Mailbag: City did too little enforce fireworks laws

It is 11:13 p.m. on the Fourth of July, and I am sitting at my computer composing a missive to Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer while being serenaded by the continuing crash, boom, bang, pop and sizzle of very large illegal fireworks.

In a city that continues to allow the sale of so-called safe-and-sane fireworks (and I support this activity for the help it gives to many admirable organizations), clearly our enforcement of the laws prohibiting other-than safe-and-sane fireworks are not being enforced at all.

If my family lived on the outskirts of Costa Mesa, or in the less-accessible areas, I might understand why there is so little enforcement. However, we essentially live at the corner of Santa Isabel and Orange avenues, less than a mile from City Hall and the police and fire departments.

The illegal fireworks started at about 8:30 p.m. and were fairly continuous. Surely the Police Department could spare one cruiser to mosey down our streets, issue the occasional citation, or 200, and fill the coffers with much needed funding.

This city’s apparent failure to enforce the existing laws with respect to illegal pyrotechnics will eventually be tested, as all too many issues are these days, in this case when somebody’s home burns down or a child is severely injured by an errant skyrocket. Then this lack of security enforcement will also result in lawsuits against the city.

The Fourth of July calls for significantly more visibility of police and fire personnel. If the city doesn’t have the staff to step up visibility, or if the overtime is too costly, then it needs to do some hiring.

I am not against fireworks. I am against full-sized skyrockets, M80s and bottle rockets in our neighborhoods.

Jerome Blackman

Costa Mesa

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Preserve public beach access

Without question, Newport residents who use the public beach as their own yard by planting grass or paving areas outside their property lines should be fined and made to remove them.

Our beaches belong to the entire public and should be kept that way.

Nancy Lynn Beck

Newport Beach