With little hope of public gatherings being allowed by July, the Martinez City Council has become the most recent Bay Area city to cancel its Independence Day celebrations due to the coronavirus pandemic.
By a 5-0 vote, council members gave City Manager Eric Figueroa permission to cancel the events. Deputy City Manager Michael Chandler said a cancellation is all but certain, and it would take some surprising and drastic changes like county health officers’ relaxing of social distancing rules, to allow the events to proceed.
Health officers in Contra Costa County and from other Bay Area counties have said they don’t expect large public gatherings to be allowed in the foreseeable future, and likely not the rest of 2020.
“It just kills me not to have them this year, but too many people would be at the marina, crowded in the dark,” Councilwoman Debbie McKillop said. “We can’t risk the public’s safety.”
Martinez officials had a financial incentive to cancel. The city’s contract with Sacramento-based Pyro Spectaculars, which puts on the fireworks display for the city, allowed it to recover $1,336 of the $9,386 deposit it paid in February if city officials canceled before June 4.
photo credit: Sam Richards
Of course it was cancelled. And when 2021 rolls around, and another flu hits, these control freak politicians will pull the same stunts. It’s not about public health, it is about control and behavior modification.
@paul.barnes – history is a great predictor of the future. Research the 1918 flu pandemic. One city had a military parade and one city cancelled it. The city that cancelled it had 1/2 the deaths and far less devastating economic fallout.
It’s no longer 1918.
@Rollo – Educated people will often draw from lessons from the past. While I agree with your remarkably astute observation that it is no longer 1918, the lessons remain relevant. We have a limited arsenal of tools to address this virus similar to the limited tools they had. We have one tool in common which is social distancing. There is a great case study comparing the outcomes of St Luis and Philadelphia that educated epidemiologists refer to. One cancelled their parade and had half the deaths with less economic outcome. The other had their parade, twice the deaths and a significant decrease in economic output.
I for one prefer to forgo a parade if it means we will not have economic disruption. But you bring up a good point. This is Merica – land of the free and god damn it, the virus should respect that!
Patriot-
I hope you find a way to land on your feet through all this. Once an entrepreneur always an entrepreneur!
Decorate your cars and have a parade anyway.
The council can sit on a tack.
Disagree 100%.
Data does not support doing this.
Fools are being controlled by unwarranted fear.
Absolutely the wrong call.
@patriot – what data does not support this?
@ Dan
It is the wrong call to cancel parades in July, August and the rest of the year. It is the cowards way out of this. The politicians are giving up on society and to many fools are following them.
You asked for data.
The numbers are declining, death rate has slowed, cases have slowed even with more testing. Look at the reports here on Claycord, Worldometer, CDC … choose one.
Numerous studies (Stanford, Germany, NY, others) have shown that this virus has infected WAY more people. I have pointed them out to you before, but you never respond to that data.
CDC website shows that they list you as COVID patient, even if they dont test you. I have pointed this out to you before, but you never respond to that data.
NY death rates show that the other causes of death have dropped across the state since COVID came on scene.
The data points our ‘leaders’ used said 2.5 Million people dead by August … we are at 77K, we only have 2.413 million people to go to meet their numbers. Of course, they have changed the expected goals numerous times, now they say 250,000.
Does this help you understand?
What I don’t understand is this business about being a coward or a fool. Sounds a lot like the language used by gun lovers to build themselves up. My taking appropriate precautions has nothing to do with your insults. I’m just trying to take care of myself and my family.
Come on Dan. Haven’t you been paying attention?
Try to use critical thinking skills. Question authority and question the BS we are being fed. Your liberty is at stake.
2,200 people out of 40 million in California have died. Do the math.
That’s .00005% of us.
The chances of a healthy person dying from COVID is 0.03%
2018 auto fatalities were 3,563 in California (.000089 % of Californians)
Do we shut down the economy over .00013% of us dying?
How about for 10x’s that number (.0013%)
How about for 100x’s that number (.01%)
@ mathmatters – 1% of 40 million = 400,000 – FYI – go away.
Shut down the economy means close local family businesses forever Dan.
Do you get that ?
Are you getting paid? I’m not. I’m losing my local small family business that employed 50 people in this county for the last 25 years. That includes my retirement. All gone. My son is now on unemployment. Get it?
And I’m not alone. I’m just one of 30 million small businesses in the US
The average age of the deceased is 80-82
Deaths are in decline.
Number of cases are up because we are now doing more testing.
Hospitalizations are flat.
Hospitals are laying off staff.
Hospitals are in danger of going out of business.
Hospitals are coding deaths as COVID that are not COVID. Result – over counting.
Hospitals will not be prepared for a surge if there is one because they are laying people off.
A Hospital assisted CBS This Morning in faking COVID story. Look it up !
Sheltering in place compromises your immune system.
Re-socializing will be more likely to get you sick as time goes on.
Youtube, Google and Facebook are censoring this information.
(Thank you Mayor for supporting Free Speech here)
We flattened the curve. It’s over man.
