Item 001

TAKE A STAND - PRESERVE YOUR CITY OR TOWN!
HELP STAMP OUT THIS SCOURGE ON OUR LANDSCAPES

The following letter was written after seeing a television news segment on the increasing Graffiti problem in
Vancouver. The News anchor-person was very clearly pro-graffiti, based on the way she ended the report.
information and opinions from the other side of the fence.


22 August 1996

To: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - Vancouver

To Whom it Should Concern:

I was INCENSED with a report on CBC news final [22 August] about graffiti and it's increasing proliferation here in Vancouver and the lower mainland. It was almost an advertisement saying "Go ahead, Kids - paint away". At the end of the story your commentator/anchor said while pausing for the next segment, "Oh, I think it looks kinda cool." or words to that effect. I almost hit the roof. Her casual "off the cuff" comment, however slight or innocuous, in effect, gives the viewer a form of permission.

I saw the blight on the landscape in Europe - notably Denmark and Germany as well as graffiti in New York City. What a scourge! In Hamburg, graffiti blankets the city far and wide and the offending vandal is like a dog that lifts his leg frequently along his path of travel, indiscriminate of where his stream splashes!

I watch your news programs every day and am becoming increasingly irritated with your News presenters and their inappropriate editorial comments; either verbal or non-verbal. Last night's performance was not so subtle. The attitude of the presenter is soaked up by the viewer and in light of this increasing prevalence of "artists" destroying public and private property, at great expense, with their "artwork", surely we don't need that kind of "encouragement"!

It is time we, as a society, get a grip on this type of crime, among many others. Writing it off as "the little dears are just expressing their feelings" or "Oh, I think it's kinda cool" is a very poor start indeed.

All too often, over the last twenty - thirty years, we have been too permissive with the young. Over that time, as well, we have insidiously removed the power from the hands of Government, the schools and the parents or care-givers to deal effectively with the perpetrators. As a result the moral fibre and level of accountability of and for one's actions is
now almost non-existent. Society is crumbling before our very eyes as a result.

You, as a national and regional news service, with a daily presence in the homes across this land, have a duty NOT to encourage or incite your viewers. Last night's performance certainly didn't uphold that duty. Shame on you!

Sincerely,

Charles H. Tupper
[address & phone number removed for Web page]
Vancouver, B.C.

Cc: To the following, in hopes that one or more Editorial sections will print this letter, as I am almost certain that you will not read it in it's entirety on the air during one of your broadcasts:

Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Province
The Courier <<< The above letter was published in its entirety. CBC never responded.
North Shore News
Georgia Straight

Item 002

Caltrans and Graffiti

Caltrans Has No Graffiti Cleaning Funds

On Saturday, November 11, 1995 "Contra Costa Times" Newspaper staff writers Robert Oakes and Rob Shea
reported on page 3A in an article entitled "Caltrans Cuts Open Doors for Graffiti on the Highways" that, "If
drivers think some East Bay freeways look a little scuzzy lately, they're right."

According to the reporters who spoke to Caltrans, Caltrans feels they are fighting a losing battle against graffiti
and litter. Complaints of graffiti are up but Caltrans has NO money to clean it up. Complainers get form letters
apologizing for the non-responsiveness but get little else. In the Monument Blvd., Contra Costa Blvd., and Buskirk
area this is painfully obvious. Litter and graffiti are all over the Cal Trans controlled right of way. Neighbors have
repeatedly asked that the area be kept clean, weeds brought under control, and graffiti removed to no avail.
Residents have asked the City of Pleasant Hill to intercede but Pleasant Hill has also not met with success.

Caltrans blames the problem on a 5.9 million shortfall. What these reporters didn't say in the article was that, last
month, because of apparent poor project management practices, Caltrans lost a five million dollar law suit filed
against them by the owners of the Contra Costa Center Shopping Mall at Buskirk and Monument. One has to
wonder where the real problem is.

What do the citizens of California and our communities have to put up with? Is "no" an acceptable answer to,
"Please clean the walls?" Read this newspaper article and you just might want to write the Governor.

Item 003

Graffiti Abatement Tools and Techniques



Introduction

I have been asked by persons reading the Anti-Graffiti Web to develop a page describing
cleaning methods. This page is an attempt to meet these requests. I want you to know however,
that I am NOT an expert in the use of chemical solvents. I encourage every political
jurisdiction developing a cleaning program to spend time training volunteers in the proper use
of a graffiti fighter's tools. I cannot assume responsibility for anyone's injury when using
suggestions from this document. Your city public works department is probably your best
source of information!

Our city has found that there are products other than caustic aerosol solvents that may be
safer to use. We are exploring the use of those products. The products you use are up to you.
How and who uses the products is what you need to consider important. many of the better
anti-graffiti products require special handling or training which is why you will find that
companies who sell these products sell direct to cleaning companies or to city, county, or
state departments of public works.

Please submit your own suggestions and ideas and I will post them here for the world to see!

