Posted by William Tell, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 30, 2012 at 8:29 am

I understand that when you're broke and out of cash - the festivities need to be the first to go. That being said, it seems like we have fireworks all the time in the Bay - after A's games, the recent East Indian celebration at the fairgrounds - and multiple days during the Alameda County Fair.

Pleasanton should take a leadership position and have them on the 4th of July. I heard we used to - but the urbane ghetto thuggery from the East Bay ruined it by shooting off guns concurrently. Unfortunately, thugs from the East bay are becoming the political reality of the Tri-Valley - let's not stop them and their potential actions from spoiling an American tradition.

Posted by Old Guy, a resident of the Willow West neighborhood, on Oct 30, 2012 at 10:51 am

Your right William, we used to have a July 4th fireworks celebration and a few bad eggs spoiled it for us all. It was a yearly tradition that brought the community out of their living rooms and backyards to mingle with their neighbors and fellow Pleasantonians. It was a celebration of our country and our patriotism. It should be brought back for all to enjoy and more important to send a message that we won't be held hostage by some scumbags bad behavior. If other cities wish to ban this long time tradition then don't use public safety as an excuse when they really are thinking only about the dollars. In addition I really don't understand that reasoning. They drew 30K in 2011 with the fireworks and only 2K in 2012 without the fireworks. If you can draw 30 thousand individuals to a one day event it sounds like a grand opportunity to reduce your event costs by selling food / drink / souvenirs etc.