Leaf it to Newport’s tree trimmers

Newport Beach tree-cutting crews just can’t seam to leaf us alone.

Just as the hubbub over Main Street ficus trees has simmered down to

a dull roar, reports came in of yet another tree-trimming scandal.

One resident reported to her polling place on Tuesday, a private

home on Poppy Avenue in Corona del Mar, and found she couldn’t get

inside to vote. The reason: City tree-cutting crews were trimming the

eucalyptus trees right in front of the polling place.

The voter called City Hall. Her pleas of, “C’mon guys, any day but

today,” seemed to evoke some action. The tree-trimmers were seen

pulling away soon after.

City’s Web site tries feeding the frenzy

Ever hear the adage that, for some problems, the best strategy is

to “starve them to death with lack of attention?” Heaven knows that

Newport Beach tried to put this into practice, but with one

particularly attention-loving gadfly, the problem still wouldn’t go

away.

So now the city is trying a different approach. On the city’s Web

site, under the “I want to ...” feature, there’s a link called “ ...

find out why that guy keeps talking about records and a dock.” Here,

residents can learn the details of the years-long relationship

between the city and its most regular speaker at City Council

meetings. Check it out. Just remember, you didn’t hear his name here.

-- Daily Pilot staff