The OC Grand Jury report calls the permitting process for fireworks sales "flawed" and finds that taxpayers are required to foot the bill – last year about $188,000 – for extra police and fire services during the Fourth of July season.
Grand Jury report said police and fire officials said that they are often overwhelmed by fireworks-related calls for service during the Fourth of July season and some neighborhoods resemble "war zones" during that time. The full report can be read here
Basically the fireworks sellers and the cities want local control as it makes it much easier for the fireworks companies and the teams and clubs that benefit from them to make this look like a grass roots populist campaign when in reality all it is is "astroturfing" which is activity which seeks to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior, hence the reference to the artificial grass AstroTurf. The goal of such a campaign is to disguise the efforts of a political or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service or event. Astroturfers attempt to orchestrate the actions of apparently diverse and geographically distributed individuals, by both overt ("outreach", "awareness", etc.) and covert (disinformation) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by anything from an individual pushing one's own personal agenda through to highly organized professional groups with financial backing from large corporations, non-profits, or activist organizations. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing)
One mayor quoted below noted “There seems to be a lot of attention paid to the fact that it’s a fundraising mechanism, but it’s also an American tradition,” he added. Of course what he failed to point out was that all of the "astro-turfers" only use the "tradition" as cover for what they really want; a quick way to raise some loot (while polluting th environment and raiding city coffers for extra police presence). This is all very transparent.
Published Saturday, April 26, 2008 9:50 PM PDT
Public safety
July 4 safety discussed
Costa Mesa officials pass on proposal to suspend sales of legal fireworks. City resembles ‘war zone’ on the holiday, some say.
By Chris Caesar
Reaction to an Orange County Grand Jury report calling for a three-year moratorium on the sale of “safe and sane” fireworks in Costa Mesa for the Fourth of July has been lukewarm with elected officials saying they would not hear or endorse the proposal — at least for this year.
Five Orange County cities, including Costa Mesa, permit the regulated use and sale of “sane and safe” fireworks endorsed by the state Fire Marshall, which has led to some friction between the cities and their neighbors.
Some officials say the cities resemble a “war zone” on the Fourth of July, and that even the use of legal fireworks contributes to the holiday’s chaotic atmosphere and a significant increase in the use of their illegal counterparts.
Sports teams and extracurricular groups, however, sell the items as part of their annual fundraising drives, leading some city officials to be wary of banning the practice outright.
Mayor Eric Bever, who reviewed a rough draft of the report prior to its final publication, said he would favor a “local control” approach to fireworks regulation, noting the city has its own internal task force to improve fireworks safety.
“I know the state, feds, county and everyone else wants to mandate everything, but I think that the local people should have as much control as possible in regards to their destiny,” he said. “We’re working toward finding ways of managing fireworks more efficiently, and we’ve had our task force out in the field on the Fourth of July in the last three years. I think people are getting the idea that they won’t get away with illegal fireworks anymore.”
“There seems to be a lot of attention paid to the fact that it’s a fundraising mechanism, but it’s also an American tradition,” he added. “Certainly there are people who are disrupted by illegal fireworks — I count myself among them — but I don’t think that killing off an American tradition is the way to solve that problem.”
Councilwoman Wendy Leece said the city can become a “war zone” on the holiday and that she sympathized with the city’s fire and police departments during their heightened patrols on the Fourth of July.
Yet, she also said that personal responsibility and citizens working together would be the only force that would enhance safety, and that any moratorium should be implemented with local groups in mind.
“Putting a moratorium on our fireworks sales this year would be a hardship for organizations which depend on this money for their programs,” she said. “However, if things are worse this year in our city, I will support some type of a moratorium for next year.”
Costa Mesa resident and mother Linda Schwandt said that she frequently participates and donates to fundraisers supporting local youth, and said she would feel bad if the proposed moratorium hindered their activities.
But, assuming they are given ample time to reorganize their efforts, she thought it may be worth a shot.
“I think that would be pretty fair,” she said. “Let the numbers speak for themselves.”
The City Council will provide direction to staff in regards to a list of suggestions generated by city staff during its scheduled May 6 meeting, though Bever said it would be unlikely the city would take up any formal discussion of the grand jury’s recommendations.
Attempts to reach a representative of the Orange County Grand Jury were unsuccessful.
CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Update: Grand jury says cities that allow fireworks sales should stop
Report calls on 5 cities that permit 'safe and sane' fireworks sales to enact 3-year moratorium for safety's sake.
By ERIC CARPENTER
The Orange County Register
Comments 41 | Recommend 4
SANTA ANA The Orange County Grand Jury released a report Thursday calling for the five Orange County cities that allow the sale of fireworks to temporarily ban such sales – adding fuel to a debate that's flared for years.
The Grand Jury recommended the cities – Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Stanton – adopt at least a three-year moratorium on fireworks sales to improve public safety.
That recommendation quickly met with resistance from some city officials who have been dealing with the issue for years.
Supporters of so-called "safe and sane" fireworks say they are a good fundraiser for community groups and are a tradition for families who, in most cases, use them responsibly.
The Grand Jury report calls the permitting process for fireworks sales "flawed" and finds that taxpayers are required to foot the bill – last year about $188,000 – for extra police and fire services during the Fourth of July season.
Grand Jury Foreman Ann Avery Andres said police and fire officials told the jury that they are often overwhelmed by fireworks-related calls for service during the Fourth of July season and some neighborhoods resemble "war zones" during that time.
Allowing the sale of legal fireworks – those that don't explode or fly through the air – appears to contribute to the use of illegal fireworks, she added.
"Three years is what law enforcement officials determined would be an optimum time to change the culture of firework use and curb the use of illegal fireworks," said Grand Jury member Bill Guidas, of Yorba Linda.
Last year, Costa Mesa assigned an additional 20 police officers and firefighters on July 4 and responded to 272 calls for service.
"We get bombarded every year with fireworks calls," said Costa Mesa police Lt. Paul Dondero.
The Grand Jury report has no enforcement teeth; cities won't be required to make any changes to existing laws. Officials from each city are expected to file a written response within 60 days.
Garden Grove Councilman Mark Rosen didn't hesitate when he heard the recommendation for a three-year ban.
"Not going to happen," Rosen said. "Part of it is that it's a good fund-raiser (and) it is a tradition that families enjoy being able to have, fireworks in front of their homes. I'll continue to support fireworks."
Last October, the Garden Grove council delayed a vote on whether to let voters decide whether fireworks should be banned until after the coming July Fourth holiday.
"We put some heavy fines in place recently for unlawful use of fireworks, and we want to see how that plays out first," Rosen said.
Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder said the city has tightened its regulation over the years and limited the number of booths allowed to sell fireworks to 40.
More regulations, unrelated to the Grand Jury report, are scheduled to come before the council May 6, Roeder said.
Buena Park Councilman Art Brown said his city is chaotic on July 4 and city crews are left to clean up the debris.
"Personally, I would like to see fireworks banned and to have the city provide a free fireworks show for the citizens to view," he said.
But because voters there decided in 2004 to allow the sale of fireworks, the Buena Park council would likely take no further action, he said.
The full report is available online at www.ocgrandjury.org.
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