WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?

The Average Man's goal is to protect the innocent whenever possible, so it is with a sad heart that he must admit a failure to prevent a recent horrible tragedy ... I was flipping through Tuesday's addition of The Daily Sound and fell upon the story titled Old City Hall marker chopped about the cutting down of two palm trees in De la Guerra Plaza. The Average Man considers all tree life to be equal, but these weren't just any palm trees. According to the article, one of them "might have been one of a couple of trees planted in 1910 to represent the original location of City Hall..."

As an avid follower of the tree controversy surrounding the downtown renovation project, I was very excited to read The Santa Barbara News-Press take on this awful situation. So, imagine my surprise when I went to their site and couldn't find one Travis Armstrong editorial blasting Marty Bum for allowing this nightmare. We all know Wendy McCaw doesn't care too much for human beings, but how could she let those poor trees be thrown aside without so much as a simple "To Our Readers" letter describing her rage at this nightmare. Does she have that much disdain for anything that happens in De la Guerra Plaza that she wouldn't take a stand on this important issue? Where's the Free Willy style love?

And don't think Chris Meagher and the liberal media get off scot-free here. The article claims that the trees were dead, but I suspect the pro-growthanistas are preparing the land for some other nefarious use. Did Mr. Meagher investigate this at all, or did he simply take the word of some government official? Did he even consult one arborist? Shoddy reporting if you ask me.

Wait a minute, wait a minute -- I just figured it out -- Wendy is deliberately making the News-Press so bad that no one will want it anymore. That in turn, will reduce the number of trees needed for printing. Why focus on two measly palms when saving the Earth is at stake. Brilliant!

Well, Average-Man is off to fight injustice elsewhere. Oh, tree in De la Guerra Plaza that might have been one of a couple of trees planted in 1910 to represent the original location of City Hall, we hardly knew ye!