As ‘safe and sane’ fireworks booths pop up in Seaside, it’s a reminder they are still legal in the city.

David Schmalz here, a little embarrassed to admit that last week one of my colleagues commented to me that they were seeing fireworks booths going up around Seaside, and I said, “Wait, I thought Seaside banned fireworks last November?” Another colleague chimed in to agree with me, but a quick trip to the internet proved us wrong in seconds. 

I was baffled. I’m a reporter. I live and work in Seaside. I cover Seaside. How could I, of all people, have forgotten that? It rattled me. 

Then, two days ago, I got a message from Seaside resident Bethany Ramirez, asking me why she was seeing fireworks booths around town. She thought Measure CC, which would have banned “safe and sane” fireworks in Seaside, had passed—that’s what the Weekly’s initial reporting said. 

Ramirez was a staunch supporter of banning the fireworks, and even wrote a ballot argument for why voters should approve it, though it was not the one selected for the ballot. She says other people have been confused too on social media, and are wondering if there was a recount or something. 

I explained to Ramirez how the county Elections Office works, that the results come in updates a few times on election night as votes are being counted, and that there are only a few more reports in the days and weeks following as votes continue to be counted, and that the election is finally certified by 30 days after election day. There was no recount, I explained to Ramirez, it was just that once more votes were counted, Measure CC’s lead evaporated and turned to a decisive loss, with 54 percent of Seaside voters being against it. 

I knew these things, yet I’d still memory-holed them. How? Trying to understand why that might be, I spent a few minutes yesterday looking at our coverage of the issue on the Weekly’s website, and my theory—of my own mind, of which I’m a leading expert—is that the Weekly’s initial headline from election night read: “Incumbents sail to victory in Seaside council races, and voters approve a fireworks ban.” Even though the story went on to say the race was close, it adds, “it appears the measure will prevail.” 

A week later, Nov. 13, Editor Sara Rubin wrote an update on local election results, and the headline read in part: “a fireworks ban in Seaside is now poised to lose.” 

Rubin did another election roundup Nov. 20 that included an update on Measure CC, which was losing by 768 votes. “Supporters of the ban on safe-and-sane fireworks celebrated prematurely on election night when early results showed they would prevail,” Rubin wrote.

It turns out only the initial story and headline stuck firmly in my mind—first impressions, as they say. 

Which brings to the present, where the sun still rises and sets and so-called safe and sane fireworks are still legal in Seaside. 

But you already knew that.