May 18, 2008 2:19 pm US/Pacific
Tree Lovers Tell City Hall To Go Ficus Themselves
SANTA MONICA
A band of environmentalists will continue to do battle with City Hall this week over the cutting down of 23 ficus trees in Santa Monica.
Activist Jerry Rubin and other members of the group "Santa Monica Treesavers" say they will stage an all-night protest Tuesday "to demonstrate their sadness and anger with the city's May 16 ficus tree chainsaw massacre," Rubin said.
Last Friday, city crews moved in early in the morning and sawed down 23
ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets.
Reporting for CBS 2, Dave Malkoff said the activists were not happy with a compromise from the city to replace the trees with smaller gingko trees.
Merchants and city planners have long said the ficus trees (which they say are dying, but activists insist are thriving) and their large roots crumble sidewalks. The city also said the trees were also too large and in danger of falling.
The city plans to plant 254 gingko trees to replace the removed ficus
specimens, but the Treesavers say the ficus trees are being replaced merely to make merchants happy.
Rubin and others have threatened to chain themselves to the few ficus trees remaining, which the city plans to dig up and transplant in a city park.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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