it's less populated. The most damaging earthquake in recent years occurred near Eureka on Jan. 9, 2010, when a magnitude-6.5 temblor caused more than $40 mil- lion in damage and one serious injury — an elderly woman who fell and broke her hip. It was followed a month later with a magnitude-5.9 quake in the same region that caused much less damage. Lainey McDonald, who was standing in the office of her roofing supply company in Eureka, said Monday's rumblings did not feel as bad as those past events. ''I was asking myself, 'Is it really still going or is it my knees?''' McDonald said. ''It was still going. It definitely got my attention.''