license plates

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California DMV Taking Some Heat Over a License Plate

'LOLOCT7' is seen as perceived mockery of Hamas attack; owner's family says it's unrelated

(Newser) - The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for an "unacceptable and disturbing" personalized truck license plate that the agency said displayed hate speech related to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. But as the AP reports, a relative of the vehicle's owner said the whole controversy was...

Michigan Fan Sues After Losing Cherished License Plate

'G0BLUE' had been in the family for years

(Newser) - Die-hard University of Michigan fans are unequivocal when it comes to their favorite phrase: Go Blue. One Michigan family has been lucky enough to have that on their license plate for decades—or had been. Joseph Hardig III is suing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson after he claims the...

Kansas Does U-Turn on 'Ugly as Sin' License Plates

Governor admits dislike of new plate brought 'Kansans across the political aisle together'

(Newser) - "I promised to be a bipartisan governor, and I think we can all admit—I succeeded at bringing Kansans across the political aisle together in disliking this new license plate," Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday. The Democratic governor said the state would halt plans to move forward...

Tesla's Latest Lawsuit Targets Swedish Postal Workers

Automaker says that striking postal workers in Scandinavian nation are delaying license plates

(Newser) - Tesla on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Swedish state via Sweden's Transport Agency as striking postal workers in the Scandinavian country halted the delivery of license plates of new vehicles manufactured by the Texas-based automaker. Tesla is nonunionized globally, but the Swedish workers are demanding that the carmaker...

ACLU Sues South Dakota Over Vanity Plate Restrictions

Civil rights group has beef with state's initial rejection of man's application for 'REZWEED' plate

(Newser) - The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota announced Monday that it's suing South Dakota over a state law that restricts content on vanity plates. The ACLU said in a press release that it filed the lawsuit on behalf of Lyndon Hart, whose application for a plate that said...

SCOTUS on NC's Confederate License Plate Case: Nope

Court previously ruled that Texas was within its rights to stop issuing the plates

(Newser) - The Supreme Court said Monday it won't review North Carolina's decision to stop issuing specialty license plates with the Confederate flag . As is typical, the court didn't comment in declining to hear the case, which challenged the state's decision. The dispute was one of many the...

800K Maryland License Plates Feature a Very Odd URL

Website on older plates now lead to a site that promotes online casinos in the Philippines

(Newser) - Nearly 800,000 cars in Maryland are driving around with older license plates featuring a tribute to the War of 1812, as well as a URL that's causing the state's Motor Vehicle Administration a bit of a headache. Per WBAL , the plates feature a drawing of Fort McHenry,...

No One Has Ever Spent This Much on a License Plate

It's a new world record out of the UAE

(Newser) - An auction bidder in the United Arab Emirates just made history in paying $15 million for a license plate—and no, it doesn't come with a fancy car attached. The unnamed individual likely to find their name in the Guinness World Records book nabbed a license plate reading "...

HOAs' New Favorite Tool: License Plate Readers
HOAs' New Favorite
Tool: License Plate Readers
in case you missed it
Apr 2, 2023 6:55 AM CDT

HOAs' New Favorite Tool: License Plate Readers

Investigation by 'The Intercept' finds the devices in wide use, often without residents' knowledge

(Newser) - The HOAs are watching us. An investigation by the Intercept reveals that the practice of setting up license plate readers, often without public knowledge, is becoming the norm for homeowners associations throughout the US. The outlet has found more than 200 HOAs around the country that have installed cameras from...

Maine Rejects All Appeals in Vanity Plate Crackdown

State decided 'LUVTOFU' could have double meaning

(Newser) - A Maine vegan whose custom license plate contains the word "tofu" is one of the motorists caught in a state crackdown on vulgar tags. Car owners across the United States can pay an extra fee to customize license plates, sparking creativity and personality but causing headaches for state officials...

License Plate Reading 'R' Sells for $3.2M

'R' plate in Hong Kong is considered lucky: CNN

(Newser) - A Hong Kong resident hoping to find good fortune in the new year just paid $3.2 million for a personalized license plate boasting a single lucky letter. The "R" license plate sold in a Lunar New Year auction hosted by the Transportation Department on Sunday fetched the second-highest...

In Tense Region, License Plates Threaten to Unleash Violence

Kosovo wants ethnic Serbs to stop using ones issued by Belgrade

(Newser) - The history of ethnic tension between Kosovo and Serbia may be enormously complicated, but in this case it's playing out in a surprisingly simple way: through license plates. And as the BBC explains, it's no trivial matter, as the dispute threatens to erupt into real violence in the...

Lawsuit Over 'FCANCER' Vanity Plate to Go Forward
DMV Revoked Her Vanity
Plate. She's Fighting Back
in case you missed it
Aug 7, 2022 4:25 PM CDT

DMV Revoked Her Vanity Plate. She's Fighting Back

Federal judge rules that Kari Lynn Overington's suit on 'FCANCER' plate may proceed

(Newser) - Kari Lynn Overington was in a celebratory mood when she hit the milestone of being cancer-free for two years, so she treated herself to a new car and a vanity plate that said "FCANCER," a defiant message to the breast cancer she'd beat. The DMV issued the...

Man Can Keep 'Objectionable' License Plate Referring to Biden

Alabama won't recall Nathan Kirk's 'LGBFJB' tag—standing for 'Let's go, Brandon,' apparent vulgarity

(Newser) - "Let's go, Brandon," the catchphrase that's code among Trump supporters for "F--- Joe Biden," has made its way, in a way, onto an Alabama man's license plate, and he's going to be allowed to keep it there. AL.com reports that the...

Wright Brothers Would've Noticed Goof on License Plate

First design shows Wright Flyer pushing, instead of pulling, a banner

(Newser) - Ohio's debut of its new license plate failed to take off—because a banner depicted on the plate was attached to the wrong end of the Wright brothers' historic first plane, the Wright Flyer. The new license plate illustrates rays of sunlight beaming into the sky, with a banner...

Foul Language on Maine Plates Finally Hitting the Road

'If you want an offensive slogan on your car, then you can use a bumper sticker'

(Newser) - Removing the flipping obscenities from license plates on Maine's roads and highways isn't going to happen overnight, even though a law banning such profanities in a state where such regulation has been unusually lax goes into effect Monday. Currently, there are license plates with salty language including f-bombs,...

Maine Is Reconsidering License Plate 'Wild West'

F-bombs, references to sex acts are currently allowed

(Newser) - Based on crude license plate messages, one may be forgiven for assuming Maine doesn’t give two flips about obscenities. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows wants to change that. Bellows, a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, testified Tuesday in support of several bills to rein...

North Carolina Says No More Confederate License Plates

DMV says decision adheres to ruling in 1998 case involving Sons of Confederate Veterans

(Newser) - The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is no longer issuing specialty license plates featuring the Confederate battle flag, according to a statement. The agency said the removal of the license plate, issued to members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization, took effect Jan. 1, the StarNews of Wilmington ...

Alaska DMV Investigating Case of '3REICH' License Plate

'FUHRER' was also recently spotted in Anchorage

(Newser) - You're stopped at a traffic light and see a vanity plate that catches your eye. That's what happened to Matt Tunseth in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, though it may have seemed more like he was in 1940s Berlin. The plate in front of him read "3REICH,"...

Driver Will Renew 1997 Tags 'As Soon as I Get Home'

Louisiana police post photo of plates that expired decades ago

(Newser) - Many of us have tasks we've been meaning to get to for a couple of decades. For one man in Louisiana, it's "renew auto registration." Slidell police posted a photo of a license plate with tags that expired in 1997 on Facebook. "We can't...

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