Today’s newsletter is presented by Kaiser Permanente.
Aloha, La Jolla!
The 30-year-old Canary Island pine met its maker in the early morning darkness of May 9; it was the victim of handsaw cuts made to its slender trunk. The stately pine stood sentry from the median between Colima and Forward streets, a beloved living landmark to neighbors, visitors and the birds that roosted in its coniferous branches.
A similar scene scarred the same location in 2019, when Bird Rock Maintenance Assessment District Manager Matt Mangago observed hand saw marks that led to the demise and removal of an adjacent pine tree. He recalled that incident in February, when reporting a second pine tree that had been partially cut. Tips trickled in about the motivation behind the destruction: a vandal aiming for an unobstructed ocean view.
Fast forward to May 6, when the pine tree sustained subsequent damage. More cuts appeared on the morning of May 8. Not 24 hours later, the 25-foot pine crashed headlong onto La Jolla Boulevard and partially blocked traffic until a maintenance crew responded, at 4:30 a.m., to remove its trunk and canopy from the road.
This tragedy is a black eye on our Jewel-by-the-Sea.
I can’t help but believe the tree’s demise did not unfold in a vacuum. Other selfish acts chip away at our community: people not cleaning up after their pups or carelessly dropping litter, drivers blowing through stop signs in the village and, finally, a vandal who cut down a majestic pine tree in the dark of night and abandoned the carnage for others to clean up.
Appalled locals can take this proverb to heart: A fallen tree still grows roots.
Anyone with information about this unsolved crime is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department’s Northern Division at 858-582-1700 or SDPDNorthern@pd.sandiego.gov.
Molly Bowman-Styles
La Jolla Village News newsletter host
La Jolla story spotlight
La Jolla baseball and softball teams win dual league titles
By Ed Piper • Special for Times of San Diego
La Jolla won a heart-stopping 7-6 thriller at Lincoln on May 15 to capture an elusive City League baseball championship.
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