By Jerry Green

First of two parts

Based on the background of how thefrontpageonline.com acted as an activist news outlet for the events earlier this year surrounding the Culver City Ice Arena, maybe it will be interested in publishing issues of the ficus trees, including the apparent non-response of the City Council.

At the City Council meeting that we attended, over 30 minutes was spent to celebrate a Sister Cities arrangement for some town in the middle of nowhere in Canada, with speeches about going to Rodeo Drive and exchanging gifts and staying at people's houses and taking photos.  

I didn't hear one factoid as to how this Sister Cities relationship affects Culver City or benefits Culver City.

Yet during our group's multi-speaker presentation with photos and pleas for help, when I told the Council that Culver City is spending twice as much to trim our trees compared to how much the city of Los Angeles spends on a per tree basis, there were just blank stares from the members of the Council. 

And silence.

When the City Council was presented with a petition from 125 homeowners in a four-block area about the problems of the ficus trees, again there were blank stares from the Council.  Only one member articulated an understanding of the issue. The only “response” was to do more “study”. 

I was naively expecting more from the Council.  Apparently it is business-as- usual to pretend the problem doesn't exist and to ignore 125 homeowners who petitioned the Council for action.

(To be continued)

Mr. Green may be contacted at jerrygreenmessage@gmail.com