EL SEGUNDO HERALD January 14, 2016 Page 3 Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin 16-1213ps_sby-ie-16-008 ©2016 lacmta Regional Connector Project Closures If you work or live in Downtown LA, please note that the Gold Line Little Tokyo/ Arts District Station is closed for track relocation. A free bus shuttle takes passengers between Union Station, Little Tokyo/Arts District and Pico/Aliso Stations. Plan ahead to avoid delays. For more information on closures in the Downtown LA area, visit metro.net/regionalconnector. Go Metro in the New Year The New Year is starting and it’s a good time to consider going Metro. Regular Metro riders can save as much as $10,000 a year on gas and parking. Plus, they can relax on their commute to work! Plan your trip at metro.net. Watch Metro Motion’s Latest Show Metro’s Emmy-winning news and feature show has returned with a look at Metro’s new Division 13 maintenance facility, an overview of new Silver Line Express service, plus much more. Check your local cable listings to see when “Metro Motion” airs in your area, or view the episode online at metro.net/metromotion. Take a Tour of the Expo Rail Line It’s easy to explore destinations like Olvera Street, the new Broad Museum and Exposition Park on Metro. Learn how to get started with a FREE guided rail tour of the Metro Expo Line. You’ll get useful tips on how to plan your trip, buy a pass, and ride the Metro rail and bus system. To reserve your spot, visit metro.net/tours. metro.net @metrolosangeles losangelesmetro Earbuds Plugged into Driving Law for 2016 By Rob McCarthy Listen up if you’re a driver who likes to wear earbuds to talk on the phone or listen to your music downloads while you’re behind the wheel. A new law for 2016 says you have to have one ear free, or you’re going to be ticketed. California Vehicle Code Section 27400 already existed before Jan. 1 of this year. It needed some clarification that the popular earbuds worn in both ears pose a traffic danger for drivers of motorized and nonmotorized vehicles alike, according to Officer Siara Lund with the California Highway Patrol’s division office in Glendale. Drivers of four-wheeled vehicles aren’t the only ones affected by the 2016 headset-earbud traffic law. Bicyclists are under the same restrictions and will be cited the same as drivers and motorcyclists, Lund told me. “The way that we can tell obviously is if both earbuds and headsets are in, the officer will pull that driver over,” said Lund, adding that the headset law for 2016 isn’t new. It just added language to the existing law that wearing two earbuds while operating a car, motorcycle or bike is illegal. The Southern California Automobile Club explained on its web site that the change in law was done to “ensure drivers and bicyclists can hear sirens, horns, and other safety alerts while driving.” There are exceptions for drivers of heavy machinery and garbage trucks who require noise-cancelling headsets for protection. Drivers of emergency vehicles, such as a fire engines or ambulances, are exempt. Wearing hearing aids while driving is permitted, the law says. The CHP and local law enforcement have the discretion to begin enforcing the headset and earbud restriction immediately. In the past when new traffic laws, such as handsfree cell phone use, became law, the CHP and police departments issued warnings to drivers who were caught talking or texting on their cell phones. Will that be the case if an officer spots a driver or cyclist bee bopping down the road without a free ear? No, said Lund, because the ban on headsets and earplugs has been law in California for a decade. No doubt, many California drivers were surprised to hear that one of the new traffic laws for 2016 involved earbuds. They probably presumed, like I did, that the tiny in-ear listening devices for cell phones and iPods were outlawed a long time ago. Enforcement of the new “old” traffic law means this for drivers who insist on wearing their headphones or earbuds in both ears or covering them: The next sound they hear could be the whoop of a police siren, which isn’t music to any driver’s ears. Pleading ignorance of the new laws may not result in a warning instead of a ticket. So, here are other traffic laws for 2016 that California drivers and vehicle owners are expected to know, courtesy of the Automobile Club of Southern California and the California Highway Patrol: Slow vehicles on the highway - Bicycles are added to the law about slow-moving passenger vehicles on the highway. All vehicles, including cyclists, should pull over safely to let faster traffic pass on a highway. Any slow-moving vehicle that is holding up five or more vehicles must use the next available turnout or available area to let traffic pass. Electric bicycles - An electric bicycle with a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour can only be operated by a person 16 years or older, and a helmet must be worn. The new law also creates safety restrictions for NFL Closer to a South Bay Return By Rob McCarthy There is plenty of name recognition and civic pride that comes with being a city with a team in the National Football League. Only 32 cities in the nation can say they made the cut. Los Angeles hasn’t been among them in 20 years. Three NFL teams have applied to relocate to Los Angeles, and the league’s owners could decide as early as next week which, if any of them, can switch cities. The St. Louis Rams, the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders have applied to pick and up and move their headquarters, coaches and players. The South Bay figures again to be on the receiving end if the Rams, Chargers or Raiders return. The catch is there is not a NFL-caliber stadium waiting for them. For anyone who isn’t following the yearslong waiting game the NFL has played with pro football fans here, here’s what you need to know to get up to speed: - Inglewood and Carson have competing stadium proposals. The Chargers and the Raiders reportedly have agreed to play at the Carson stadium, should the NFL approve a two-team move. - The Rams owner, Stan Kroenke, owns a site next to the demolished Hollywood Park in Inglewood land and plans to build a sports and entertainment complex without taxpayer money. That is according to D’Artagnan Scorza, spokesman for the group that spearheaded the petition effort, Citizens for Revitalizing the City of Champions. The City Council already approved the project. The developers are asking for an “infrastructure reimbursement” from Inglewood to pay for the construction of roads and sewers if the sports and retail complex generates more than $25 million in annual tax monies for the host city. They have submitted a petition signed by 22,000 Inglewood residents in favor of putting the project on the ballot for a citywide vote. The Carson City Council also has approved construction of a stadium, just off the 405 freeway. The Chargers and the Raiders, who play in the same division of the AFC, would share the stadium, under the approved arrangement. The price tag for the Carson project is projected at $1.65 billion. Financing of the stadium would be similar to what the San Francisco 49ers did to build its new home, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. A local stadium authority, a governmental agency created by Carson last year, would hold the deed to the stadium, which it would build and operate using $400 million from the NFL, according to the Orange County Register. The rest of the construction would be financed and guaranteed by the Raiders and the Chargers. The sale of stadium naming rights and personal seat licenses would be used to pay down the construction loans, the paper reported. NFL.com writer Albert Breer laid out a timetable for the return of the Rams to Los Angeles, writing in a January 2015 column that “the idea that the Rams could be playing at the Rose Bowl, L.A. Coliseum or Dodger Stadium in 2016 and 2017 and in Kroenke’s new Southern California football palace by 2018 is not at all far-fetched. In fact, it’s trending toward becoming a likelihood.” Kroenke is believed to have the inside track to has his application approved to move the Rams back to Los Angeles. The Rams left Cleveland in 1946 after winning an NFL championship and came to Los Angeles. The team left the L.A. Coliseum in 1980 and played in Anaheim Stadium until 1994. See Earbuds, page 14 See NFL, page 13
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