Council should OK beach fireworks

This is a plea -- a simple plea to city leaders to have continued

confidence in residents and not expect the very worst.

Last year, city leaders put their trust in residents and allowed a

beach fireworks show despite the fears many had. The show went off

without a hitch. All was peaceful and calm.

Police Chief Ken Small, Community Services Director Jim Engle and

Fire Chief Duane Olsen are asking the city not to put on another show

at the beach because crowds at the beach could cause problems.

While their desire to keep residents safe is commendable, crowds

anywhere could cause problems. The U.S. Open of Surfing draws crowds

that could block traffic in case of emergency, but we’re not going to

cancel that, are we?

Small and Olsen are concerned that emergency vehicles will not be

able to penetrate the crowds in case of fire or crisis. But last year

as the throng of thousands peacefully left the beach, the many

pedestrians were stopped to allow a car to go through.

That is not to say their concerns are unfounded. And it is their

job to consider such scenarios. But the argument remains the same as

last year: most other coastal cities -- including Daytona Beach where

Small came to us from -- have fireworks shows on the sands. The

set-up of Huntington Beach is not so dramatically different. We pay

our police and fire chiefs to protect us, not to tell us to stay home

to be safe.