December 20, 2018 Page 5
Holiday Cut-out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
• 3/4 cup butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 Eggland’s Best Eggs (large)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 6 cups white flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup Eggland’s Best Liquid
Egg Whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• small squeeze of lemon juice
Preparation
Recipe provided by Brandpoint
Cookies:
• In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with a paddle
attachment, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar until fluffy and
pale in color.
• Add in the eggs, vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.
• Add the baking powder, salt and flour (one cup at a time), mixing until
everything is evenly incorporated.
• Cover and chill the dough, preferably overnight for best results.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out
to a 1/4- or 1/2-inch thickness.
• Cut into holiday shapes with a cookie cutter.
• Transfer cookies to a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and move cookies to a rack to cool.
Frosting:
• In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with a paddle
attachment, cream the butter until fluffy.
• Add the confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix until combined.
• Add the salt, egg whites, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until ingredients
are incorporated.
• Spread over cooled cookies, sprinkle with colored sugar and serve immediately.
New Restrictions on DUIs,
HOV Lanes Coming on January 1
By Rob McCarthy
Get locked up, then locked out. That’ll be
the consequence next year when California
requires drunken-driving offenders to install
breathalyzer devices on vehicles to prevent
them from starting when the driver had too
much to drink. The law expands on a pilot
program used by Los Angeles County courts
that supporters say can catch and stop repeat
DUIs before they happen.
The new restriction will be placed on drivers
following a DUI conviction for alcohol or a
combination of drugs and alcohol. A person
convicted of a DUI who installs an ignition
lockout device on their primary vehicle can
qualify for a restricted driver’s license. This
allows them to drive to work and school while
they serve their sentence or probation as long
as they don’t commit another DUI.
The breathalyzer device must stay in the
vehicle for 12 to 24 months. Tampering or
removing the lockout device would result in
immediate suspension of a driving privilege.
Lawmakers have tried to balance public safety
from impaired drivers with a punishment that
is effective, yet more lenient.
Under existing motor vehicle law, first-time
DUI offenders who cause an injury lose their
driving privileges when their blood alcohol
level exceeds the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Commercial drivers with ridesharing services,
including Uber and Lyft, are considered over
the limit at 0.04 percent.
Several new rules of the road are coming on
Jan. 1. However, none is more pressing than
the ignition lockout requirement. Police and
courts are in catchup mode since recreational
marijuana was legalized. L.A. County recently
secured a nearly $1 million grant to train
prosecutors in drug-impaired DUI cases. The
funding will pay for training for prosecutors
who review deadly DUI cases and decide
whether to charge a driver with vehicular
homicide, according to the DA’s office.
Judges can order a first offender to install a
lockout device for six months, even when no
one was injured. A non-injury first offender
who isn’t ordered to install an ignition lockout
device may apply for a driver’s license
that allows them to work and attend a DUI
treatment program for 12 months.
Mothers Against Drunk Drivers supports
passage of laws requiring ignition lockout
devices for convicted drivers. The group cites
statistics that drunken drivers break the law
80 times before they are arrested for a first
time. More than two million drunk drivers
had three or more convictions. MADD says.
An ignition interlock is a device about
the size of a cell phone that is wired into
the ignition system of a vehicle, according
to MADD. A convicted drunk driver must
blow into the device in order to start their
vehicle. If they have a measurable amount
of alcohol in their system, the vehicle will
not start.
“It is a simple and economical way to
make sure that offenders can drive to and
from work, but that they can’t drive drunk,”
the group says. Research by the Centers for
Disease Control backs up MADD’s claim
that ignition lockout devices deter a second
DUI. States that passed the public safety
legislation saw repeat drunk-driving offenses
drop dramatically -- by almost two-thirds
-- after passage.
DUI checkpoints are another deterrent,
which is why the Hawthorne Police Department
will be stopping drivers on Dec. 20 from
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at an undisclosed location.
Officers will be checking driver’s licenses
and watching for signs of intoxication. The
announcement about the checkpoint added a
reminder that a DUI isn’t limited to alcohol.
Medication counts too.
“If you take prescription drugs, particularly
those with a driving or operating machinery
warning on the label, you might be impaired
enough to get a DUI. Marijuana can also be
impairing, especially in combination with
alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a
DUI,” the Hawthorne Police Department said
ahead of tonight’s checkpoint.
The high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane
isn’t automatically open to single drivers of a
low- and zero-emissions cars starting Jan. 1.
The green or white decal, which allows any
alt-vehicle driver to use the diamond lane,
expires on Jan. 1. Vehicles displaying the
old stickers -- issued between Jan. 1, 2017
and March of this year -- no longer will have
carte blanche use of the HOV lanes.
Affected vehicle owners are eligible to
apply for a red decal that grants them access
to HOV lanes through 2021. The DMV
says it has notified vehicle owners by mail
of the change and the department will issue
replacement decals to display immediately
on low- and zero-emission vehicles. A purple
sticker for HOV access also is available for
owners meeting income requirements who’ve
participated in the Clean Vehicle Rebate
Program. For eligibility and exceptions, visit
the DMV’s Clean Air Vehicle Decals webpage
or the California Air Resources Board website.
Other changes that will affect South Bay
motorists and cyclists in the new year are:
Safety around trash trucks: When approaching
or overtaking a rubbish collection truck
with its amber lights flashing, drivers must
move into an adjacent lane, if possible, and
pass at a safe distance. If it is not possible,
drivers must slow to a safe and reasonable
speed, cautions the Highway Patrol. “This
law provides a safety margin for sanitation
workers while they are actively working,” a
CHP news release says.
Bike path hit-and run: A driver involved
in a collision resulting in death or injury
to another party is required to stop at the
scene. That requirement will apply to crashes
on bikeways and allows authorities to hold
individuals accountable for reckless behavior.
Bicycle helmets optional: Bicycle helmets
are no longer required for riders of motorized
scooters who are 18 or older. Motorized
scooters may operate on bikeways and on
highways with speed limits up to 25 miles
per hour. Local jurisdictions may pass ordinances
to allow motorized scooters on
highways with speed limits up to 35 miles
per hour. However, it is still illegal to operate
a motorized scooter on a sidewalk.
Anyone under age 18 not wearing a
helmet on a bicycle, scooter, skateboard or
skates will receive a “fix-it” ticket. A citation
is correctable if proof that the minor
has completed a bicycle safety course and
has a helmet that meets safety standards is
presented within 120 days to the issuing law
enforcement agency.
Vehicle exhaust violations: A fine will
become mandatory when loud motor vehicles
and motorcycles are cited. Previously, a driver
or motorcyclist who was cited for modified or
excessively loud exhaust or muffler systems
could correct the violation to avoid a fine.
Gender on driver’s licenses: The new law
allows individuals applying for a California
driver license or identification card to selfcertify
their chosen gender category of male,
female or nonbinary in the application. Applicants
who select nonbinary will receive a
card with an “X” in the gender category. •