Avoid the 13 Aims at Impaired Drivers for Independence Holiday
Hot dogs, potato salad, fireworks and designated drivers are the perfect recipe for a festive and safe Independence Day celebration, say police in Santa Clara County, where officers are cracking down on impaired drivers July 3-4.
“Fireworks displays contribute to traffic congestion and distracted drivers,” said Chief Scott Seaman of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department, Avoid the 13 chairman for the sponsoring Santa Clara County Police Chiefs’ Association. “People high on alcohol or drugs can’t react in time to avoid crashes.”
The Bay Area will be flooded with patrols all weekend, as will the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols Saratoga, Cupertino and Los Altos Hills. Beat officers will emphasize DUI enforcement throughout the county.
CHP cruisers will flood the freeways as the Hollister-Gilroy, Redwood City, and San Jose area commands assign 75 to 90 percent of their available officers to the road, said Officer Chris Armstrong of the Hollister-Gilroy office.
IDI Gears Up for Holiday Celebration
Independence Day Inc. will be blocking off parking on Monterey Road between Main Street and Dunne Avenue today at 1pm to set up and make last-minute adjustments for its July 4 celebration.
Over the next two days, more than 30,000 people will flock over to the downtown strip to watch the historic Fourth of July Parade which will start at 9:30am Wednesday on Monterey Road and East Fourth Street, go up West Main Avenue, south on Peak Avenue and east down West Dunne Avenue, about a square-mile radius.
Following the parade, the public will participate in the Family Fun Festival beginning at 11:30 am and wrapping up at 3pm.
The IDI committee will kick off the two-day celebration tonight with a street dance, 6-11pm on the blocked-off strip on Monterey Road. Parking will be prohibited from 1pm Wednesday until 4pm July 4.
PG&E Offers Tips to Stay Cool
PG&E is reminding customers to stay safe by taking action to stay cool. Extreme heat can be a health hazard and even life-threatening if the proper precautions are not taken. As a service to customers, PG&E offers some helpful tips to beat the heat as well as information on local cooling centers where people can go when hot weather becomes unbearable.
Cooling centers are free locations where anyone can go to cool off when temperatures are unusually high, especially those who have a high risk of experiencing heat related illness such as senior citizens, people with a medical condition, infants and young children.
PG&E is working with county and city governments to identify cooling centers in regions that typically experience severe heat during the summer.
For customers who are sensitive to extreme heat, PG&E offers a service that provides advance notification in the rare event of a rotating power outage. PG&E will attempt to call heat sensitive customers before these types of outages occur, so customers can prepare ahead of time.
