You Can Be a Celebrity at the DMV

Hoping to brighten things up at the DMV’s Santa Monica office, manager Jeanne J. Jones has taken to displaying movie star photos on the wall. And she’ll go the dry cleaner one better: Anyone can be a star at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

“If you want to bring me your photo, that’s fine, as long as it’s a nice photo,” she said. “I’ll buy the frame.”

Imagine your image sharing a wall with the likes of Madonna’s ex-husband, who jokingly inscribed his sneering likeness: “To the DMV. Please erase all moving- and alcohol-related violations on my records. Thank you, S. Penn.”

This was a joke, Jones said. Sean Penn, despite his tough-guy image, “has a nice, clean driving record.”

The idea of the DMV’s “Wall of Fame” is to make the bastion of bureaucracy a user-friendly place to visit, Jones said. She pointed to autographed shots of Dinah Shore, Loretta Young, Barbra Streisand and Michael Keaton, among others.

Keaton, who has portrayed Batman in two films, did not try to register a Batmobile, Jones said.

But if he had, the caped crusader would have had to wait in line like anyone else.

Sometimes Jones will stand in line with well-known customers to fend off pushy fans, she said, or let them take their exams at her desk, but there is no special treatment for celebrities and “no one is exempt from the written or driving test.”

She had some stress-reducing tips for ordinary citizens too: Don’t rely on the mail to remind you when your registration expires; make DMV appointments in advance by phone; file the appropriate form if there is injury, death or more than $500 worth of damage in a traffic accident; and be aware that you now have to pay a $5 fee in advance if you plan to take a vehicle out of operation.

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REST EASY: Calling all. . . couches? Sounds strange, but that’s the cry from Culver City, where the city’s youth center is desperately seeking sofas.

The center, an after-school recreation facility for kids ages 11 to 18, has everything from a weight room to Foosball and video games.

Perhaps most important, there is a 25-inch television with cable and a VCR. But what the kids don’t have are decent-looking couches.

“The ones we have are old,” said Agustin (Augie) Perez, the center’s 24-year-old recreation coordinator. “We need to improve the look of the teen center.”

Perez said he’ll take what he gets, but he would prefer sofas that are vinyl and in dark colors.

And with 50 kids hanging out at the center every day, dirt and food spills can be a problem. So Perez would also like sofas that are stain resistant.

To donate, call (310) 202-5689.