By Jon Mann Santa Monica
In Bill Bauer’s column on Nov. 11 (”If traffic doesn’t get you, ficus trees will,” SMDP page 4) he rather scornfully asks where the “treehuggers” were when other trees were being destroyed. The answer is that government often acts before the public can do anything to prevent it, as occurred with the plane trees fiasco on Pico Boulevard 10 years ago.
Bauer seems to be implying that it is a simple matter to stop City Hall, on the one hand, and on the other, he rants against the TreeSavers efforts to stop the current attempt to destroy even more ficus trees. He considers us to be a vocal minority, yet we were able to prevent many of the trees from being destroyed by showing that the city lied when claiming they were diseased. Why isn’t Bauer asking what other lies the city is telling? Why isn’t he asking the real reason the city wants to destroy these beautiful, mature ficus trees?
Why is Bauer so upset that the Landmarks Commission is being asked to designate these trees with landmark status, but doesn’t seem to mind that they are designated as facilities? He conveniently neglects to mention that the city designated the trees as facilities to avoid having to notify the public. A public toilet is a facility, or is the city using that nomenclature because dogs use trees to relieve themselves?
Obviously Bauer has his own agenda. He often takes the city to task about other things going on in this city, and has remarked about the council’s incompetence and arrogance in the past. Why not in this case? I suspect he has embarked on this vendetta against the TreeSavers because he is ego involved, and has a personal grudge against those leading the effort.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 19, 2007. Read the original PDF.