Fourth Of July

Only a year ago, Doreet Hakman's pride in America was at a fever pitch. U. S. soldiers, having crushed Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, were storming through Hollywood in a dazzling victory parade. From her Snow White Cafe, Hakman watched the flags, the crowds, the fighter jets whizzing above Los Angeles. It was like a fairy-tale--one golden moment of unity, optimism, sheer love of country. "There was so much hope," Hakman, 42, an immigrant from Romania, remembered. "I was so proud.

An overview of Fourth of July events sponsored by cities and civic groups. Some festivities are actually scheduled for July 3: Aliso Viejo: Grand Park in Aliso Viejo Town Center -- 4th of July Celebration and Concert. Family activities, food and games. Evening concert and fireworks show. 5-9 p.m. Free. (949) 362-5890. Anaheim: Disneyland -- Fireworks start at 9:30 p.m. $47, $37 children 3-9. 1313 Harbor Blvd. (714) 781-4565.

Officially, Monday is just a regular day, business as usual. But wedged as it is between Sunday and the Tuesday holiday, it has become part of a de facto four-day weekend. "It's going to be a ghost town around here," said Maria Martinez of the Santa Ana city clerk's office. Like most government operations, the clerk's office will be open--but expect a skeleton crew, as many workers use personal holiday and vacation time to create a long weekend.

Even before the man in the long-sleeved blue shirt abandoned his bright-orange body board and frantically began swimming toward shore, Julie Beeles knew that he was in trouble. "I could see he was trying to paddle in and that he wasn't getting anywhere," said Beeles, a roving lifeguard at Huntington State Beach. "I'll never understand why they ditch their boards when they get caught in a rip current. We keep telling them: 'The board floats; you don't.'

Eleven people have died in three holiday crashes in Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley. Three people died early Friday and another two were seriously injured in a one-car crash north of Santa Cruz. A California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said the vehicle crashed near the intersection of California 236 and China Grade Road near Boulder Creek. The cause of the accident was under investigation, and the identities of the victims were not released.

In a major boost to critics who accuse Huntington Beach of overzealousness in cracking down on Fourth of July revelers, a judge has ruled that a city ordinance allowing police to arrest people for drinking alcohol on their front porches or lawns was unconstitutional.

City officials here apparently didn't spring forward with the rest of the country when daylight saving time started on April 6. The city's long-debated ordinance aimed at quelling July 4 riots by regulating public drinking officially runs from noon today until noon Sunday PST. That's Pacific Standard Time. Trouble is, we're on Pacific Daylight Time. Noon today, Pacific Daylight Time, is 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Does that mean police can start cracking down on drinkers an hour earlier?

Fireworks are as much an Independence Day tradition as barbecues, watermelon and swimming. Across the globe, fireworks have been a part of celebrations for hundreds of years. The practice of igniting airborne explosives dates back to 1130 when a "fire lance" was made in China by filling a bamboo tube with a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. In Europe fireworks eventually became an important part of civic and royal events.

A spate of weekend shootings that left four dead--and a fifth critically wounded--has made this year's Independence Day among the bloodiest in memory. In barely 28 hours, two teenagers were shot to death outside a Stanton pool hall, one man was found dead by the side of a road in Lake Forest, another man was gunned down outside an Anaheim apartment and a third teenager was shot in the head as he and friends drove down Westminster Boulevard.

Just before noon Friday, Hermosa Beach City Councilman Robert (Burgie) Benz grabbed a microphone, turned toward a sunbaked crowd on the beach and belted out a proud, passionate and incredibly off-key rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." As the councilman warbled on, finally getting to the part about this being the land of the free, many in the crowd could take it no more.

Shoppers stiffed Mom, Dad and the Easter Bunny but appear to be giving Uncle Sam extra love this Fourth of July. More Americans are planning celebrations, with the requisite spending, this year than last July 4, according to a National Retail Federation survey. The trade group found that almost 63% -- or 144 million people -- plan to host or attend a cookout, barbecue or picnic. That's 5 million more than in 2008.

As part of a deal-in-the-making over transit funding, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is proposing moving the congestion pricing plan for Los Angeles County to the 110 Freeway from the 210 Freeway. The stretch of the 110 south of downtown has been a candidate for a toll lane since last year, but the 10 and 210 were chosen instead to try to improve east-west travel among L.A., the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire.

Some barbecued. Some reenlisted. As friends and relatives back home slept, members of the U.S. armed forces marked Independence Day in outposts, camps and forward operating bases. More than 1,200 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines gathered from across Iraq to take the oath of reenlistment at Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory. Sgt. Maj. Marvin L. Hill said it was the largest reenlistment ceremony since the military became an all-volunteer force in 1973. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the multi-national force in Iraq, administered the oath.

CLARKSBURG, Md. -- Historian James Heintze can tick off colorful accounts of how the nation has celebrated the Fourth of July over the years. In the 19th century, canons fired, church bells sounded and fireworks exploded. Indianapolis residents watched in 1911 as two trains purposely collided at full speed, the locomotive personnel bailing out before the crash. The gray-haired academic has chronicled just about everything there is to know about commemorating the birth of the United States.

For a brief time, it looked as if the gods of outdoor revelry were turning against Southern California on Wednesday: In Griffith Park, grilling was outlawed. In Huntington Beach, lifeguards warned of rip currents. And the L.A. Basin simmered with heat. Did that stop the dawn till dusk celebrating of the Fourth of July? Hardly. In Rosemead Park, people frolicked in the pool or curled up in the shade. In Griffith Park, visitors improvised picnics without grills.

Tens of thousands of people braved heavy rain to mark the Fourth of July holiday, cheering as the city's massive fireworks display lit up the sky and for the first time seemed to set the East River's surface aflame. Crowds sporting ponchos and umbrellas stood along the East River to see a formation dubbed the Jellyfish, which resembles the underwater creature, and the Electric Rice Krispies, crackling metallic shells.

Government: Most Los Angeles city and county offices will be closed. Mail: Post offices will be closed and there will be no regular delivery. Libraries: All Los Angeles public branches will be closed. Banks: Most financial institutions will be closed. Public transportation: Metro bus and rail services will operate on a Sunday schedule. See www.mta.net for timetables. Trash collection: There will be no trash pickup.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY Artesia: Fireworks at 9 p.m. Artesia Park, Elaine Avenue and South Street. (562) 860-3361. Baldwin Park: Festivities start at 5 p.m.; fireworks at 9 p.m., Sierra Vista High School, 3600 Frazier St. (626) 813-5245. Calabasas: Gates open at 5 p.m. Fireworks at 9 p.m. Calabasas High School, 22855 Mulholland Highway. $10. (818) 222-2782. Castaic Lake: Holiday festivities begin at 5 p.m.; fireworks at 9 p.m. All-day entrance to the park is $25 per car or $5 per person.

Offices: All city, county, state and federal offices and courts will be closed. Mail: No mail delivery. Post offices will be closed. Libraries: Most libraries will be closed. Banks: Most banking institutions will be closed. Schools: Public schools, community colleges, UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton and Chapman University will be closed. Public transportation: Orange County Transportation Authority buses will run on a holiday schedule. Metrolink trains will not run.

The following schedule will be in effect Wednesday, the Fourth of July: Government: Most Los Angeles city and county offices will be closed. Mail: Post offices will be closed and there will be no regular delivery. Libraries: All Los Angeles public branches will be closed. Banks: Most financial institutions will be closed. Public transportation: Metro bus and rail services will operate on a Sunday schedule. See www.mta.net for timetables. Trash collection: There will be no trash pickup.