2012 brings changes big and small

>>> this is a picture of tina cone. tina cone is excellent and this week she celebrated her 30-something birthday. tina worked on our show up until about two weeks ago when she left to travel the world on the cheap. among other things, tina loves to scuba dive with sharks. this is tina 's facebook page. she is nuts for sharks. so, tina , on the occasion of your birthday, i am happy to report that you will be happy to learn as of new year's day it will be illegal in california and in oregon to serve shark fin soup . happy birthday , tina .

>>> now, i don't know who to wish happy what for this one. but also on january 1st in the great state of georgia , golf courts that ever go off the actual golf course will be required to make beeping sounds when they go backwards and will be required to have horns. it's the law. as of sunday, in the great state of illinois , here's a new one, a motorcyclist stopped at a red light may proceed through that red light if the light doesn't turn green after a, quote, reasonable length of time. so as of new year's day in illinois, motorcyclists still have to stop for red lights , but they don't have to stay stopped for anything other than a reasonable amount of time. what could possibly go wrong? now, also in illinois, animal control centers that scan a lost pet to see if it has a microchip in it, those animal control centers are also mandated by state government to look for other forms of pet i.d. like a tag that says, hi, my name is fifi, or a tattoo that says, hi, my name is fifi. that's a new law. so as of january 1st in the great state of nevada , the new law of the state is that fire performers and their apprentices must file for a certificate. includes las vegas . and burning man in nevada, you do not today need a state fire marshal certificate to entertain people with your flame. as of sunday you do. on sunday, the city-wide minimum wage in san francisco rises to $10.24 an hour. minimum wage increases of 28 cents to 37 cents an hour are also going into effect in arizona, colorado, florida, montana, ohio, oregon, washington state and vermont. it's not very much, but every little bit helps. means another $600 to $800 a year more for the million minimum wage working workers in those states. now, those states are also seeing their minimum wage rise because of the index to inflation. now, on immigration, it's interesting. even as parts of south carolina 's draconian new anti-immigrant laws are struck down in federal cost last week that the state along with other republican-controlled states of alabama, tennessee and georgia are all implementing new anti-immigrant laws as of this weekend. while in democratically controlled state of california , they're implementing as of sunday the california dream act . allowing kids who get into state colleges and universities to qualify for financial aid regardless of their immigration status. when you wake up on sunday, a lot will have changed overnight. and in many cases the best cure for what ails you new year's day is probably just a big plate of buttered noodles, a long nap. maybe get some coca cola made in mexico in the green glass with the real sugar in it. that will help most of what you need after a celebratory new year's eve. for a lot of americans, the world changes a lot on new year's day. if, for example, you're a nevadan who lights himself on fire for the entertainment of others, you're going to need a license for that, buddy.