Fireworks are planned for July 4, but let’s get started on 2006 now

Light Up The Sky Fourth of July promises that, despite its difficulties, it will set off fireworks as planned on Monday, July 4.

The display will be at Pillar Point Harbor at "first darkness" on Monday. Highway 1 will be closed from 7pm to about 10pm. Sunset will be at about 8:30, and twilight ends at about 9.

The organization’s CEO Richard Frustere says that on July 4, it will still be about $5,000 short of the $24,000 it needs to put on the show. The money will be owed to folks who have lent the organization cash and to its suppliers, but Frustere has not identified the local heroes who are financing the difference. Fundraising will continue after July 4. Donations can be made at the organization’s website.

The Review has been investigating Light Up The Sky for a year, and while it hasn’t produced any smoking guns, it has raised a lot of unanswered questions. I’ve also been trying unsuccessfully to get financial statements out of the organization.

Nobody wants fireworks on the Coastside more than I do. Last year, when I found out the organization didn’t have a website, I created one for them. This year, I declined to help until the organization’s finances were more transparent.

This weekend, let’s enjoy the show. Next week, the community needs to resolve the uncertainty, clear up the organization’s debt, and make the Coastside fireworks show an annual certainty.