Phone Tree

Well, it has finally happened, I have turned into a tree: a Phone Tree!

A lot has been happening regarding our precious Santa Monica Ficus trees, which is why I have neglected this site.

A week ago, Treesavers lost the case in Court in spite of our Attorney- Tom Nitti- battling brilliantly for us- and our leader Jerry Rubin wearing long pants for the first time since his wedding day! It was more than frustrating as the whole case was based on the interpretation of legal minutiae- the Judge in her summing up saying another Judge might have given a different Judgment. It was all dependent upon the City being able to prove they had given the community sufficient warning about their streetscape plans in 1995 and 2005 and the fact that we should have appealed THEN rather than in 2007 when they first made their plans clear. We need to all become
lawyers.

The result of losing the case was that the trees are now very vulnerable- there is nothing to stop the City destroying them. Because of this we are all on alert so that we can put up some sort of tree defense. As it is highly likely that the contracted company will act either during the night or early morning, we are keeping a 24/7 watch on 2nd and 4th Streets. Should a red alert happen, the Phone Tree will go into action to get all Treesavers round the trees. This is why I have turned into a Tree- a tree spending long hours trying to set up a phone system.

This afternoon we had a Peaceful Sit-In at City Hall- in an attempt to set up a dialogue between us and the City. It was good to see a lot of High School kids supporting us- they, at least, have more sense and understanding of the environment than some of our Councilmembers. Mayor Pro Tempore, Richard Bloom, passing through the Lobby, agreed to answer some of our questions. But he made it absolutely clear that he had NO intention of changing his mind and listening to the people who had voted for him. Democracy???

Jerry wears the pants

and Richard Bloom listens to his people...