I found it interesting that after The Columbian’s article about how Vancouver was going to crack down on people using banned fireworks this year (“City ready to lower boom on illegal fireworks,” The Columbian, July 3), all evening a barrage of such went off in my neighborhood. Not a single showing of said enforcers or, if they did show up and issue those $500 fines, apparently it didn’t give anyone pause.
I learned the hard way in the first couple of years of the ban that calling 311 as directed was futile (the operator treats you like a “tattletale” even though it’s encouraged every year to do so, and no one ever shows up to investigate anyway). As I sat in my house this year hearing the war zone that was happening nearby, I kept thinking, “Oh, this ban is working great. So glad the voters took the time to make this decision only to have it completely ignored.” I’m starting to believe that the law was passed in order to please those who don’t like fireworks, but it’s not enforced in order to please those who do.