Other Newport Beach trees deserve saving

There is no arguing that Main Street on Balboa Peninsula looks

entirely different this weekend than it did just days ago. The

argument, splashed across TV screens and newspapers, is whether it

needed to.

On one side, Newport Beach city officials said the 25 ficus trees

-- 23 of which were removed Wednesday morning before Balboa Arbor

Society members could get an emergency court stoppage -- needed to be

removed because their invasive roots were causing extensive damage to

sidewalks, sewer lines and buildings. The city had to be quick about

it, too, to keep Balboa Village improvements on a strict timetable.

On the other side, the Arbor Society members -- who were on the

scene, trying desperately to halt the chopping -- claim the trees

were not doing the amount of damage city officials said and that

their roots could have been controlled with guards or other less

final means.

The argument, of course, is over. The trees are all but gone. And

as hard as it may be for the Arbor Society people to do so, it is

time to move on.

But not necessarily time to give up.

While it is all but useless to continue with their appeal of

what’s already been done, these “tree activists” would be well-served

-- and would serve the community well -- by looking out for the rest

of the city’s 3,200 ficus trees. Perhaps some of the trees are worth

saving. Perhaps there are some that can be trimmed or controlled so

they won’t suffer the same fate as their peninsula counterparts. Only

time and investigation will tell.

A Newport Beach Arbor Society committed to spending that time

would be a welcome member of the community.