TAKING NOTES:

As we celebrate our nation’s independence today, the Daily Pilot reader blogs are sizzling with their own brand of fireworks. And the topic?

Well, fireworks.

And the price of gasoline, of course.

I’ve been a casual observer of the fireworks debate here in Costa Mesa for the better part of two decades as one faction after the other tries to extinguish, or reignite the debate over the sale of “safe and sane” fireworks. Sorry for the puns, I can’t help it.

Those in favor of keeping fireworks alive and well in Costa Mesa say it’s a tradition and a part of the fabric of America. They argue that it’s long been a fundraiser for local youth and sports groups. Without the fireworks, where would that money come from, they ask?

One reader named Dudeman left this comment on our blogs:

“‘Costa Mesa looked like a war zone last year.’ That’s what it is supposed to look like on the Fourth! I hope there are a lot more this year. The Fourth without fireworks is like Christmas without a tree! This is America for Chrissake, let’s take away some more freedom, California is becoming more like a police state by the minute.... ”

Nonsense, say fireworks opponents. Fireworks are dangerous, they say. The safe and sane version are just a catalyst for the illegal kind, making Costa Mesa streets a fiery, sparks-flying, ash-filled inferno. And if they didn’t exist, the youth groups would find other ways to make money, just like all the other cities in the county that have banned them.

Costa Mesa Councilwoman Wendy Leece believes a fireworks moratorium is inevitable.

“We met many of the people who have the stands, and I think that they’re pretty aware that their time is limited,” Leece told reporter Alan Blank this week.

The problem here is that both sides are right.

As a kid, I remember living for three main holidays: Christmas, Easter and the Fourth of July.

They couldn’t build those fireworks stands fast enough for me and my friends, who would cruise to the stand on our bikes and buy Piccalo Petes, fountains, spinning flowers, stink bombs, ash worms and sparklers. And, oh yeah, if we could get our hands on some underground source of firecrackers and skyrockets we’d shoot those off too.

So it’s hard for me to be in favor of banning fireworks.

On the other hand, I see the wisdom of that argument, and you don’t have to look far for an example. Newport Beach has banned fireworks since the 1950s. And I’ve never heard of any problem there raising money for youth groups.

While Newport Beach is hardly free of fireworks, the streets don’t resemble a war zone like Costa Mesa’s does.

My town is also fireworks free, as is every city in the county sans three — Costa Mesa, Stanton and Buena Park. The latter is the home of my wife’s family and a visit to my mother-in-law’s Buena Park street on July 4 is like a visit to the streets of Baghdad, the polar opposite of my street, where a few stray fireworks can be heard.

So I’m here to say, there is life after fireworks. My kids and their friends don’t really hanker for them like I used to and as time goes by, I’m pretty sure the safe and sane brand of fireworks will fade away, at least here in Orange County.

And while I’m on the topic of heated debates, what about those gas prices, eh?

We can all get angry about things like the war in Iraq, gay marriage, illegal immigrants, rehab homes, fluoride in the water and killing animals to eat meat, but the price of gas can double in front of our eyes and nobody is on street corners holding up protest signs or having protest parades.

Yet I’d wager the oil companies, who are posting record profits while the rest of us are in the worst economic mess of our lifetimes, are taking more out of my pocket and yours than all of those aforementioned issues combined.

Yet we, me included, just pull up to the pump like lemmings, and fill up our sport utility vehicles.

OK, enough of the bad news.

Instead I’d rather focus on today. Let’s remember that today we celebrate the birth of our nation. Let’s remember that beyond the haze of fireworks and the horror of $5 a gallon gas, we live in the greatest country ever with freedoms of the press and speech and religion that are the envy of the world.

Happy Fourth of July, Newport-Mesa. Here’s hoping you have a safe and sane one, fireworks or not.

TONY DODERO is the director of news and online. He can be reached at (714) 966-4608 or via e-mail at [email protected].