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WILKES-BARRE — The first question posed to State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski Friday at the Charles T. Adams Active Adult Center was about REAL ID.
Several seniors asked Pashinski about the cards, most concerned about the cost since many of them are on fixed incomes.
Pashinski’s answer was a little surprising.
“What’s my name?” Pashinski asked the 35 seniors in attendance.
“Eddie Day Pashinski,” they shouted back in unison.
“That’s how you all know me, but do you know my real name?” he retorted.
Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, went on to explain that he might have some difficulty in getting his REAL ID card. He said his first name is not Eddie, not Edward and not Edmund.
“The name on my birth certificate is Edwin,” Pashinski said. “And my middle name I received at Confirmation is Andrew. And somewhere along the line another name was added in honor of one of my grandfathers — Hubert. So my real name is Edwin Andrew Hubert Pashinski.”
Pashinski said he will have to bring his birth certificate when he applies for the REAL ID.
Monique Parham, 24, volunteers at the Adams Center. She said she has a driver’s license, but she won’t apply for the REAL ID because it costs too much. Parham said the drivers’s license cost is $32 and the REAL ID fee is another $28 — for a total of $60. Both cards must be renewed every four years, Pashinski said.
Most of the seniors said that cost is way too high.
Pashinski and his staff distributed booklets on property tax and rent rebates, along with PACE prescription-drug program applications.
And it wouldn’t be an Eddie Day visit without music — Pashinski is a former music teacher at Greater Nanticoke Area High School and he has been the front man for several local bands bearing his name.
Pashinski led the seniors in singing songs representing the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Friday’s visit was the first of three senior center visits Pashinski has scheduled throughout April — he will be at the Lee Park Senior Center on April 12, and the Mountain Top Senior Center on April 26.
About REAL ID
• PennDOT recently announced that optional REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and photo ID cards are now available for Pennsylvania residents who want one.
• A federally-accepted form of identification — whether it’s a REAL ID driver’s license or ID card, a U.S. Passport/Passport Card, a military ID, etc. — must be used as identification to board a commercial flight or visit a secure federal building that requires ID at the door on and after Oct. 1, 2020.There is no requirement that any resident obtain a REAL ID and PennDOT will continue to offer standard-issue driver’s licenses and photo IDs.
• Federal REAL ID regulations require that PennDOT verify a customer’s identity, social security number, Pennsylvania residency, and name changes (if applicable), even if a customer already has a PA driver’s license or ID card.
• Customers have three options for obtaining a REAL ID product — customers may order their REAL ID online if they have been pre-verified; they can visit any PennDOT Driver’s License Center, have their documents verified and imaged, and their REAL ID product will be mailed to them within 15 business days; or they can visit one of twelve REAL ID Centers and receive their REAL ID product over-the-counter at the time of service.
• PennDOT has upgraded seven of its existing driver’s license centers, including Wilkes-Barre, to allow for over-the-counter issuance of REAL ID.