One of my late Mom's favorite TV shows was the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances. Every time I would visit, we would watch and laugh at the Hyacinth Bucket character who would go careening about. She never had a clue as to what people really thought, only what she felt looked good. And sometimes while at first glance, what looked good was okay, it later turned out to be silly.
That appears to be the case here for 2 local cities.
In Cathedral City, despite the best efforts of a group of enthusiastic citizens, the city continues to allow the sale of fireworks. Absolutely oblivious to the dangers of both fire and living in the desert, there is little if any consideration to the absurdity of the situation.
In Palm Springs, a city well known for style before substance, the city council has decided to restart 2 public fountains. We are in a drought. This is dumb. The city voted unanimously after getting the go ahead on a 3 2 vote from the DWA.
Now proponents of the idea state that a minimal amount of water is wasted and besides, the pumps could be damaged after a long layoff. Well there may be a small amount of truth on that point, the optics are terrible. We are in a drought. This is a desert. Trying to make it look like Versailles is ludicrous.
Perhaps a compromise in Palm Springs could be reached. The fountain at the airport could become Le pas d'eau, nous sommes dans une période de sécheressecome neighborhood. That way we could keep the fountains off while Keeping Up Appearances.
Steve Kelly can be heard daily from 4p to 6p on 1450 KPTR and on I Heart Radio
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