Parades, fireworks, cookouts and protests

One of the rally's organizers, Lawrence Baker, said more young people attended the July Fourth rally  at the intersection of Civic Plaza Drive and Paseo del Pueblo Norte. 

 "It was very good, and more than I expected with so much going on" in town, said protest organizer Marcus Whitson. "I and my wife had to park a long way away. I think a lot of old-timers couldn’t walk that far, so maybe they kept driving through honking and waving signs — that worked. I saw a state policeman tailgating the gray truck with the flag trying to throw black exhaust our way as he always does."

Protester Mark Asmus said he was "disappointed" but not surprised that Trump's massive domestic policy bill passed both chambers of Congress.

Asked what steps people might take to continue to oppose the president’s policies, Asmus said, “I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know this: If we don’t do anything like this [demonstration] or things that are related to this, the future is sealed — this is a top priority for me and I’ll do everything that I can.”

He said he was also demonstrating for his father, Edward Richard Asmus Jr., who was killed in action during World War II.