AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Look, if you refer to San Francisco as San Fran (ph), you might get dirty looks from people from there, including from myself, because it is lame. It is not a nickname that any resident uses. So when that term ended up emblazoned on a handful of residents driver's licenses recently, well, it caused a bit of commotion.
SCOTT WIENER: When I have told San Franciscans about this, they cringe. And one of the people who received a license with San Fran on it - when she told her mother about the situation, her mother immediately advised her to burn the license.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
That is California State Senator Scott Wiener, who represents San Fran-cisco (ph). This week, he wrote a letter to the head of the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, which reads, in part, I am requesting that DMV immediately cease and desist any and all uses of San Fran to refer to Tony Bennett's City by the Bay.
CHANG: Wiener pointed out in his letter that, quote, "no self-respecting San Franciscan would ever use the term San Fran."
KELLY: "As in truly never," he continued. Wiener told us there are plenty of other nicknames to choose from.
WIENER: SF; The City; City by the Bay - few people are allowed to use Frisco, but not very many people are allowed to use that - and then, of course, Best City in the World because it is the best city in the world.
CHANG: I would never even use Frisco. We did catch up with the DMV, by the way. They told us, quote, "the DMV agrees a no-nonsense San Francisco works best on a driver's license." They say it was a limited issue, which they have now fixed, and they promise that anyone whose license declares they live in San Fran can visit the DMV for a free replacement.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(I LEFT MY HEART) IN SAN FRANCISCO")
TONY BENNETT: (Singing) I left my heart in San Francisco. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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