OK, it does kind of look dead and a bit pathetic, but hey, it's real. Maybe those who don't like it can cough up the cash to buy what "looks like Christmas" or else deal with it. If a "real Christmas tree" looks like anything we experienced during the bubble years, perhaps going back to basics should be fine. Why not? Does it really matter?
"We had to cut $8 million out of our budget and had to lay people off, so we had to figure out a way to share the spirit of the season while still cutting expenses," explained Mayor Guy Bjerke.
He said the city would have ended up spending about $23,000 for a cut tree had they not opted to use the one growing in Todos Santos Plaza. The city chose the tree over other fuller trees in the plaza because of its location near an electrical outlet and away from the road.
While onlookers have described it as pathetic, scraggly and a sad reflection of the economy, it is getting a lot of attention and even finding supporters.
