Aurora officials warn against using illegal fireworks
Fireworks are generally illegal within the city of Aurora, and those who have or use them are subject to fines up to $1,000, with repeat offenders risking even higher fines. Those wishing to report the use of fireworks to the city can submit reports online at aurorail.citysourced.com, through the city's 311 app or by calling the Customer Service Center at 311 or 630-256-4636.
If the use of fireworks is threatening the safety of people or property, then residents can instead call 911.
In a recent post to his campaign Facebook page, Aurora Mayor John Laesch warned that fireworks could 'potentially start fires, torture dogs and other pets, harm veterans who have experienced combat' and lead to serious injuries.
Plus, 'nobody wants to hear your 3 a.m. fireworks show,' his post said.
The city of Aurora's own Facebook page focused specifically on fireworks' impact on some veterans, as their loud noise can be triggering or distressing. The post urged residents to consider veterans' well-being by finding other ways to celebrate July 4 that are inclusive and respectful.
City ordinance specifically bans people from selling, offering to sell, giving, storing, possessing, exploding, firing, igniting, discharging or otherwise using display fireworks, flame effects, consumer fireworks or any other pyrotechnic.
In addition to the fines issued to those who break the ordinance, owners of properties where illegal fireworks are being used can also face fines or, with repeat occurrences, liens on their properties, according to the city's webpage about reporting the use of fireworks.
The city is distributing yard signs, door hangers and letters to warn residents against using fireworks. Those looking to help in the effort can join Laesch on Wednesday at 5 p.m. on the first floor of City Hall, according to a post he made on his campaign Facebook page.
Laesch has already gone door-to-door alongside the Aurora Police Department distributing door hangers and warning letters, one of his earlier Facebook posts said.
Aurora is hosting two events to celebrate Independence Day: a fireworks show on the evening of July 3 and a parade downtown on the morning of July 4.
The fireworks display will be in downtown Aurora, with city-suggested best viewing available at the Aurora Transportation Center and at McCullough Park. Food trucks and DJs are planned to be at both locations from 6 to 9:45 p.m., according to the city's website.
Shuttles are expected to run, and city officials recommend using them to avoid issues finding parking and to avoid traffic when leaving.
The city's annual parade in downtown starts at 10 a.m. July 4 at the intersection of Benton Street and Broadway. It will then head north on Broadway to Downer Place, then march west on Downer to Middle Avenue, where it will end.
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- CBS News
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3 days ago
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As a San Francisco hospitality industry lobbyist and City Hall insider, Dan Dillon never wrote anything down. The telephone was for arranging a meeting over drinks at one of his hangouts, and his style was so effective that his contacts put on an Irish wake for him at Original Joe's in North Beach a dozen years ago when Dillon was still alive to enjoy it. A vintage firetruck arrived with a closed and flag-draped coffin, and pallbearers in mourning jackets carried it in as bagpiper played mournful hymns. Waiting inside to speak was the Irish consul general, former Mayor Willie Brown and Supervisor Aaron Peskin. Dillon was president of the Olympic Club, a downtown institution with an outlying golf course, and an officer in the Guardsmen nonprofit serving at-risk youths, so both of those organizations were represented. A mock death certificate had been printed and entered into the record at the moment when the lid flung open and up popped the honoree raising a bottle of Bud Light. 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When it was announced in 2017, Dillon, as president of the Olympic Club, stood between then-Mayor Ed Lee and the PGA president. Both of those events will be played on the Lake Course at the Olympic Club. 'There was nobody more connected to the world of golf than Dan Dillon,' said Brown, who found this out when Dillon personally introduced Da Mayor to Tiger Woods during the PGA Championship. Dillon also introduced Brown to voters in the west side of the city when Dillon and Sheean hosted the first house party for Brown's mayoral run in 1996. That started a partnership that did not end until Brown came to say goodbye to Dillon at San Francisco General, just days before he died. 'Dan Dillon was very much a part of San Francisco for years and years and years,' said Brown. 'He came up with multiple ideas for how to make the city really work.' For the last 20 years, Dillon has been a partner at New Deal Advisers, a San Francisco firm that lobbies government entities for legislation, permitting and contracts on behalf of clients like the San Francisco Firefighters Union and Dominion Voting Systems. New Deal is located at Kearny and Bush, conveniently near Sam's Grill and Sam's Tavern, where Dillon 'held court,' said his partner Chris Gruwell. Over the years he also took meetings at the Washington Square Bar and Grill, Moose's in North Beach, the Buchanan Bar and Grill in the Marina, the HiDive along the Embarcadero and any number of joints in between. 'Dan was a face to face communicator who had the widest network of relationships of any person I've ever met,' said Gruwell. 'The city was his office. He was like a politician who never ran for office, so he never pissed anyone off.' Daniel Kirk Dillon was born April 28, 1961, in Raleigh, N.C., the middle son of a Methodist minister whose wife was the church organist. Dillon was born blind in one eye and with Perthes disease, which causes bone death in children. Weakness in his right hip required him to use crutches and a wheelchair until he was 9. He always wanted to play sports, but the only one sufficiently low-impact was golf, which he took up with vigor after the family moved to Kentucky. He attended University Breckinridge School on the campus of Moorhead State, which had its own course. According to Sheean, he won the Kentucky Junior Golf Championship in 1979 and was rewarded with a golf scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He graduated in 1983 with a degree in political science. One year later he came to San Francisco for the Democratic National Convention and stayed. A connection to Ed Moose, the publican at Washington Square, led to a campaign position as volunteer driver for Assemblyman Lou Papan in his 1986 campaign for state senator. Dillon was later hired for the staff of Supervisor Terrence Hallinan, but was fired after just one day. The next day he was on the staff of Supervisor Wendy Nelder, a job turnaround that merited mention in Herb Caen's Chronicle column. But his main contribution was outside of government, working on behalf of clients. ''Danny Boy' was a brilliant political strategist who could see the whole problem and figure out piece by piece how to get to resolution,' said Annemarie Conroy, a former supervisor who is now assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of California, using her nickname for Dillon . In 1992, Dillon met Cara Sheean, a lawyer at Wells Fargo, at the grand opening of Johnny Love's at 1500 Broadway. Conroy introduced them, having met Dillon through his work at City Hall when she was on the fire commission. Dillon put Sheean on the spot by asking for a date in front of Conroy, where she couldn't say no. She agreed to meet for a drink back at the bar at Johnny Love's. 'I just wanted to get it over with,' recalled Sheean, 'and he charmed me.' The drink lasted until closing, and soon enough Sheean had also agreed to use her spacious flat on Funston, near Mountain Lake Park, for political house parties. The couple were already living together when they were married Sept. 6, 1997, at the chapel in the Presidio of San Francisco with a reception at the City Club. Conroy was in attendance, as she was recently at San Francisco General, waiting her turn to say goodbye to Dillon, in a line that included members of the fire commission, the police commission and many other city agencies. Among those who came were officials at the Olympic Club, where Dillon could be counted on to entertain dignitaries coming to play the famous Lake Course. To honor his ambassadorship, the club is establishing a youth golf scholarship in Dillon's name, like the one he received. 'Dan was always gracious and always forthcoming, and he always did what was right for any situation,' said Malia Lyle, president of the Olympic Club. 'He didn't just have friends in the golf community. I've never known anybody who had such deep relationships in all walks of life.'
