Unless they are going to keep someone in the visitor center till the wee hours of the night, or move the permit pick-up to Whitney Portal, that is bad. I would expect that many visitors from Southern California drive to Lone Pine after work, the evening before the hike, and they get there long after the visitor center closes. Under this scheme, sounds like the prospective hiker would have to get there one day early, or drive back to Lone Pine from the trailhead in the morning.
To the best of my recollection, this is how it has been for a long while. As it is now, the Inyo wants to tell you all the rules and regs when you pick up your permit, which isn't a bad thing for the newbs. However, I have seen this movie about as many times as I have seen Casablanca.
