Fireworks

The City Council of Garden Grove, one of five Orange County cities that allow the sales and use of fireworks, tonight will consider asking voters whether they want to ban them. California began regulating fireworks in 1939, giving cities the option of allowing their sale. Today, about 270 cities allow them, and nearly all fireworks are sold by volunteers raising money for service groups, schools, youth sports and churches.

A fireworks explosion killed 16 people who were attending a temple fair in central China on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the government said. The explosion occurred in Linzhou, a city in Henan province, the official New China News Agency reported, citing local officials. It said the number of injured wasn't known.

A Lakewood man was arrested Sunday after illegal fireworks at his home ignited, touching off an explosion that was felt two miles away, authorities said. Brian Miller, 36, was taken into custody by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies shortly after the 6:50 a.m. explosion that knocked his house off its foundation, officials said. "My crews said it was like a fireworks show when they arrived," said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Eduardo Osorio.

Bombarded with complaints about a possible moratorium on fireworks sales, the Lakewood City Council is set to vote today whether to call a special election for voters to decide if the sale, possession and discharge of legal fireworks should be banned or continued. Limits on fireworks sales were proposed after a March 5 explosion of homemade fireworks lifted a house in the 6100 block of Dunrobin Avenue off its foundation, shattering nearby windows and rocking houses within a two-mile radius.

Lakewood is the latest Southern California city to let voters decide whether to ban the sale and use of fireworks. The City Council has placed a measure banning fireworks on the Nov. 7 ballot; a similar proposal is on neighboring Artesia's June 6 ballot. The fireworks debate, a perennial in Los Angeles County, pits community groups that depend on fireworks booths for fundraising against safety concerns and the high cost of fireworks cleanup.

With the Fourth of July fast approaching, Riverside County officials voted Tuesday to consider increasing fines for people who violate the county's ban on fireworks, which have continued to be a serious hazard across the region. The proposed ordinance, scheduled for a hearing June 6, clarifies the prohibition against the use, possession or sale of all fireworks in unincorporated areas, except in approved public displays.

A Westminster man was arrested on suspicion of possession of 850 pounds of illegal fireworks that he reportedly ordered through the Internet, police in Orange said Friday. Phong Nguyen, 22, was being held at the Orange County Jail on felony charges, said Orange Fire Capt. Ian MacDonald. Bail had not been set. Nguyen was arrested shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday when he showed up at a freight company in the 1600 block of Batavia Street in Orange to pick up about 12 boxes marked "fireworks."

WITHOUT Christmas' rampant commercialization or New Year's bittersweet hue, the Fourth of July makes a good case for being America's best holiday. Other than the speeches by gasbag politicos, there's a certain unpretentiousness about the Fourth that is quintessentially American. No long trips to the mall; no elaborate meals to cook; no fancy clothes to wear. Picnics? Yes! Baseball? Naturally! Hot dogs? Most definitely! Music? Of course! But the holiday's primary allure is something else.

Americans have a new way to celebrate the Fourth of July: Drop Mentos candies into 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke and watch as the soda shoots skyward. For the messy technique, thank Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz. The two performers from Buckfield, Maine, appear in a three-minute Internet video in which they don goggles and lab coats and show the world how to create the geysers. The resulting 20-foot blasts have captured the imagination of millions.

Today Anaheim: Food sales and games begin at 12:30 p.m. Parade starts at Canyon High School at 3 p.m. Entertainment begins at 6 p.m. Fireworks begin at 9 p.m. Peralta Canyon Park, 115 N. Pinney. (714) 283-6653. Orange: Games, live music and pony rides begin at 4 p.m. Admission is $5; children 2 and under free. Fred Kelly Stadium, El Modena High School, 3920 E. Spring St. (714) 744-7278 or \o7www.cityoforange.org.\f7 Tuesday Aliso Viejo: Festival features music and fireworks. Free.