While I dont see the point in arresting him, I dont have a problem with him being fined.

People dont pay attention to much of anything beyond their little bubble - its destroyed the Phoenix valley, humidity has increased by a factor of thousands, we went from almost no smog and pollen to one of the worst in the country. All the fucking houses in my once rural are came with street lights so you cant see the sky at night anymore, lights run even though most of the houses stood empty and became a nesting ground for a massive explosion in the population of rats which drove off the eagle nesting in a tree not 20 yards from my front door - took forever to eradicate the fuckers too.

Given hes not dumping chemicals to improve his business' bottom line I doubt he'll get jail time, but I have no problem with a fine

So, once again: how do you write the law?

"This penalty shall not be imposed upon occasion of romance."

Be sure it doesn't discriminate against those who love non-traditionally!

We need them to start arresting the children who "lose" their balloons as well.

Indeed. I get that this is not legal - sorry, but all those balloons are going to land somewhere and be trash.

However, why is this a felony? This is the kind of thing he ought to pay a $20 fine for.

To be fair, those balloons kill lots of animals. I see it being illegal, I see a decent fine, but not a felony.

We need them to start arresting the children who "lose" their balloons as well.

This. Why is everyone getting their panties in a was about something that happens all the time?

...those balloons kill lots of animals.

Got stats? Because I really don't think that's a major cause of animal deaths such that it has to be fined and/or considered a felony. Little kids have been losing helium balloons by accident since they were invented. How many animal deaths could possibly be directly related? Not many, I'm thinking. Because how many animals travel to the heights those balloons do? And yeah, they gotta come down somewhere, and maybe an unsuspecting goose or bobcat or other creature will get a hold of it and choke on it maybe, but it's certainly not in epidemic proportions. Let's not lose our heads over this, m'kay?

This. Why is everyone getting their panties in a was about something that happens all the time?
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We used to litter in really bad ways for centuries (such as emptying chamber pots out the window, etc.) and then laws were written to try to stop it. For good reason. At least we now understand the reasons for paying big bucks for modern PLUMBING, at least. I.e., just because "we've always done things this way" is not an excuse for refusing to THINK - and change.

And any parent with half a brain can say to a little kid: "I will buy you the balloon, but ONLY if you let me tie it to your wrist." If the kid cries and refuses, tough. The parent needs to teach the kid that life is full of disappointments, so get used to it!

Yeah, I get that leona. What I don't get is why a felony?

And even balloons that get tied to wrists have been known to get away, depending on how the knot is tied.

Point is, not all that many animals are killed by balloons.

I wonder why they made the law single tier, and not gradual... too hard?

there is quite a difference between dumping a bale og garbage into the bay, and losing a balloon... why use a sword to prosecute, rather than a stern talking to...
oh, but then they'd have to think about all the consequences in making a law, and that's just crazy talk, right?

Mylar balloons can wreck havoc for utilities if they come down in power lines or substations, and they can be deadly if the florist tied a conductive ribbon to the balloon as well. But think where we would be if Ben Franklin had never flown a kite with a key because it violated some regulatory rule.

Mylar balloons can wreck havoc for utilities if they come down in power lines or substations, and they can be deadly if the florist tied a conductive ribbon to the balloon as well. But think where we would be if Ben Franklin had never flown a kite with a key because it violated some regulatory rule. -- smurfy at February 27, 2013 10:22 AM

Smurfy,

Please tell me what drugs you are taking and where I can get them?

I will grant you the mylar and electric substations. But are you saying that adults and children aren't smart enough to get under cover during an electrical storm?

But are you saying that adults and children aren't smart enough to get under cover during an electrical storm?

Why? your odds of being struck by lighting are worse than winning the lottery

I don't think Smurfy is talking about lightning. I think he means if the balloon gets tangled in power lines and someone grabs the ribbon they could be electrocuted. I also think that sounds like a ridiculously rare event. Could be wrong of course, in which case he's being even sillier. Three feet of thin conductive material isn't going to make you much more susceptible to lightning than being six feet tall.

I can't really see one balloon causing much of an issue at a substation either. Maybe, just maybe, it will trip a circuit breaker. There shouldn't be any damage and it will be fixed in 15 minutes. Hundreds of them might mean a major outage. Even then I'm dubious. Ever seen birds sitting on powerlines? There's no circuit between them and the ground, so no current flow.

Oops, a dozen balloons. Still can't see much damage.

Interesting stuff here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Balloon_Law

I stand by what I said. For instance, this

"According to Pacific Gas & Electric, there are approximately 100 – 150 power outages each year due to metallic balloons. These power outages affect thousands of customers state-wide and are costly to repair.[2] A study in 2007 indicated that Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Burbank Water and Power experienced hundreds of balloon-related power outages that cost businesses $120 million annually."

Ooh, hundreds of outages and thousands of customers - in total. Over a year. In a state with how many 10s of millions of people? Major shortage of deaths. That's a minor nuisance, not a public safety hazard.

I'm also guessing that "costly to repair" means "we have to wake up the on-call line workers and pay them triple time plus a call out fee to replace the safety cutouts". Not that's there's any actual damage. And $120 million is chump change in California these days isn't it?

Never seen an arc flash incident, have you?

I've seen the results of someone tossing length of chain over a 22kV line. Not pretty. Which is a little more serious than a piece of metallised plastic that's going to vapourise before it carries any serious current.

Never seen an arc flash incident, have you?

Almost as beautiful as a magniesium fueled fire