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Snoopy license plates to debut

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Snoopy, the world’s most charming beagle, will start appearing on license plates across California next year, potentially making traffic jams more bearable.

The state has received enough prepaid orders to begin making license plates bearing the likeness of the famous “Peanuts” comic strip character, and the proceeds from the specialty plates will fund grants for museums across California.

Over 7,500 Snoopy fans and museum supporters have made prepaid orders of the license plate, prompting the state to start production next year, said Bryan Cash, chair of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment at a news conference Wednesday at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

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At $50 apiece for regular plates, and $98 for personalized ones, the program is expected to generate $10 million in revenue over 10 years. So far the program has raised approximately $500,000, Cash said.

The funds, which are administered by the endowment, will pay for new exhibits, facility improvements and other expenses that are crucial for museums serving the public, Cash said.

“These projects make a difference by opening up horizons for children and adults,” he said.

The competitive grants will go to all sorts of institutions, ranging from major metropolitan museums with renowned collections to rural museums run by historical society volunteers, said Celeste DeWald, the executive director of the California Association of Museums. There are more than 1,400 museums across the state, and more than 46 percent are entirely privately funded.

“There’s great diversity in the museum field, and we want to celebrate all of that,” she said.

The license plates are a way for the state to support museums without using government money, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, the author of the legislation that created the Snoopy plates. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the license plate legislation in October 2014.

“It is this treasure we want to protect and Snoopy is helping us do that,” Atkins said.

“Our museums are such an important part of our history and culture we have to keep them strong for future generations,” she later added.

People who place an order by Dec. 18 will also receive free or discounted tickets to 85 museums across California. Atkins said it amounts to over $1,200 in savings.

The beagle’s likeness was donated by Peanuts Worldwide and the family and widow of Charles Schultz, “Peanuts” creator. Schultz, who lived in California, died in 2010 as one of the most influential artists in the comic strip world.

Greg Evans, the creator of the “Luann” comic strip and a friend of Schultz, said the license plate is a fitting tribute to an icon of their industry.

“He’s really love this, he truly would,” Evans said.

The Snoopy plates, like all special license plates, required 7,500 prepaid orders to go into production. Additional orders are expected to arrive during the holiday season now that word is out and as people see the new plates on the road in the coming year, Cash said.

There are 33 specialty license plates in California for different purposes. Some, like the Snoopy plates, benefit special causes, while others, like the plates for privately-owned school buses, are given to certain vehicles. Others, like the plate for Medal of Honor or Purple Heart recipients, pay tribute to military service.

Snoopy license plates can be ordered online at www.snoopyplate.com.

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841

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