letter to the Editor of Lakewood Community News

This is a letter to the Editor of Lakewood Community News sent in response to John Kelly’s letter published in the October 2006 edition:

First let me point out that John Kelly is Vice President of Alabama based TNT Fireworks and apparently acts as a quasi lobbyist for TNT. In the last few years he has fought against proposed fireworks bans in Downey, Palmdale, Chino, Lawndale, Garden Grove, and Fontana, to name a few. The point being that those and other cities and their residents want to ban fireworks, like Lakewood, but the small number of pro-fireworks people who get “fireworks money” are better organized in their opposition due to their financial interests. At least in Lakewood the issue has made it on the ballot. Kelly and TNT also have a financial interest in the outcome of this election and he and/or his company (which has an unknown number of employees) stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if fireworks are banned from Lakewood. He is counting on the so called Lakewood non- profit groups (fireworks sellers) to secure his retirement. So clearly he is not offering an objective viewpoint. Money tends to cloud the judgment of people, especially politicians. The Lakewood Accountability Action Group on the other hand has no financial interest in this election or fireworks, nor does it receive any financial support from any business or office holder. Kelly is not a Lakewood resident.

There is no question that the growth of illegal firework use has been greatest in cities which allow safe and sane fireworks. Why? Onelikely reason is that people are just not getting enough “bang for the buck” and so move up to illegal fireworks use from safe and sane. Or, as typical in most other male dominated activities, one neighbor has to outdo the other in an escalating war of illegal fireworks. The other problem is that this illegal use tends to spread across the boarders of neighboring cities that do not allow any fireworks use like Cerritos and Long Beach. Eliminating them in Lakewood would assist those cities’ enforcement efforts as well. Long Beach supports Lakewood banning fireworks altogether.

Ironically the illegal fireworks use in Lakewood cuts into the profits of TNT yet they have not offered to help the city with increased law enforcement which in effect boosts the sales of their legal product. Nor have any of the clubs benefiting from the July 2006 $100,000 increase in law enforcement costs come forward with any of their fireworks profits to lessen their burden on other taxpayers already suffering from the other negative effects.

John Kelly’s assertion that legal fireworks do not fly up in the air or explode assumes of course that users follow the law and don’t modify them or throw them, yet in the same letter he acknowledges that there are certain people intent on breaking the law. True, but that does not mean we should make it easier for people to break the law.

As far as legal fireworks masking illegal use, anyone that has driven around Lakewood during the 4^th knows that with all the smoke, flashes, sparks and other commotion that legal fireworks make it is easy for law enforcement to miss illegal use. It can also result in more erroneous law enforcement calls by neighbors confused as to where the illegal use is occurring. In addition some users of illegal fireworks also use legal fireworks to act as a decoy for illegal use.

For more information visit the LAAG website and then vote yes on Measure “D”.

LAAG on CNN Headline News Local Edition

A LAAG spokesperson was invited to answer questions of Ron Roberson on CNN Headline News Local Edition about "Measure D", the ordinance that Lakewood voters will vote on in November that seeks to ban the use of all fireworks in Lakewood. The opposing side was also present as were Lakewood residents discussing the parking Measures on the November ballot. The program should air by October 16, 2006 and will likely be repeated more than once.

Stay tuned for more details as we may stream the video on this site.

CNN Local Edition is a 5-minute, studio-based informational program, airing at 24- and 54-minutes after the hour, every hour on CNN Headline News in Local communities. The primary mission of Local Edition is to provide elected officials, community, non-profit and educational leaders the opportunity to communicate to their key constituents.

Fireworks offender Miller sentenced

Dear LAAG:

As you recall, Brian Miller took the unusual step of pleading no contest to the charges thinking that the judge's sentence would be a better deal than what the DA was offering. Apparently Millers attorney thought so too. Well they were both very wrong.

Thanks to all of you who showed up today to testify at the hearing against Miller. No one spoke on his behalf, but there were some letters written on his behalf, two from "neighbors" that apparently never lived near the rest of us, as they claimed they never saw Miller shoot off any fireworks!

