California Arbor Week Contests Highlight the Importance of Trees

California Arbor Week is March 7-14, a statewide celebration of trees. Two statewide contests are being held to celebrate Trees. The contests are designed to increase awareness of and appreciation for the trees and forests in the communities where Californians live, work and play. Winners are featured at the State Fair and awarded cash prizes.

Third, fourth, and fifth grade students throughout California are invited to participate in the California Arbor Week Poster Contest. The contest, titled “Growing Happy Communities” is designed to increase the student’s knowledge of the important roles of trees and the many benefits they provide to our communities. In addition to contest rules and entry forms, the contest information packet includes curriculum for three lessons. Entries are due by February 1, 2012. Sponsors include: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, California Community Forests Foundation, and California ReLeaf.

All Californians are invited to participate in the inaugural year of the California Arbor Week Photography Contest. The contest is designed to highlight the broad diversity of tree species, settings, and landscapes throughout our state, in locations urban and rural, large and small. Photographs may be entered in two categories: My Favorite California Tree or Trees Where I Live. Entries are due by March 31, 2012.

Contest information packets can be downloaded at www.arborweek.org.

California Arbor Week runs March 7-14 every year to mark famed horticulturist Luther Burbank’s birthday. Last year, legislation was passed to define California Arbor Week in statute. California ReLeaf is raising money to fund tree-planting initiatives and support local organization for 2012’s celebration.

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As cars were first being introduced into California, there was no orderly way to track the vehicles or the owners until 1905.

To keep track of all vehicles, the state required cars, bicycles, carriages, carts and similar vehicles to be licensed. However, the automotive industry used a different method to track their vehicles- Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs). A VIN is a unique serial code that is assigned to every vehicle and was first used in 1954. They were typically placed on the driver-side door or at the bottom of the front windshield. Different manufacturers used different formats of VINs until 1981, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration required VINs to be 17 characters and must exclude the letters I, O and Q. By excluding these letters, any confusion with the numbers one and zero was avoided.

A VIN is not merely a random set of 17 characters. Each digit signifies information about the vehicle. A VIN is a vehicles’ DNA; it is unique and unduplicated. For example, the first character identifies the country where the vehicle was made. Each country has a letter or number associated with it- the US is either 1 or 4. The second character identifies the manufacturer such as Toyota or Volkswagen. Each digit of the VIN provides more and more information on the vehicle.

VINs are also printed on several car parts to cut down on part theft. Car parts that are labeled with VINs include transmissions, front and rear bumpers, engines, hoods, right and left doors, sliding cargo doors, right and left quarter panels and side assemblies, pickup/cargo boxes, rear doors and hatchback/deck lid/tailgates.

VINs do not just assist the automotive industry in identifying their vehicles, but can help car buyers avoid fraud. A vehicle’s history is tracked by its VIN and can provide useful information to car buyers. Anyone can view a car’s history using the VIN. Simply enter the VIN into one of the many websites that offer this service (e.g. CARFAX, instaVIN, AutoCheck). Information that a VIN can disclose include:

• Vehicle registration
• Title information, including salvaged or junked titles
• Odometer readings
• Lemon history
• Total loss accident history
• Frame/structural damage
• Collision indicators, such as airbag deployments
• Service and repair information
• Vehicle usage (taxi, rental, lease, etc.)
• Recall information

Vehicle history reports not only help car buyers, but also assist dealers in their sales.  Sellers check the history of the vehicle they are trying to sell so they are prepared to answer any questions regarding the vehicle’s background. Dealers often buy vehicle history reports to provide to their customers to ensure the potential buyer that all information about the vehicle is being disclosed. Dealers also run vehicle history reports prior to acquiring vehicles at auctions to help ensure they are obtaining the vehicle at a fair market value.

What started off as just a tracking system, the VIN has become a useful tool in buying and selling cars. The next time you plan on purchasing a vehicle, remember the VIN is a valuable asset, so use it to look up the vehicle’s history and arm yourself with the tools to make a sound purchase.

For more information on VINs, vehicle history reports and the DMV, visit www.DMV.ca.gov. Save Time. Go Online!

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Occupy Sacramento lawyers say City of Sacramento ‘grudge vendetta’ violates due process rights

Lawyers for Occupy defendants, who had criminal charges dismissed in December, plan to make public what they call a new, unconstitutional scheme by the City of Sacramento, to penalize the same defendants without a trial and due process rights guaranteed by law.

The group will be at the Sacramento Superior Courthouse to disclose the details of their information.

99% Occupy Sacramento

The City is using “administrative penalties” to “convict” the same defendants whose misdemeanor criminal charges were dismissed “in the interest of justice” by the City the day before criminal trials were set to begin in December. Now the City is finding them guilty without a trial.

Occupy Pro bono lawyers  say it is “double jeopardy” under the U.S. and California Constitutions, and also, the City’s actions to find Occupy defendants guilty by “tribunal.” This effectively denies their 5th Amendment Due Process rights.

Jeff Kravitz, a Sacramento civil rights lawyer, said the City is engaging in a “grudge vendetta.”

“The City is wasting taxpayer money in a grudge vendetta against veterans, single mothers, homeowners and struggling middle class families who are guilty of nothing but expressing their concerns about our nation. First, the City violates the First Amendment rights of these people, and now the City violates their Fifth Amendment rights of due process,” said Kravitz, who represents an Iraq veteran.

There have been 110 arrests since Oct. 6 at Cesar Chavez Park for a misdemeanor violation of a curfew ordinance – free speech ends at 11 p.m. weekdays and 12 midnight, according to city code. The City has failed to convict any of those arrested. About 27 cases remain in the courts.

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