Now, were’ killing our economy.
We’re going to have food shortages worse than you can imagine.
Local politicians are standing around with their thumbs up their a$$e$ watching our freedoms being taken away from us. They are cowards who won’t defend your liberty. None of them.
CHP is violating our civil right to peacefully assemble by denying permits to protest. Rank and file hate it, but do it anyway to keep their jobs.
Gavin is now saying we have to have contact tracing to move forward? I don’t think so. I don’t think so Dan.
I refuse to accept a new normal over this.
It’s now about power and politics. Everyone paying attention who has critical thinking skills can see it. If you don’t, keep digging if you want to know the truth.
Stop accepting what any media is telling you. Not just mainstream media. ALL Media. Don’t believe what I say either. Fact check it all. Don’t be lazy. Get after it and find the truth.
Communist China is responsible. I will not let them win.
I will not allow Communist China sympathizers to ruin our country.
We will get back to normal.
I will celebrate July 4th elsewhere, with Patriots who see the truth.
San Fransicko and the seven filthy counties nearby have lost it. They know nothing of our country’s founding, have no respect for your civil rights, the Bill of Rights or the rule of law. The Constitution is dead to them. They are not Patriots, they are cowards.
@ Jojo
Then you take your precautions and don’t come. Take care of your family, we all have that obligation. But don’t put us in the same boat as you (or Dan) by saying you don’t want to go outside, so we can’t go outside. I want to share this country with my children. I want them to enjoy the fireworks.
I am not a gun lover or gun hater. I own no guns, unless you count nerf guns.
My insults are the way I feel. I believe my civil liberties are being taken away. I know a family that is losing their small business because their salon has been shut down and cannot open. When their salon officially goes bankrupt, all the folks that work there will not have a job to come back to. If we can open Costco, Safeway and other place, open the salons! Open the barbers!
I want to know why the folks in our county are following San Francisco! Why? What do we have in common with them besides having people. We do not share a border, unless you count the bay. They have 1 million people in 50 square miles. We have 1.1 in 730 square miles. They have monstrosity high rises, we do not. We have space, they do not. What they call a park, we call a backyard.
@ Patriot
I am sorry for your job loss and that of your son. I wish you the best and pray that you will find something when this is over.
And I agree, contact tracing. I will not answer any of those questions nor I will not participate in it.
@parent – I agree with alot of what you say but I dont understand why this is the “cowards way out”. I agree that the numbers are declining. I agree that deaths are declining. That is great news and means that social distancing is somewhat, though not entirely, successful.
I agree that there have been several studies out that show that the disease has infected far more people than reported but there are questions about how accurate the antibody test is. I think more work needs to be done to validate those findings.
I also agree that there are far fewer infections and deaths than the models predicted but I suspect the models were based on life without social distancing. The fact that the numbers are coming in lower is a testament to the power of social distancing, something that is difficult to do in a parade. While disappointing, cancelling the parade is the smart and courageous thing to do.
@ patriot – I am so sorry that you are experiencing this period of economic hardship. I am too. I have lost money but I am not loosing a business I spent a career building. I cannot image how difficult that must be.
I feel your frustration and want you to know that we agree on more than we disagree. I agree that the economy must function. We cannot afford to shelter in place forever. However, in order for the economy to come back to what it was, people need to feel safe. Public health and the economy must go hand in hand. One cannot take priority over the other.
We need to develop tools and systems that allow us to operate as close to normal as possible while at the same time respecting the health and safety of our employees, families, friends and neighbors.
Pyro Spectaculars should refund 100% of the deposit. This is a pandemic, and not a decision made on a whim.
Let us remember there is a cost of these festivities and everyone’s budgets have been shot to hell.
Seriously?? That’s 2 months away. Enough is enough. It’s unAmerican.
I agree!
Since Gov. Newsom has cancelled the US Constitution, it is only fitting that we cancel 4th of July celebrations.
So why is the city still paying $8,500 to the pyrotechnic company?
Health officers in Contra Costa County and from other Bay Area counties have said they don’t expect large public gatherings to be allowed in the foreseeable future, and likely not the rest of 2020. Well, there goes this year in the Bay Area.
Good bye sweet America.
Why are they playing us like this?
Because we let them! When will the sheep look up?
Thanks China
Thank county and city officials for giving so much power to health officials.
That’s right Worker! When your loser leaders fail, blame china!
Now the question is…which (local) city will be the first to announce they are throwing a 4th of July celebration.
Already told my family we will leave the state if need to be to find a July 4th celebration. We will celebrate this country’s independence. I wish it was also from the likes of Trump, Newscum and Breed … but we will not be the blessed.
That’s OK we will save the celebration for November
If this were a money issue, I’m sure the city could get enough donations from the residents to cover the $1,336.
For any of you who want to put on your own fireworks show, just head east on 80 into Wyoming. The first town has all you will need. Use your unemployment check to pay for it. You now will have a government funded 4th of July celebration.