ARRA-Duke Energy project trades stately oaks for crepe myrtles under neighborhood power lines; Raleigh-Durham, NC

Bull City Rising: Duke/Gregson street tree canopy replacement starts before New Years Day:
The cherished oaks that line urban Durham's streets give near-downtown neighborhoods much of their character. But their time has been widely recognized to be coming to an end, as the trees reach the end of their natural lifespan.
And, of course, today's oaks run smack into the little problem of Duke Energy power lines, which weren't so much a concern when the trees were first planted during the Great Depression era as a WPA project.
It's fitting, then, that the economic stimulus effort of the Great Recession would come along to help replace some of these trees. (Goodness knows it's better than the trees being left to their current wacky-cutback state.)