Graffiti cuts swath along Interstate 10; cleanup question remains

Bill Byron, Special to The Desert Sun
Graffiti creates an eyesore along Interstate 10.

Is something broken in your neighborhood?

You've got to give the artists credit - they were ambitious.

Not only does it cover the entire length, it also goes from top to bottom of the 6-foot-high fence.

Pretty impressive stuff.

I can't really make out what it says, but maybe you're a little more "down" with the street lingo than I am, and you can let me know what I'm missing out on.

There's a couple of quirks in fixing this one, namely it's on county land - Thousand Palms - and on private property. (Usually I stay away from private property issues, but this is just so visible from the freeway I figured it qualified.)

It turns out that, according to the county anyway, those aren't really stumbling blocks after all.

I called the county code enforcement office and talked to Community Improvement Coordinator Susana Orozco.


I asked her if the graffiti was violating some sort of county ordinance, which didn't elicit a crystal-clear answer - but from what I could gather, it is not.
Orozco, however, was very helpful and said she would inform the "Graffiti Busters" about it.

The Graffiti Busters is a county organization that does what you might imagine, given its name.

"If it is on county land, it is a county responsibility - we're going to call our graffiti hotline," Orozco said. "Normally they get to it within 48 hours but this should be taken care of over the weekend."

Then I called the graffiti hotline myself just to make sure, and they, too, were very helpful and said they'd get right on it.

Neither department seemed to be fazed by the fact that it was on private property - said they deal with that all the time and rarely, if ever run, into a case where a property owner doesn't want the graffiti removed.

SOLUTION: Call the graffiti hotline anytime you want to deprive the rest of us from gazing upon the local urban art.

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE: While it's not their fault, it's the Graffiti Busters' job to remove the stuff from public view providing a nice service to the valley. Call them at: (888) 472-3488 or (866) 732-1444.

What's happening ... OR NOT

The trash and weeds on Ramon Road, just east of Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City are all gone.

And not just gone, but a pretty nice job with the lawnmower, too. It looks attractive. Good job public works guys!