San Jose’s already dealing with the challenge of naming a park after someone whose actions may not have been worthy of that honor. Now it must contend with another landmark area named after sickly trees.

That’s the arboreal emergency the city faces at the Circle of Palms, which is currently the Circle of Dead Palms and will soon be the Circle of No Palms. The plaza between the San Jose Museum of Art and the Signia by Hilton has been fenced off, and the city has announced plans to remove the 32 trees that inhabit the circle. At least 15 of them are dead or dying, with the rest feebly trying to act like they don’t already have whatever’s killed their buddies.

We don’t know if this is pink rot or diamond scale — both have plagued palms in San Jose before — or an irrigation system gone awry or just more sun and heat than the trees could handle. It’s not too surprising since palm trees traditionally don’t thrive in a climate like San Jose’s, but the city has had an unrequited love affair with the lanky trees for more than a century.

Palms were the “in” tree when the city opened residential areas like Hanchett Park, Naglee Park and Palm Haven in the early 1900s. They already had been decorating St. James Park and a portion of Oak Hill cemetery for about 20 years by then. But downtown’s major palmification happened in the late 1980s and early ’90s when the Redevelopment Agency spent about $6 million on 450 palms to plant in the city core. That included the Circle of Palms, which had been the site of the first statehouse in the early 1850s.

There’s been some talk about replacing the palm trees with an artistic representation, something like towering metal trees that could be illuminated at night. But if the city considers going that route, it might as well just get new palm trees, which would probably be cheaper and quicker. If the city wants to go in an artistic direction — and that’s not the worst idea given the Circle of Palms is next to the Museum of Art — it should go bold.

One crazy idea that I’d get behind? Creating a circle of huge upstretched forearms topped by hands with open palms facing upward. There could even be different skin tones or national flags to represent San Jose’s diversity. A little creepy? Maybe. But it would definitely get attention The plaza’s name could stay the same, and only the meaning — and fun factor — would change.

CELEBRATING INDIA: The annual celebration of India’s Independence Day will include a parade and festival in downtown San Jose this Saturday with Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu serving as grand marshal. Other dignitaries expected to participate in the procession include K. Srikar Reddy, the outgoing consul general of India in San Francisco; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan and Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin, Patrick Ahrens and Ash Kalra.

The parade starts at 4 p.m. at Julian and Market streets and will travel south to the former Plaza de Cesar Chavez. A festival with food, music and cultural programs will be offered from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with a flag-raising at 6 p.m. Get more information at www.aiaevents.org.

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!: Given the recent hot whether, it’s a coin-toss which is more appealing about Chill Out & Read at the San Jose Woman’s Club on Sunday, the 30 authors who’ll be there or the ice cream from Marianne’s in Santa Cruz. Fortunately, there’s plenty of time for both at the free event, which runs from 1 to 5 p.m. and is co-presented by the Woman’s National Book Association of San Francisco.

Author panels will cover children’s books, bestsellers and “untold stories” about underrepresented communities. There’ll also be a performance by Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Tshaka Campbell and author presentations by Gini Grossenbacher (“Madam of My Heart: A Novel of Love, Loss and Redemption”) and Evelyn Kohl LaTorre (“Love in Any Language: A Memoir of a Cross-Cultural Marriage”). Go to chilloutandread.com for the full schedule and to RSVP.