Hey: Same vehicle at LaHarpe Boulevard and President Clinton Avenue at 6 a.m. this morning, now 10 months expired temporary tag! -- Exasperated
Dear Exasperated: Used to be that drivers who parked illegally in handicapped places was what made people craziest. They would express their insanity here. Over the years, that has morphed to expired temporary dealer tags. The Mahatma isn't in the business of telling people what to do, but law enforcement would gain great credibility by stamping out this annoyance.
Another of our readers tells the tale of a very nice new car near where he works. He swears this new car has had three differently dated temporary license tags. This is weird. Perhaps this is kosher.
No, it's not kosher, said John Theis, assistant revenue commissioner of the state Department of Finance and Administration.
He did not actually use the word kosher. But he did explain in careful detail. Here goes, starting with Arkansas Code Annotated 27-14-705. You could look it up.
Anyone who buys a vehicle from a licensed dealer must get a temporary, preprinted buyer's tag. The tag may be issued either by the dealer or the Office of Motor Vehicle. The tag must be obtained within 10 days of purchase.
So far so good?
The temporary tag is valid for 30 days. If the buyer can't register the vehicle within 30 days because the selling dealer hasn't received the previous owner's title from the lien holder, the selling dealer may issue one more temporary tag. Also good for 30 days.
State law doesn't allow for more than one (1) additional temporary tag.
Theis said that if our reader has information that a temporary tag was issued in excess of these limits, please provide that information to his agency.
Dear Mahatma: Can you give any history on the rock walls and planters on Cantrell Road and Interstate 430? They have been there as long as we can remember. Who built them and why? -- Judy
Dear Judy: The rock walls and planters have been there, as we say in the newsroom, since memory runneth to the contrary. We also note that Cantrell Road is really Arkansas 10.
Yours is the second such question recently sent here, by the way.
David Nilles, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, searched the memory banks of colleagues. The belief is the planters were part of an enhancement project from 1977. The origin of the wall appears lost in the dim mists of time.
The planters and the wall will be removed when projects begin to upgrade the interchange. A new Arkansas 10 entrance ramp to I-430 North will be built and the wall removed. The planters will be taken out with the widening of Arkansas 10 west of the interchange.
No specific date has been set on these improvements.
Vanity plate seen by a reader: FIXFIDO. Asks the sharp-eyed reader: Veterinarian or concerned citizen?
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 10/31/2015