Torrance can expect bigger bangs on July 4th

The fireworks display at Wilson park has been increasingly disappointing over the last few years. I suggest that everyone reading this go elsewhere to view fireworks displays this 4th of July.

Saxonmom wrote:

$25,500 on a 20 min firework display and our schools are taking a huge budget cut!

Take a civics lesson. The cities budget is seperate from the school district budget.

The fireworks costs $25,000. The overtime for police, fire, recreation staff, maintenance, etc are probably atleast $25,000. Damage to the park and its facililities $5K to 7K ? So we are in for atleast $50K to throw a party for people from Carson, Inglewood, Lynwood, San Pedro, etc.

Look at the trash, soiled diapers, alcohol containers ("40 ouncers"), etc left in the park and surrounding businesses lots. It aint locals leaving this crap on their own 'front porch'!

Who's kidding who. Residents of Torrance don't go to the park on the 4th. Its not safe and too crowded. Yet they pay for it.

Some community development person gets to put it on their resume' that they put on a fireworks display and all we get is traffic, crime, litter, and vandalism.

I'll make a prediction. Their will be atleast three victims of assault transported to local hospitals from Wilson Park on the 4th. None will be a resident of Torrance.(This number is consistent with prior years).

Perhaps a Breeze reporter will track this for us.

The city should allow 'safe and sane' fireworks instead. Neighbors could enjoy each others company.'Problems' would not be attacted to the city. Chartitable organizations would make a boatload of money. The city would MAKE money (tax revenue) instead of spending it.

Huh wrote:

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You're on crack if you agree with the idiot who thinks all of Torrance is so civilized and people in the surrounding areas are supposed to be barbarians shooting guns in the air. There are thugs & honest people in all parts of the South Bay. Higher income does not always equal higher moral standards. Just people putting on a better facade. Some of the worst criminals live in PV. They just commit different types of crime for higher stakes.

I'm not making anything up. Look at the statistics. There's a reason why property value is higher in some places and lower in other places.

I am a 90502 resident. My address says Torrance but I'm technically not in the city limits. I've been to Wilson Park a few times and will never go again. There is no way you can tell who is a Torrance resident or not, unless someone is out there checking IDs. I choose not to go there any longer because of the crowds. It's unfortunate that there aren't more fireworks displays in the South Bay that aren't overcrowded.

Steve wrote:

Just make fireworks legal in Torrance again. It's funny to me they are legal in all the ghetto neighborhoods around Torrance? Oh lets take them away from the civilized people and keep them legal in places where people fire guns in the air? lol I guess when I think about trying to stop them in the ghetto, it would be impossible. Being illegal in Torrance and someone attempts to do it, you have everyone on that street calling the police with the swat team showing up, maybe a helicopter too. I used to love when they were legal in Torrance when I was a kid. Most of the the things that were fun have slowly been taken away over the years.

Right on!

I literally live across the street from the city of torrance..I cross the steet , im in torrance, i cross back, im in lawndale. Kind of funny actually. We figure we would try a lawndale event but for some reason they have theirs a day before which is my sons birthday so that never works so we go to Wilson park, but i do agree the last few years have not been the best. Does any one have any other recommendations for any other places?
I found this article while looking for other 4th of july events.

Prior to 1983, when the Torrance City Council bowed to the wishes of some anal-retentive old biddies on the West Side (who were worried about their poodles' nervous conditions) and banned fireworks, people shot off their own, had a ball doing it, and several worthy organizations were able to make a few $$ in order to keep their programs going. Ok, 25 years later, what has been the profit from the fireworks ban? None that I can see. Give fireworks back to the citizens of Torrance, Oh Mighty Council members (dripping with sarcasm) and quit being a nanny government, wasting taxpayer cash.

BTW: 90504 rules.

Reading these comments makes me realize why I don't allow the rag called the Daily Breeze to darken my lawn with it's fascist presence. Thank you "Huh" and "Johnny Cougar" for a dose of reality among the aptly named racists.