Miller briefly apologized. His attorney made the comment that Miller did not intended to hurt anyone or cause this explosion. The judge agreed but did not feel that was the real issue. His attorney also argued that Lakewood was a city that allowed fireworks and so this sort of behavior (illegal fireworks use) was somehow expected or condoned. That was an interesting point and want all the "pro" fireworks people to think real hard about that at the election on Nov 7. I firmly believe that fireworks, legal or not, create an atmosphere where people are trying to outdo their neighbors’ displays. Miller trumped everyone.

I made the point that just as drug dealers are sentenced more severely than drug users, Miller should be treated accordingly as his business was selling illegal fireworks that he manufactured. I also said that Miller was a scofflaw and had had 4 years to clean up his act but didn’t even after dozens of law enforcement "visits". How can a person like that ever reform? Finally, I said that because of Miller and others like him taxpayers had to shell out $100,000 for extra law enforcement last July, and an example needed to be made of Miller for all the future [hopeful] Lakewood prosecutions of illegal fireworks users/sellers from July 2006.

The Judge was very sympathetic toward the victims who suffered property damage, and some who had pets die or get injured in the explosion. She said that Miller threatened an entire neighborhood, not just his wife and children. She was glad to see he had been taking parenting classes.

Judge Cynthia Rayvis sentenced Miller to a total of 12 years in state prison for all counts in the complaint. Most of that runs concurrent meaning that the sentence is really 5 years. He has spent 178 days in custody but given credit for 266 days (I suspect for good behavior). He will only serve 50% of that sentence (unless he misbehaves in prison). So that means he will likely be out in 2 years. The DA was suspecting he would get 4 years and Miller was hoping for 2 but he got 5. So clearly his ploy did not work. I think he would have been better off with the DA's offer which he refused.

The Judge also ruled that Miller could not ever return to the area one mile around the blast site for any reason. He must also make full restitution to all victims with monetary damage.

There will be a restitution hearing [for those that suffered damage] on 10/30/06 at 8:30 a.m. in Norwalk Superior Court, Dept. T before Judge Cynthia Rayvis. The address is 12720 Norwalk Blvd., Norwalk, CA 90650. Department T phone number is (562) 807-7248. Victims should contact the assigned DA Shelly Dominguez, her direct dial number is 562-807-7210.

LAAG wants to thank those who stuck with this and made an effort to follow this through to the end. From those in law enforcement that I have talked to it made a huge difference in the end result. I also want to thank the Press Telegram, LongBeachreport.com and all the local TV stations that made and effort to keep this case in the spotlight. It helps.

But this saga is not over. We still have the November election regarding fireworks. Also. we still have next July 4th. We need to focus on "cost effective" enforcement for all future July 4ths. March 5th was in many ways a "9/11" for Lakewood. It was a wake up call and a clear signal that lawlessness and lax enforcement could not continue any longer. And like 9/11 the further we get from the March 5 explosion the more people will forget. LAAG will not forget. And we will not let the City Council (current or future) or the Sheriff's department forget either. Our new website www.LAAG.us will keep these and other issues in the forefront.

Rebuttal in favor of Measure "D" Banning all Fireworks in Lakewood

This is a rebuttal to the argument against the fireworks ban. This rebuttal was filed with the city on Aug 17, 2006:

The statement that banning all fireworks will lead to increased use of illegal fireworks is unsupported. How can any fireworks be safer than no fireworks? Enforcement IS needed to control illegal fireworks. The increase in illegal fireworks in Lakewood in the last 10 years has been during the time so called safe and sane fireworks were sold, so it seems that safe and sane fireworks create a demand for larger illegal fireworks. Sheriff patrols would be more effective at catching illegal users if all fireworks were banned because trying to spot legal versus illegal fireworks can be difficult under the time pressure of the 4th.

