Letter From Maria Brillante

Regarding Illegal 4th of July fireworks.

In the July 13 SC Weekly, Alan Eft commented on the widespread use of illegal fireworks in Santa Clara. I live quite near Central Park and have greatly enjoyed the display. Unfortunately the use of illegal fireworks has been going on for the past few years.

This year I was sadly disappointed at the scene that played out on our street. One of our neighbors was setting off large fireworks that shot up in the sky. Some were almost as large as the professional types. The scary thing was that they did not go up very high and the sparks rained down on the houses. After a short time, a Santa Clara Police SUV pulled up and put a stop to it. What I found distressing was that the officer walked over to the back of the pick up truck where the neighbor had his “stash” and he just asked him to put them away. Why were they not confiscated? Not 15 minutes after the officer left, the fireworks were being set off again, putting not only all of the children who who gathered around in danger, but all of the houses close by. These neighbors were setting them off very close to cars and did not even have a hose nearby.