CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD CUTS DOWN TWO TREES
TO PUT UP A BILLBOARD ON SUNSET BLVD

On October 7, 2004 the City of West Hollywood hired A.M.P. Tree Service to cut
down two healthy ficus trees in their city owned parking lot on Sunset Blvd.
to put up a two sided billboard. The city would never allow any other
business entity to do such a thing, but our city fathers don't follow their
own rules. They also did not use their own contractor, Great Scott, to do
the dirty work. They hired a company from San Dimas. They also did not put
up orange cones around the area. They had city employees park under the two
doomed trees, and moved the cars and trucks right before the tree cutting
began. How sneaky! They really did not want the public to know what they
were up to.

PRESS RELEASE
West Hollywood Tree Preservation Society
Press Release re: TARA 1343 Laurel Avenue, West Hollywood

April 29, 2004

"The West Hollywood Tree Preservation Society believes the trees, shrubs,
and ground cover that are elements of the urban forest at 1343 Laurel Avenue
must be preserved. Our organization supports the development of creative
strategies that support the maximum amount of both the existing landscape
and the forest canopy on this property. Our organization welcomes the
opportunity to participate in the planning and execution of such
strategies."

Angee Beckett, Executive Director, WHTPS
Ralph Feeley, President, Board of Directors, WHTPS
Richard Lorinig Board Member, WHTPS

323.650-8187

MAN CHARGED WITH VANDALIZING 60 TREES

A North Hollywood man was charged with five counts of vandalism for allegedly destroying more then 60 trees planted in a neighborhood improvement project in Valley Glen. The individual faces up to 2'/z years in prison. He originally told officers with the Los Angeles Police Department that he cut the trees on Victory Boulevard in retaliation for traffic tickets he had received.
A resident allegedly saw the trees being cut.

OJAI OAK FELLED AMID PROTESTS

Protesters in Ojai watched in dismay on Wednesday June 13'" as the towering oak they fought to save was cut limb from limb and fed into the grinding maw of a woodchopper.
"Stop killing Ojai!" they screamed as a dozen Ventura County sheriff s deputies kept them from approaching the 50?foot tree. One protester was arrested.
The move came a day after an emotional city council session ended with a 4?1 vote to allow the trees removal from a small courtyard in the downtown plaza. Mayor David Bury cast the dissenting vote during a meeting that attracted 125 people.
The property owner maintained the tree had become a hazard and was pressing into the building's foundation and one of its walls. Her efforts to remove it were met with protests from Ojai's vocal tree champions who maintained that other options were not tried.
About 40 demonstrators, some of whom camped out all night, greeted the cutters.
The tree, which was 100 to 125 years old, fell in big chunks to the street. Each falling branch elicited a flurry of chants and insults from the protesters.
John Christianson, who last year tied himself to a 150 year?old oak in the city's Libby Park in a futile effort to save it, stood across the street in tears.
"My heart is breaking," said Christianson, who founded the Ojai Oak Alliance. "This is a terrible defeat. I am determined to stop anything like this from happening again."

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