By Ken McCrae Santa Monica
Thank God I live all the way over on Fifth Street — the beautiful, shade-providing ficus trees along my street will be spared... for now! Of course, these trees have probably been infected with “Ficusitis” too, which means the city, in the name of safety, will want to remove them, too!
But since this disease seems to be spreading outward from the Third Street Promenade, the trees along Ocean Avenue are probably diseased as well. What fun the city will have removing all the trees from Palisades Park, and perhaps the other green stuff growing out of the ground. Perhaps they will asphalt the whole park and turn it into a huge parking lot to relieve downtown parking, or even sell it to developers to build (tree-free) condos.
After all, they’ll soon have their own park across from City Hall to relax and sip lattes. Besides, everyone knows the homeless hang out in Palisades Park, so why keep it? It’s only a nice place to enjoy, not a profit center for the city!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 10, 2007. Read the original PDF.