From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

Several new laws have gone into effect beginning today, July 1, 2009. Of them is making it illegal for drivers to text or email while behind the wheel. The fine for such an offense: $20. Yikes. Who is that going to deter?

List of new laws in Virginia*:

• Ban reading or sending text messages or e-mails while driving.
• Allow voters to wear political T-shirts, buttons or other apparel to the polls.
• Prohibit stores from selling novelty cigarette lighters to those under 18.
• Require localities that collect guns as part of buyback programs to attempt to sell them to licensed dealers before destroying them.
• Allow courts to suspend the driver’s licenses of teens who miss 10 consecutive days of school.
• Impose a 10 percent tax on pay-per-view movies in Virginia hotel rooms, with the money divided evenly between the general fund and a pool of money that provides incentives for filmmakers to shoot movies in Virginia.
• Bar public access to a statewide database of Virginians with permits to carry concealed handguns. The public still could get information on concealed carry permit holders at each circuit court.
• Bar payday lenders from offering different types of loans in an effort to get around tough new restrictions placed on the short-term, high-interest loans.

* Source: WVEC.com

Research In Motion held an event to celebrate the opening of a new plant in Sydney, Australia. At the event, they had a nice panel showing the history of BlackBerry devices dating back to the RIM 950 Wireless Handheld (bottom left) released in 1998, followed by the 957 model in 2000 (top left). RIM unveiled the data and voice BlackBerry 5810 (bottom right) in 2002.

See the full set of photos from the RIM display here.