This past July was not an accurate indicator of the future as the Dunrobin explosion was still fresh in peoples’ minds. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay $100,000 every year in addition to the current budget just to create a haven for legal fireworks. The opposition wants you to believe that fireworks companies helped the city with enforcement yet there were no funding offers from the companies or the clubs selling fireworks to defray the cost of the extra enforcement.

In 2005 approximately 73% (over $32,000) of the sales revenue went from the Jaycees to the fireworks company. Multiply this by the 28 groups selling fireworks in Lakewood. That huge profit does not go to the clubs or Lakewood. It goes to fireworks companies (none of which are located in Lakewood) and they are using your children to make it.

VOTE YES ON MEASURE "D"

Statement Supporting Measure "D" Banning all Fireworks in Lakewood

Nov. 7, 2006 Election

Shall Ordinance No. 2006-4, which would impose a ban on the sale, offer for sale, possession, use or discharge of fireworks, be approved?

The real reason fireworks sales are allowed is money. If we were talking about cigarette sales for fundraising, we would not need to hold an election. Civic groups have not made an effort to wean themselves off fireworks because they had the support of the city council and the fireworks companies who rely on this desire for quick money to peddle their smoke and noise. Lakewood groups will need to do the same thing all the other clubs and parents have done in other cities: Find other sources of funding. They’re there, just look around.

Fireworks may seem sane but they are not safe. Almost 10,000 people a year (mostly children) are injured with fireworks, not to mention all the fires and property damage.

If only pets could vote in this election. Some pet owners have to leave the city with their pets, board them, drug them or risk loosing them as they break out of yards to escape the noise. This would not be as bad if the fireworks did not go on for days before and after the 4th.

With global climate change looming, can we afford to have a “pollution day”? The pollution Lakewood makes on July 4 must equal car emissions for a month. Not to mention all the hazardous chemicals, like deadly perchlorate, washed down into the storm drains and oceans after smoke clears.

Can the City continue to spend $100,000 in tax revenues every year to support policing fireworks? Can we risk another explosion like Dunrobin?

Do we want to move towards the future with progressive, forward looking cities like Long Beach, Cerritos and Signal Hill that ban all fireworks, or do we want to side with the shrinking minority of California cities that allow them?

VOTE YES ON MEASURE "D"

March 14 2006 city council meeting

One-year moratorium on fireworks sales set for March 28 public hearing

At its Tuesday night meeting, city council members approved a five-point motion on fireworks, including the scheduling of a public hearing at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. March 28 to consider a proposed one-year moratorium on the sale and use of “safe and sane” fireworks in Lakewood

Council members also:

§ Directed city staff members to provide options to the council on ways to assist non-profit organizations that would lose income from the sale of fireworks for their charitable, civic, and youth activities during the one-year moratorium.

§ Appropriated $100,000 for additional neighborhood nuisance property law enforcement efforts (which would include enforcement of the city’s fireworks laws).

§ Established a $100 reward for information from tipsters who assist sheriff’s deputies in citing firework law violations.

§ Directed city staff members to report to the council on the feasibility of organizing individual fireworks shows at city parks on July 4, 2006.

The public hearing on the proposed fireworks moratorium will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers (5000 Clark Avenue). If approved, the moratorium would prohibit all fireworks use, including the use of “safe and sane” fireworks purchased in nearby cities and brought to Lakewood.

Artesia, Bellflower, Lakewood, and Paramount – cities also served by the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station – permit the sale and use of “safe and sane” fireworks. An election on June 6 in Artesia will determine if fireworks in that community will be banned.

“Safe and sane” fireworks are currently legal in Lakewood, but only for use on July 4. (Lakewood fireworks regulations)

The issues surrounding fireworks use were seen in light of the recent explosion on Dunrobin Avenue that wrecked a home that appears to have been a workshop for manufacturing illegal fireworks.

The Dunrobin explosion was the subject of a report to the city council by Sheriff’s Captain Dave Fender. Captain Fender described the process the Sheriff’s Department followed in responding to reports of the use of illegal fireworks in the neighborhood. Some of those reports were linked to the Dunrobin house.