They could always sell crack
There's an article in this morning's Santa Rosa Press Democrat that addresses the difficulties community groups are encountering in replacing the revenue they had gained in previous years from the sale of fireworks, which are now banned in Santa Rosa (a little background - after a grass fire started by the illegal use of legally sold fireworks burned down a home last June, the city council finally (such an event had been foreseen (duh!) for years) voted to ban the sale and use of fireworks in the city. A group, spearheaded by fireworks manufacturers and the various groups that have relied on the sale of fireworks for most of their money, gathered enough signatures to bring the matter to the voters, who affirmed the council decision in the March election.).
The point of the story is that these groups now have to work harder and longer to make as much money as they did in a few days of fireworks sales in the past. Now, I don't doubt that most, if not all of these groups do wonderful things for the community, but I am constantly impressed by the fact that when it comes to fund-raising, so many of them care only about how much they can make how fast, with no consideration to the costs to the community of their fund-raising activities (a disclaimer - many of the groups that lost this particular money stream responded in a positive manner and moved on, with no whining, to other, less destructive means). This is similar to the griping we heard from cheerleader groups in past years when fund-raising car washes were curtailed because they weren't containing the run-off, which flowed into storm drains, creeks, etc., causing environmental damage. The basic plaint then was, I'm sorry about the fish and all, but this is about us. So it has been with the firework ban. If the prime consideration is how much you can make how fast, with no thought to the effect on the community, why not just sell crack? Oh yeah; that's illegal. I wonder though, is that all that's restraining them?
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