Margret Sloan

After driving across three states this past week, we got home safe and sound and tried to pick up from where we left off before the funeral. Hubby had a lot of work to catch up and, sadly, his assistant manager had a family emergency and needed to be off for several days, so that means hubby doesn’t get a day off for a couple of weeks.

Ironically, with all the driving we’ve done over the years and especially this past week, it’s here at home that hubby gets pulled over by the police. Ostensibly for not wearing a seatbelt, which is true – he just refuses to wear a seatbelt over any and all protests by me. But it’s the law here and they changed the enforcement provisions of the state law so that you can be stopped just for not wearing a seat belt. Up until they changed it, the seatbelt violation could only be a secondary reason to get a ticket.

So, the cop wants to see his driver’s license (no problem), the registration (no problem although the tags expire the end of this month and we need to get the emissions inspection done this week to renew the tags) and proof of insurance. Oops. Where is the insurance card? The one in the car expired last month and we haven’t received the new one in the mail yet. That’s a problem, since the cop wants to see the current card or hubby gets a ticket. Oh well. At least you can get the insurance squared away and have the ticket dismissed. If he had gotten a ticket for the seat belt violation then he would have no defense and would be paying for that ticket with cash, court costs and points on his license.

Today I have to call the insurance company today and find out where the new proof of insurance cards are. And I get voice mail. Sigh.

So, I’m online and checking for an auto insurance quote from different insurance companies because now I’m getting really annoyed with the lack of service from the current insurance agent. I found the ez-insuranceportal web site which is really convenient and helpful.

Most of the major insurance companies are represented on this portal site, so you can get quotes and compare the rates and coverages all at the same place. They have a “quick quote” tool that lets you put in a few important details and then the site comes back with quotes from these companies that everyone knows:

• Allstate
• MetLife
• Nationwide
• State Farm

And there’s quotes from lesser known companies that offer great rates, too. So now I’m ready to have a serious talk with my insurance agent when he calls me back. Now he’s going to have to defend the business with me and I’ll be ready to change if I have to. The premiums come right out of my checking account every month, so I’ll be real interested in why I didn’t get the new cards a month ago so we wouldn’t be dealing with a traffic ticket on top of everything else I have to worry about.

I was surprised to see what a difference there is between San Francisco and Southern California. there is actually a lot of animosity between the two parts of the state. No one in Northern California cheers for any of the Southern California teams. And several people told me that the only reason they ever travel to the L. A. area is to take the family to Disneyworld or Knotts Farm.

If you are in the L.A. area and have the need for an attorney, make a note to look up the Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP. law firm. This is the DUI Dream Team defense. All the partners are former L.A. prosecutors, so you have the men who know both sides of the street and can launch the most aggressive defense for you.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. If you have a need for Criminal Defense Attorneys Los Angeles | California Criminal DUI Lawyers, don’t take chances with a cheap or inexperienced attorney – go for the best.

‘Gilligan’s’ Mary Ann caught with dope

After being caught with marijuana in her car. Dawn Wells, better known as Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island,” is now serving six months’ unsupervised probation

She was sentenced Feb. 29 under a plea agreement. Three misdemeanor counts — driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance — were dropped and she plead guilty to one count of reckless driving.. Her sentence was five days in jail, a fine of $410.50 and she was placed on probation for six months.