Palm tree plague spreads

Pasadena plans to tear out 43 mature shade trees along Colorado Boulevard, Lake and Los Robles and replace them with shadeless, soulless fan palms (yuck) and gingkos. The ficus trees the city wants to remove are destructive — there's no arguing that — but fan palms? "We've had 13 years of discussions about these trees," said the owner of Vroman's Book Store.