The Brief

For eight years, Mike Salazar has spent Fourth of July week selling fireworks in an empty parking lot in Vernon. His truck is covered floor to ceiling with boxes of small snappers, sky rockets and $500 pre-built show packages.

“By the Fourth, there’s been times where we’ve been able to sell out everything and be out of here by 2 o’clock,” Salazar said. “I’ll be trying to close and people stop by saying, ‘I’ll buy whatever’s left!’”

The stand is one of hundreds across the country owned by TNT Fireworks, generating $110 million in revenue in California. It is already the country’s largest distributor of consumer fireworks.

Now, the company is trying to get California to crack down on illegal fireworks, including those sold in Nevada — and maybe boost its sales.

While “safe and sane” fireworks — including sparklers, smokeballs and noisemakers — are legal in many cities throughout California, projectile and explosive fireworks are illegal everywhere in the state.

So far this year, California has seized more than 120 tons of illegal fireworks, which is “well above” average, state Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said in a press conference Tuesday. Last month, police seized 75 tons of illegal fireworks from a warehouse in Gardena — the largest bust in California’s history.

“It’s a glaring, shocking example of how the problem has grown to such proportions that there is so much more out there in this state, that something has to be done about it,” said Dennis Revell, CEO of Revell Communications, which represents TNT Fireworks.

Every Fourth of July, police and fire departments get swamped with calls about illegal fireworks.

Revell said that many illegal fireworks are coming from stores in Nevada counties where all fireworks are legal — some just eight miles from the California border.

In 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department detonated 16 tons of illegal fireworks found in a South Los Angeles home, injuring 17 people and displacing residents of the neighborhood. The city just reached a $21 million settlement with the affected families. The owner of the fireworks testified that he purchased most of them from Area 51, a store in Pahrump, Nevada.

Seeking an agreement with Nevada

Since January 2023, TNT Fireworks has spent more than $300,000 on lobbying California’s Legislature, governor’s office, fire marshal, Cal Fire and the attorney general’s office, according to the Secretary of State’s office. The company has donated nearly $7,000 to campaigns this election, including $2,000 to Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, a Coachella Democrat and the author of Assembly Bill 1403, the focus of its lobbying efforts.

Last year, the Legislature passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill, which doubled the range of illegal firework fines. The maximum — for possessing at least 5,000 pounds — jumped from $50,000 to $100,000.

An earlier version of the bill set aside a portion of the state sales tax on “safe and sane” fireworks to fund increased statewide enforcement against illegal fireworks. The provision was removed, and that’s when Revell came up with a new plan that he proposed to a fire marshal’s advisory committee: California and Nevada should work together to stop illegal firework sales earlier.

Firework stores in Nevada are already required to log information about their customers, including their ID. Through an interstate compact, Revell said, Nevada could require stores to put this information into a state database and alert California law enforcement when a California resident buys fireworks that are illegal here.

The proposal is now in Berlant’s hands. He’s reviewing it, and if it moves forward, Berlant will present it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, which would discuss it with Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Newsom has signed other interstate compacts, including a 2020 agreement with four Western states to curb COVID-19’s effect on the economy and a 2022 deal with the governors of Oregon and Washington and the premier of British Columbia to combat climate change.

Because of this history, Revell said he thinks Newsom will be receptive to an agreement with Nevada. “I wish there was a better solution, but it’s the best we’ve been able to come up with given the circumstances that we’re facing,” Revell said.

If the compact requires approval from Nevada’s legislature, it is out of session until 2025.

“We have a very short time window to try and accomplish this, and we fully expect that the majority of Nevada firework stores will fight that effort if it requires any legislation, because of the potential impact it could have on their business,” Revell said.

Same concerns, smaller scale

In some California cities, fireworks are completely banned — even those labeled “safe and sane.” Among these cities are Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach.

Located just outside Los Angeles, Vernon has only 222 residents, according to the 2020 Census. But Salazar — treasurer of the Rotary Club of Rio Hondo-Vernon — said his fireworks cart makes about $12,000 to $15,000 each year.

“Our advantage is we get a lot of people that come from the Valley, over there it’s illegal,” Salazar said. “We’re literally the first one off the freeways.”

Salazar said “safe and sane” fireworks should be legal throughout the state. Many TNT stands are operated by nonprofits — such as the Rotary Club — that split the proceeds with the company. Under AB 1403, cities that allow the sale of legal fireworks collect 7% of profits to put toward local efforts to combat illegal fireworks.

“Not only do you take away from most of the nonprofits in the area that could generate a decent amount of money and do some good in the community,” Salazar said, “but you’re also losing that tax.”

‘Perfect recipe for a disaster’

On the other hand, fireworks safety is always a concern.

And state fire officials are warning Californians about the dangers of setting off fireworks in the middle of a triple-digit heat wave when the wildfire risk is already elevated. Red flag warnings are in place in seven California counties, and two wildfires broke out Tuesday morning in Northern California.

In Tuesday’s press conference, state fire officials said that some “safe and sane” fireworks, such as sparklers, can get as hot as 12,000 degrees.

Californians who use “safe and sane” fireworks this holiday should avoid setting them off near flammable objects or vegetation.

“The dry grass, the vegetation across the state, coupled with triple-digit temperatures and the wind is a perfect recipe for a disaster,” Berlant said.

CalMatters data journalist Jeremia Kimelman contributed to this story.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.

California’s unemployment agency kept paying cellphone bills for 4 1/2 years without checking whether its workers actually were using the devices.

That’s how it racked up $4.6 million in fees for mobile devices its workers were not using, according to a new state audit detailing wasteful spending at several government agencies.

The Employment Development Department’s excessive cellphone bills date to the COVID-19 pandemic, when it shifted call center employees to remote work and faced pressure to release benefits to millions of suddenly unemployed Californians.

It acquired 7,224 cellphones and wireless hotspots by December 2020. State auditors analyzed 54 months of invoices since then and found half the devices were unused for at least two years, 25% were unused for three years and 99 of them were never used at all.

The investigation, which auditors opened after receiving a tip, identified 6,285 devices that were unused for at least four consecutive months, and said the department spent $4.6 million on monthly service fees for them.

From the beginning, the department had about 2,000 more cellphones than call center employees, according to the audit. The gap widened over time after the pandemic ended and the department’s staffing returned to its normal headcount.

As of April, the audit said the department had 1,787 unemployment call center employees, but was paying monthly service fees for 5,097 mobile devices.

“Although obtaining the mobile devices during COVID-19 may have been a good idea to serve the public, continuing to pay the monthly service fees for so many unused devices, especially post-COVID-19, was wasteful,” the audit said.

Department officials told auditors they were unaware of the spending, but auditors pointed to regular invoices from Verizon that showed which phones were not being used.

“We would have expected EDD management to have reconsidered the need to pay the monthly service fees for so many devices that had no voice, message, or data usage,” the audit said.

The unemployment department began acting on the auditors’ findings in April, when it canceled service plans for 2,825 devices. It has since implemented a policy to terminate service plans for devices that go unused for 90 days.

The California state auditor highlighted the mobile devices in its regular report on “improper activities by state agencies and employees.” The audit also showed that the California Air Resources Board overpaid an employee who was on extended leave as he prepared to retire by $171,000.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.