Posted on 07/02/2009 6:44:47 AM PDT by Daffynition
For many, bikini-clad women and fireworks stands are sure signs that summer is here.
But some Puyallup citizens say the two don’t belong together.
Taking a clue from the area’s proliferation of bikini espresso joints, a stand called Nearly Naked Fireworks opened June 28 on the corner of North Meridian Street and Fifth Avenue Northeast.
Neighbors who live on the north end of downtown Puyallup are not happy. As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 17 people had contacted Puyallup city officials to complain about the bikini fireworks stand.
One resident, Annie Starwich Claeys, said the main issue is the stand’s close proximity to Grayland Park, a popular destination for parents and their kids. The park is less than a block away from the fireworks stand, which occupies part of a Walt’s Auto Care Center parking lot.
The sign for the business – which reads “Nearly Naked Fireworks” in block letters, flanked by female silhouettes – is particularly offensive, Claeys said.
“We have lots of young families with young children who are walking past that every day to go to the park,” said Claeys, who has three children under 16. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate by a grade school or a park. It’s just tacky.”
Puyallup City Manager Gary McLean said city officials aren’t wild about having the bikini fireworks stand on Meridian, the city’s main thoroughfare. But there aren’t any laws under which the city can regulate the stand or its attention-grabbing sign, he said.
“Simply put, nudity is prohibited, but wearing a bikini is not,” McLean said. “Local governments are not allowed to regulate speech in the private sector, so we can’t censor the name.”
Business owner Rikk Martin said he decided to open the stand this year after noticing the success of coffee stands that employ bikini baristas.
“It seems like it sells coffee – it should sell fireworks,” Martin said Wednesday.
He said he thinks people who are upset about the business are overreacting.
“You see girls dressed as scantily clad as mine at any park you go to,” Martin said. “It’s nothing obscene.”
Outside the stand on Wednesday, one bikini-clad employee stood on the street corner holding a sign that read, “Discount Fireworks.” A few cars honked at her as they drove past.
A sign inside the fireworks tent read, “Don’t be afraid to stare... That’s what there here for [sic].”
One employee, 26-year-old Tiffany Shull, said she was happy to work in a bikini to beat the heat.
“On a day like this, you don’t want to be all geared up,” said Shull, who has an 8-year-old son and studies radiology at Tacoma Community College. “It’s very nice to wear this instead of sweats and a tank.”
Walt’s Auto Care Center, which owns the land the fireworks stand sits on, has received two complaints about the business, said Ken Pierce, a district manager for the auto care chain.
Pierce said enough citizen complaints could cause the company to reconsider whether to approve a lease agreement with Nearly Naked Fireworks next year.
“Any time you get people who are concerned, we take it seriously,” Pierce said.
The fireworks stand will close for the year the evening of July 4. Martin said he’s not sure whether he will open a fireworks stand with the same concept next year.
Steve Shores, another Puyallup resident who wrote the city to complain, said he thinks the fireworks stand gives people a negative image of the community as they drive down Meridian Street.
“It is the gateway to Puyallup,” Shores said. “We need to put our best foot forward there. Are we really doing that?”
Bikinis! ooooh! ahhhhh!
And I find they have a special section on "52 Best and Worst BEACH Bodies"...with photos of course ....noticed that when I got home......I'll be looking over the magazine tonight after going to the amphitheater and listening to the US Marine Band and a patriotic program...
I think I saw that at the store tonight. One of the “worst” ones looked mighty fine to me, had just the right amount of junk in the trunk.
Uh-oh, will this post get me suspended? The other time it happened *was* over the 4th, a few years ago...
Of course, that was due to one of my extremely rare “report abuse” uses, in which I said, to the mod:
“This [characterization deleted] is being a real [different characterization deleted] and this isn’t the first [blankity-blank] time this [characterization suggestive of a deviant activity] has done this. Can you get this miserable [equating with some deleted body part] off my back?”
I really don’t see how this was such a problem. Of course, I may have forgotten a few choice turns of phrase, and maybe a couple more characterizations.
;’)
LOL!
Go to go to the concert....I’m late...
We stay at Yachats fairly often, usually at the Adobe. We like to eat at the Landmark - plain food but what a view (at least until the place falls into the bay).
Yachats is a popular destination for gays (in case you didn't know already), but they don't seem to be in your face like when you see them at a pride week. It is the place actor David Ogden Stiers has lived for years. Whether there's any connection between his residence and the culture that has developed there, I have no idea.
Star magazine. Not sure how to respond on that post. heheh.
Rickreall, Luckiamute, and Umpqua (if spoken), they will almost always ask how to spell.
I think there's no end to this.
The neighbors may have a legitimate complaint. Need to see many more pictures to know.
If you never have, take the road to the top of Cape Perpetua, and you'll think you're on top of the world.
LOL ... you are a TRUE patriot! Happy 4th! ;)
Yeah..., been down there and up there... and that’s quite a view of the ocean up there at Cape Perpetua...
I had to drive quite a ways to get down there, but I always did like it down there on that part of the Coast.
Didn’t know about Yachats being a popular destination for the gays, though. I did think that Yachats would be a nice place to get a house, however...
Ken Kesey had a house further on down south on US 101, too...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Kesey
The Key-Sea Koast House is owned by Oregon Author Ken Kesey. This two-bedroom, one bath, home with separate studio sits on a bluff and offers a spectacular ocean view. It is located seven miles south of Yachats in a beautiful area on the central Oregon coast.
The house and studio comfortably sleeps six or more. It is tastefully and completely furnished. Some of the amenities include: wood stove, washer/dryer, dishwasher, microwave, TV/VCR (no cable), radio/cassette player, telephone, books, videos and games.
Access to the beach is 1/3 of a mile north at Stonefield Beach Wayside. Nearby attractions include: Cape Perpetua, Devils Churn, Heceta Head Lighthouse, Sea Lion Caves, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
http://www.ohwy.com/or/k/keyseakh.htm
http://www.yachats.org/vacr.html
I thought I might want to rent that house sometime for a vacation. I haven’t checked it out yet, to see how the location is, and what access to the beach is like.
I live in your state. ;o)
I was at Cannon Beach today.
It was 61.
So...I returned to the Portland ‘burbs in all of it’s heat and glory...
and absolutely loved it!
Today is the way Independence Day is supposed to be...in the South. ;o)
The north wind that blows on the beach through the daylight hours in July and August is sort of maddening and probably the one thing about living there I don't really miss. Of course when you go just a couple miles inland it's gone.
We had a nice 4th down in Eugene, the heat in little week long spells is not so bad. We went over the the oldest girl's place for some burgers & beers and the usual “quiet” neighborhood celebration (I don't know why Oregon makes people go out of state for the good fireworks).
I’m glad you had such a nice Independence Day!
Spending it with the family is the only way to go.
Our kids and grands were camping with the evil* in-laws, so we didn’t get to spend any time with them.
However, our nephew from Texas was here in a Drum corps competition.
He’s the one who wanted to go to the beach as he’s never been here before.
My idea of a beach is anything in the Caribbean, Hawaii or Florida. ;o)
* JK about that...they are actually very nice, though my son-in-law’s step-mom bears a resemblance to “evil” every now and then. lol
My mother in law was great. She's been gone 12 years and the wife and I still miss her very much.
But my father in law is a complete waste of skin who unfortunately still occupies it (having by some strange miracle survived his term in the penitentiary), and to add insult, breathes air just two miles from here. Deserving of no kind words, I can only say hell is too good for him. Hopefully he'll go back to California to die so we don't get stuck burying him anywhere around here.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.