MAYOR WANTS TO GREEN L.A. MILLION TREES GETS OFF GROUND.Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer For Song Tan, the free city tree that he scored Saturday meant far more than just shade for his Sun Valley home. It meant feng shui Feng shui Traditional Chinese method of arranging the human and social world in auspicious alignment with the forces of the cosmos, including qi and yin-yang. It was devised during the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220). prosperity for him and his wife, Lawan. ``The orchid is good,'' said Song Tan, 70, excited to get one of 3,000 trees given away at the launch of Million Trees L.A., an ambitious plan to cloak the city in green. ``I'll put it on the south side for fame and fortune.'' Million Trees L.A., spearheaded by the Department of Public Works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. , encourages 1 million trees to be planted at homes, schools, businesses and parks. A million trees, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. officials, will help scrub the air, cleanse urban runoff, cool homes and businesses and raise civic pride and property values across Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The leafy canopy also is expected to save $38 million a year in energy and pollution costs. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. said public participation is vital to make Los Angeles -- America's dirtiest big city covered less than 20 percent by trees -- the cleanest and greenest city in the land. The initial cost, he said, would be $70 million. Funding could come from regional bonds and a possible tree assessment district. ``This campaign isn't about forestry, it's not about greening Los Angeles, or making it the cleanest big city in America,'' Villaraigosa told more than 500 guests at a tree planting ceremony in Boyle Heights attended by such green celebrities as Ed Begley Jr., Daryl Hannah, Anjelica Houston and Ricardo Chavira. ``It's about taking responsibility ... to leave this a better place.'' ``We are reinventing this town,'' added City Council President Eric Garcetti Eric Garcetti (born 1971) is the son of former Los Angeles county district attorney Gil Garcetti, and was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2001. He was reelected in 2005. . ``We realize this city isn't just asphalt and concrete -- it's a living
It was during the 1984 Olympics that Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley Noun 1. Tom Bradley - United States politician who was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles (1917-1998) Bradley, Thomas Bradley planted a million trees. But many of them died from poor placement and lack of maintenance. This time, Villaraigosa promised the million trees would survive through proper care. Some, however, cast doubt unless millions of dollars could be secured for tree maintenance. ``What we're worried about is the funding for the program,'' said Jose Aguilar, secretary for the Sierra Club Sierra Club, national organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the world's parks, wildlife, and wilderness areas. Founded (1892) in California by a group led by the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, the Sierra Club Central Group. ``How are these trees going to be cared for and watered after they're planted? ``Where's the beef, man, where's the funding?'' But such program supporters as North East Trees say responsibility will be shared by public partners throughout Los Angeles. In the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , most of the trees will be planted in the Northeast Valley, where a satellite study found canopy cover around 13 percent. ``The canopy all needs to be 25 percent or more,'' said Larry Smith
``The Valley needs a lot of trees.'' At Sun Valley Park and Recreation Center, city officials gave away 200 trees to anyone who'd pledge to plant them. ``We would like to have everybody on the block plant trees,'' said Ida Kunitsugu, 75, of North Hollywood, picking up an 8-foot purple orchid. ``It's a great program.'' ``It'll be a giant tree,'' said Luis Gallegos, 36, of Sun Valley, hauling off a 6-foot sycamore. ``I might even put a hammock hammock, suspended bed, usually of netting, canvas, or leather. The hammock and its name were introduced to Europeans by Christopher Columbus, who learned of them from Native Americans. on it, if it gets big enough.'' dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3730 ABOUT THE TREES For more information, call 311 or go to www.milliontreesla.org. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 3) Nathan Alonzo of Sun Valley examines trees that were distributed to residents at Sun Valley Park Recreation Center on Saturday. Trees were distributed to residents at the park and 15 other locations throughout Los Angeles by the city as part of its Millions Trees L.A. program, which seeks to plant 1 million trees across the city. Below left, a tree is placed in the back of a car. Below right, Thomas Schramm, 3, the son of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, weaves between trees that were available to residents at Shadow Hills Presbyterian Church in Sunland on Saturday. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Box: ABOUT THE TREES (see text) |
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