Happy Independence Day!

Tonight a small group of us headed to the Stonewood parking lot to watch the firework show at Downey High. We were joined by tons of people doing the same thing. It was a great show.

The thing that seemed so different this 4th of July was the overwhelming sounds of fireworks exploding all around us that seemed to be everywhere in the city. The rumblings started before it grew dark. It actually sounded as if war were raging all around. It is now after 10 pm and I am still surrounded by the sounds.

Curious, I looked at the City of Downey website to see if something had changed this year. What I found was that nothing has changed and the City of Downey has a �zero tolerance� for illegal fireworks, but allows for the sale and use of legal fireworks, identifiable by the California Fire Marshal�s �Safe and Sane� seal. Any firework that launches into the air, propels across the ground, or explodes, is illegal to sell or possess and can result in fines and/or arrest. I'm not sure too many people read this. From my street, there were tons of fireworks launching into the air. The whole city seemed to be engulfed in explosions of fireworks and the inescapable smoke that follows. Hopefully, no one got hurt in the process of the celebration.