{"id":1785,"date":"2011-06-04T11:35:08","date_gmt":"2011-06-04T15:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/?p=1785"},"modified":"2011-06-04T21:42:12","modified_gmt":"2011-06-05T01:42:12","slug":"judge-backs-off-will-allow-4th-of-july-fireworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/06\/judge-backs-off-will-allow-4th-of-july-fireworks.html","title":{"rendered":"Judge backs off, will allow 4th of July show"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Recoiling from a nationwide outcry, a San Diego judge has\u00a0postponed her ban on civic fireworks celebrations.<\/p>\n

Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn has delayed for three months her\u00a0decision that\u00a0banned fireworks displays, charity walkathons, Mardi Gras,\u00a0beach festivals,\u00a0birthday parties in city parks\u00a0and weddings at historic sites in the southern tip of California.<\/p>\n

\n

CLICK HERE to read about judge’s earlier decision<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

More than 20,000 events\u00a0continue to be\u00a0at risk of cancellation under her ruling, which permits\u00a0public events only after intensive environmental impact reviews — which often take more than a year by environmental experts and usually cost tens of thousands of dollars. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Judge Quinn\u00a0has been inundated by\u00a0pleas from\u00a0a wide spectrum of charities, including organizers of the annual\u00a0San Diego St. Patrick’s Day Run, who\u00a0said the\u00a0expense of\u00a0ecology studies would mean\u00a0thousands of dollars would be diverted from a hospital charity that helps families\u00a0without health insurance.\u00a0The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s local chapter said its fundraising would be severely hampered — with children’s lives at stake.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

San Diego Deputy City Attorney Glenn Spitzer\u00a0said the\u00a0area\u00a0would lose tens of millions of dollars of tourism dollars if the ruling\u00a0is allowed to stand.<\/p>\n

The judge altered her order, giving officials until August 31 to explain what they have done to comply with her ruling — which makes events on public property subject to review under the state Environmental Quality Act.<\/p>\n

The ruling came after a long\u00a0 battle in which\u00a0a small\u00a0ecological group from the suburb of Encinitas, which calls itself the\u00a0Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation, sued to force an extensive\u00a0review of the impact of the La Jolla fireworks show. The activists\u00a0insist that 4th of July reenactments of the Star-Spangled Banner<\/em>‘s “rockets’ red glare” and “bombs bursting in air,” dumps toxic chemicals into the\u00a0ocean and threatens the health of\u00a0seals, birds and other wildlife.<\/p>\n

The group is also seeking a ban on swimming on any San Diego beach where humans might\u00a0annoy seals — a request that would close some of the area’s most popular beaches\u00a0at some of its most expensive resorts.<\/p>\n

San\u00a0Diego\u00a0Mayor Jerry Sanders welcomed the judge’s change of heart, but\u00a0indicated the fight\u00a0over\u00a0the\u00a027-year-old La Jolla fireworks show\u00a0is anything\u00a0but over.<\/p>\n

“The idea that a once-a-year fireworks display poses a threat to the environment defies both common sense and scientific evidence,” he said. Of the judge’s delay, he added,\u00a0“This is great news for the thousands of San Diegans who plan to mark this Independence Day with a beautiful La Jolla fireworks show.”<\/p>\n

The city council is expected to approach state legislators and agencies about creating statewide exemptions permitting fireworks displays. The city has not decided whether to ask California’s 4th District Court of Appeal to overturn Quinn’s decision altogether.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recoiling from a nationwide outcry, a San Diego judge has\u00a0postponed her ban on civic fireworks celebrations. Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn has delayed for three months her\u00a0decision that\u00a0banned fireworks displays, charity walkathons, Mardi Gras,\u00a0beach festivals,\u00a0birthday parties in city parks\u00a0and weddings at historic sites in the southern tip of California. 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Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn has delayed for three months her\u00a0decision that\u00a0banned fireworks displays, charity walkathons, Mardi Gras,\u00a0beach festivals,\u00a0birthday parties in city parks\u00a0and weddings at historic sites in the southern tip of California. 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Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn has delayed for three months her\u00a0decision that\u00a0banned fireworks displays, charity walkathons, Mardi Gras,\u00a0beach festivals,\u00a0birthday parties in city parks\u00a0and weddings at historic sites in the southern tip of California. 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