It was Fourth of July as usual in the Echo Park/Silver Lake area, with street displays and other handmade celebrations taking center stage.
In my neighborhood, families gathered on the streets outside apartment buildings to set off stuff for hours.
It seemed like there was a gathering at nearly every building.
Over at Echo Park lake, Latino families and hipsters mingled on the grass or strolled the walkway on the perimeter of the lake.
With General Services officers posted at several points around the lake until about 9:45 p.m., things stayed somewhat orderly--even as fireworks went off in the neighborhoods on all sides.
One of the officers on duty told Echo Park Patch there had been no incidents at all of people using fireworks in the area.
Fourth of July 2010 was very different near the lake. According to one General Services officer, people were shooting firecrackers at each other across the water--and at police officers.
This year, most of those rocket-style fireworks--or industrials--appeared in the skies beyond the lake instead.
Echo Park Patch received one email about possible arrests of vendors selling illegal fireworks.
Sgt. Joe Tafoya of the Office of Public Safety at the General Services Department said a shopping cart with "a large amount of fireworks" was confiscated Tuesday night.
He added that no one was taken into custody in relationship with the incident.
At Dodger Stadium the fireworks began just after 9 p.m. and lasted about 15 minutes.
A sell-out crowd watched the show, which some complained was difficult to see because of the brightly lit parking lots.
