Tree-Cutters Remove Balboa Charm

Re “Dark Day in Newport History,” Oct. 6:

I’d be interested in knowing how Jan D. Vandersloot votes. Last I checked, Newport Beach is the cradle of pro-business, right-wing conservatism. Let’s be honest--they couldn’t chop those trees down fast enough and as a 20-year Newport resident, Vandersloot should have known that.

Instead, he expresses shock and dismay over the city’s swift deployment of the tree-cutters. Memo to Vandersloot: city leaders come and go and the citizens stay, but until the overwhelmingly conservative citizens vote in an environmentally conscious way, they’ll have a problem.

David Perez

Irvine

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It is certainly time to move on now that most of the ficus have been removed. However, the city can do a better job to mollify the opponents by replacing the ficus trees with more mature and ornamental trees. If funding for this project is short, perhaps we can solicit businesses to sponsor all or part of their purchase, care and planting. In return, they should have the right to place their business’ name on a plaque naming them as the sponsor for a particular tree chosen by the city.

John T. Chiu

Newport Beach

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Downtown Balboa’s new look appears to be a product of desertification. Gone are the elegant shade trees with their artistic lines. I recall the participants in a photography workshop I led being taken by their beauty. I’m no longer taken by Balboa. Goodbye, Balboa.

Mitch Miller

Placentia