Thread: Tucson Cancels 4th of July Celebration; Celebrates Chavez !!

This is a must-read!

http://tinyurl.com/qlr9qv

Thanks.

Here's the story, for those of you who do not wish to register;

Tucson canceled July 4 fireworks over "A" Mountain on Wednesday, blaming the city's dire fiscal situation for not celebrating the nation's birthday for the first time in 25 years.
While contending the city can't afford $34,000 for a fireworks display, top city officials acknowledged they still plan to give more than $300,000 to other events in the coming year — including the Juneteenth Festival, Fiesta Grande, the Downtown Parade of Lights, the César Chávez Day celebration and the Waila Festival.
Most City Council members defended the cancellation, saying Tucson just doesn't have the money, while offering little explanation why taxpayers should foot the bill for a list of events that appeal to a limited segment of the population.
Mayor Bob Walkup said the city looked at the value of the fireworks and realized they only last for a couple minutes and it "all goes up at once." In addition, Walkup said the fireworks are 100 percent paid for by the city, while the other events have other funding sources.
However, Walkup said those festivals the city is still funding have been cut as well.
"All of those have been cut significantly. They haven't been cut totally," he said.
The mayor said he supports the private sector coming up with the money to fund the fireworks.
Only Councilwoman Karin Uhlich spoke strongly against the cancellation, saying she wants to find a way to put on the fireworks. The city needs to solicit private-sector partners, she said, but it needs to be prepared to step up and fill in any funding gap.
"It's a significant tradition," Uhlich said. "We need to find a way to host this celebration."
Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said the decision was made by city staffers and the first she learned of it was the day before.
"It was not presented to us as a choice," Trasoff said, noting Assistant City Manager Richard Miranda simply told the council Tucson wasn't having fireworks this year.
When asked why council members couldn't overrule that decision, given that they run the city, Trasoff said the council could discuss funding the fireworks if one of her colleagues brings the issue to the table.
"I don't see any other options unless the private sector steps up," she said.
Trasoff said the Fourth of July was targeted, rather than some of the more limited-appeal activities, because it's hard to pick between events.
The Fiesta Grande street festival draws thousands of people to the West Side every year and is very important to Councilwoman Regina Romero, who represents the area, Trasoff said. Romero did not return phone calls for comment.
"Every one of these things I would argue strongly for," Trasoff said of the city-funded festivals. "There are very few I would argue against."
Miranda said the fireworks were axed because the money comes from the general fund and the city is the sole sponsor, whereas many of the other festivals have other funding sources.
The cost of the fireworks and related expenses is $34,000, Miranda said. A bike race sponsored by the city in the morning costs another $17,000, he said.
Councilwoman Shirley Scott said July 4 is important to her as a naturalized citizen originally from Canada but said the cancellation illustrates how bad the city's budget situation really is.
When asked how the city could fund the other festivals, Scott said they might not be funded, although their funding is in the city's budget.
Residents have already started a drive to help pay for the fireworks. Tucson Web designer Sam Douglas has started a Web site called www.SaveOur4th. com to raise the money.
He is trying to raise $51,000 to help pay for the fireworks, although the cost without the bike race is only $34,000. Douglas, who owns SlyngShot Web Site Solutions, raised $60 by Wednesday evening.
Douglas said he started the Web site because July 4 is an important holiday that should be celebrated. He called the city's decision to cancel "ridiculous" considering the city budget is $1.3 billion and other, more frivolous things are funded.
"It seems that somebody has their priorities in the wrong place," he said.
Share your thoughts
Want to tell the City Council what you think about canceling July 4 fireworks? Call the City Council comment line at 791-4700.
Festival Events Still Funded by the City
Downtown Parade of Lights $4,200
Fiesta Grande $13,450
Juneteenth Festival $14,320
Tucson Meet Yourself $6,500
Tucson-Pima Arts Council Studio Arts Tour $10,000
Rodeo Parade $70,000
Winterhaven Festival of Lights $60,300
Fort Lowell Soccer Shootout $10,410
Various Downtown Tucson Partnership Events $32,720
Music Under the Stars $22,000
El Tour de Tucson $22,820
Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair $9,510
The following events share a contingency allocation of $36,670, but no specific amount set for each event: César Chávez Day, Martin Luther King Celebration, Veterans Day Parade, Waila Festival
Total: $312,900
DID YOU KNOW
The city of Tucson started shooting fireworks off "A" Mountain in 1984, after the community went a year without a big-time Fourth of July celebration following the demise of several earlier shows.
For many years, holiday fireworks were staged at the UA football stadium. That ended in 1978 because of fire and safety concerns — one premature explosion took out a concession stand and a couple of misfiring shells went off too low, sprinkling ticket-buying spectators with sparks.
The Tucson Jaycees took their show to the Pima County Fairgrounds for a while but shut down after the 1981 event due to poor ticket sales.
Old Tucson picked up the celebration in 1982, but when thousands of spectators trampled sensitive desert areas in Tucson Mountain Park rather than pay for an Old Tucson ticket, that was the end of that.

Start calling the city of Tucson and tell them to cancel Cesar Chavez and Festival of Lights instead