New RMV office opening at Mahoney Circle in Revere today

REVERE-The state is giving the city a little good news today amidst the gloomy reports of state spending cuts: The Registry of Motor Vehicles is opening a new office at Mahoney Circle.

Relocating the Registry from Melrose makes it easy for area drivers to renew licenses and take care of other business. The move also brings potential shoppers into downtown. Mayor Thomas Ambrosino, local legislators and Registrar Rachel Kaprielian inaugurate the new Registry office today at 10 a.m.

State and local officials last October announced the ten-year lease between the Registry and Mahoney Circle LLC, the developer of the Channel project off Mahoney Circle.

Registry spokeswoman Ann Dufresne at the time of the announcement said ample parking at the Channel site and easy access onto Everett Street from mahoney Circle prompted the Registry to relocate its Melrose operation, including 17 employees, to Revere.

Mahoney Circle LLC will receive $300,000 a year under the lease terms. Dufresne said the company recently retrofitted the Registry site in Wilmington.

The Mahoney Circle location will be outfitted with new technology allowing customers to take a driver’s permit test using a touch screen. Employee workstations will be outfitted so that Registry employees can handle licensing and registration functions. Dufresne estimates at least 13,000 customers will use the Revere branch every month.

“The move to Revere will impact customer flow at a number of other branches,” Dufresne said in October.

Like other registries across the state, the Revere location will be open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Lynn Daily Item

Manhole Fires Close Hub Streets, RMV Offices

No Injuries Reported

BOSTON -- Boston police say at least three manhole fires in the city's theater district prompted the closure of several Back Bay streets early Monday and forced the Registry of Motor Vehicles to shut down all branch offices and online services because of the resulting power failures in its Transportation Building headquarters.

NSTAR confirmed that the fires occurred in manholes near the intersections of Stuart, Tremont, Boylston and Washington streets, not far from the Boston Common.

No one was reported injured in the blasts, which occurred about 5:45 a.m., but traffic was affected and the MBTA said both the Copley outbound T station and the Arlington Street station were closed. They were reopened by 8:30 a.m., T officials said.

Power was also out in the area, meaning there was no electricity for traffic lights and some outages in the nearby Radisson Hotel and the state Transportation Building. Workers there were told not to report to work until noon.

BostonChannel.com - Full Story

A Message from Registrar Kaprielian on RMV Budget Cuts

This was received by Denise. If you go to the RMV site, you'll see an RMV Alert telling customers new hours of operation, as well as the different material they will no longer mail to you. You are now expected to keep track of your renewals without notice from the RMV.

Dear Customer,

Like many businesses across the Commonwealth, the RMV is working to squeeze every penny of savings from our budget in the wake of a drastic downturn in the state's economy.

To weather this financial storm, the RMV is adopting operational changes that, we believe, will minimize the impact on customer service in our branches.

NEW HOURS
Beginning Monday, November 3, 2008, the RMV will delay the opening hours of most branches by a half hour from 8:30am to 9 am. Hours of operation will also change at the 18 branches that have extended hours to 7pm on Thursdays. These branches will now be open from 10 am to 6 pm.

RMV MAILINGS
The RMV will eliminate courtesy notices that are sent to customers for the following services:

License and Mass ID renewal notices
Vehicle Inspection reminder letters for vehicles that are overdue for inspection
Inspector license renewal notices
7D license renewal notices
Driver's Education Certificates
Junior Operator Brochures for parents
Change of address labels
Preserving customer service and keeping wait times down is my number one priority in implementing any changes at the RMV.

Remember: On line saves time. Chances are the service you need is right here on our website. The RMV Express Lane is always open.

Thank you for your patience.

Registrar Kaprielian

Click here to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles site.