Pasadena Star News has been on top of the insane idea of the Pasadena City Council  and the merchants to remove the ficus and carrotwood trees along Colorado Boulevard, and replace them with sparse ginko trees (like the ones that have been dying for about a decade in front of the Playhouse) and the ever-popular fan palm (which is not only an invasive species, but possesses all the character of a telephone pole).  Larry Wilson's column in the Wednesday PSN (which is online now) looks at some of the objections, and quotes mega-tree-huggers Lori Paul and Susanna Dodd of Altadena.  The mature trees are major reasons why we like to hang out at Vromans and not the heat sink that is Old Town during the summer.