Floating away

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Two residents pose in front of the West Covina Rose Parade float

With cities strapped for cash due to increasing payments to pensions and public safety employee retirement and medical benefits, not to mention the slow down in retail sales affecting tax revenues, will they be able to afford to pay for a float in the 2010 Rose Parade?

Even though much if not all of the cost is raised by the community, those funds are also in short supply. Corporations and foundations also are experiencing lowered donations, making it harder for them to donate to float costs.

How much good public relations does a city really get for a float?

Everyone loves a parade, especially the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. But with such bad economic times, when will it no longer be worth it for cities?

Still, it is hard to deny the pleasure thousands — yea, a million? — people get each year from watching the parade, the floats, the bands and the equestrian units. But more and more, the post-parade float viewing is becoming more popular as seen here from this photo taken on Jan. 1, 2009 at 2 p.m. of the float viewing entrance along Sierra Madre Boulevard in east Pasadena:

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More on parade float viewing..

Some people complained about the $7 admission charged by the Tournament of Roses to view the floats after the parade (both on Jan. 1 and on Jan. 2). Is it too steep? Many clearly did not think so. Or, at least it didn’t stop them from viewing the floats as they sit side-by-side on a street median near Pasadena High School.

For those of you who didn’t want to shell out the 7 bucks a piece, here’s a last chance glance at some of the floats that helped us usher in 2009:

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This entry was posted in environment, land use, Pasadena by Steve Scauzillo. Bookmark the permalink.

About Steve Scauzillo

I love journalism. I've been working in journalism for 32 years. I love communicating and now, that includes writing about environment, transportation and the foothill/Puente Hills communities of Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Walnut and Diamond Bar. I write a couple of columns, one on fridays in Opinion and the other, The Green Way, in the main news section. Send me ideas for stories. Or comments. I was opinion page editor for 12 years so I enjoy a good opinion now and then.

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