A beloved palm and pine tree mark California’s center. Now they’re being cut down

Local residents are mourning the planned removal of the trees, symbols of the state’s northern-southern divide

Whenever Cassie Yoshikawa drives through the Central Valley on the former US Highway 99, she looks for the century-old landmark that symbolizes the midpoint of California: the Palm and the Pine.

Located on the highway median and towering over neighboring oleander shrubs, the Canary Island palm and the Deodar cedar tree are said to represent the spot where the balmy bottom of California meets its woodsier counterpart. In a state where north-south divisions run deep, the trees have long been a bright spot that speaks to the spirit of each half.