The following are some suggestions for a graffiti fighter's tool kit:

1.aerosol solvent
2.clean cotton painters rags
3.trash bags
4.10 gallon plastic buckets with lids
5.inexpensive paint brushes, rollers, and paint containers
6.paint matching various surfaces around your neighborhood
7.paint scraper
8.dust mask
9.safety glasses
10.Federal Safety Orange Identification Vests
11.kitchen cleaner and water in spray bottles.
12.Carry a 5 or 10 gallon container of pure drinking water and a clean cup to splash water
in your face or to wash your hands in the event you are accidentally splashed with
chemicals.
13.Carry a two way radio or cellular phone for emergencies. The new Family Radio Service
radios lend themselves to this kind of use.

Solvents and Cleaners

There are a number of graffiti removal products on the market. It can help to become
familiar with each one. Learn about use and safe handling. Some of the more well know
solvents available at major hardware stores can be hazardous to your health. Using a
respirator is probably safer than using a dust mask. Breathing this stuff is obnoxious and
NOT healthy.

You need to be aware of wind conditions. You need eye and breathing protection when you use
it. Rags used with solvent should be discarded properly. DO NOT KEEP FLAMMABLE RAGS
in containers in your vehicle or garage.

Know the product you are using and HOW TO HANDLE AN ACCIDENTAL INJURY when
using the product.

NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE
GASOLINE!!!!! GASOLINE IS EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS. YOU CAN BE KILLED, OR BURNED
AND MAIMED, BY USING GASOLINE
INCORRECTLY!



These are the products I use. I shop in Pleasant Hill at ACE Hardware:

GOOF OFF The Ultimate Remover Atlanta Sundries, Lithonia, GA 30058
Extremely flammable
Vapor Harmful
Eye and Skin irritant
Always use safety goggles
Damages plastics, vinyl, automotive paints
Use solvent resistant gloves
Contains Xylene

GRAFFITI REMOVER "GOOF OFF Brand" Atlanta Sundries, Lithonia, GA 30058
Extremely Flammable
Vapor harmful if inhaled
Use with adequate ventilation
Eye and skin irritant.
Contains Xylene and Toluene

Some of the markers the vandals are using are not permanent. I have been able to clean some
signs with soap and water.

Our Graffiti Task Force is considering the use of a potentially easier to use product called
United 256 by United Laboratories. It is a citrus based product that is not as hazardous as a
solvent. I do not have personal experience with the United brand products but I understand
the United products are popular with graffiti abatement groups.

Clean Cotton Painters Rags

These rags are cheap. I like the cotton variety because they seem to clean better than
smoother, shinier fabrics. Your hardware or paint store sells these by the pound or packaged.

Trash Bags

I have trash bags to put old rags used with solvents as well as trash I find in the areas where
I am cleaning graffiti. I tend to buy very cheap brushes and rollers so I don't bother
cleaning them. Having a trash bag gives me a place to throw away the yuk before I get home.

10 Gallon Painter's Buckets with Lid Attachments

My painter neighbor told me about this nifty gadget. At larger hardware and paint stores you
can buy a screw on (child proof) lid adapter for a 10 gallon paint bucket. In the event I don't
have trash bags I keep rags and solvents in the bucket so the fumes don't permeate the car. I
can keep my graffiti supplies safely packed away using the buckets.

Safety Glasses

Safety glasses keep paints, solvents, and dust from entering the eyes. Always use caution. Never
compromise eye safety.

Paint

I get paint from various places. Often times the jurisdiction responsible for the property will provide
volunteers with paint. That has been the case with my City of Pleasant Hill, and the Easy Bay Regional
Parks Department. Anytime their property near my home is tagged a crew from my neighborhood is
dispatched to paint over the damage. This kind of cooperation is essential to successful abatement. The
government agencies will often provide other painting and cleaning supplies.

Make sure the paint you are using DOES NOT CONTAIN LEAD.

Safety Vests

Our city graffiti task force wears a simple orange vest that says "GRAFFITI MANAGEMENT
TEAM" on the back. The vest identifies you to the public and police, and it acts to alert people and
drivers to your presence. We wear it for safety and identification. It also gives you good press with the
public! Chances are you may pick up new volunteers who see you working and stop by to say hello.

Cleaning Smooth Surfaces

Test an inconspicuous area of the surface with your cleaning material. Most modern signs clean
quickly. I like to start my cleaning with soap and water first and then proceed to solvents.

Using Solvents and Cleaners

Test surfaces with your solvent or cleaners BEFORE you use the substance over a wide area. There
are some silk screened surfaces (like some newspaper racks) that can be removed by the wrong
cleaners. Contact vendors responsible for these devices and encourage the vendor to use more durable
methods. Read the instructions on the can. Some solvents work better if applied with a cloth. Others
must be sprayed on the damage and allowed to sit until the paint has absorbed the solvent.

Signs

Some early model traffic signs use a press on lettering that can be damaged with conventional solvents.
Replacement is often the best option for these signs.

There are signs whose paint is removed by any cleaning or scrubbing action. One of the best examples
are old California freeway signs. The green paint on these signs begins dripping off as soon as the
solvent hits. When you try to rub the graffiti off the sign paint comes with it. Often you just end up
covering the sign lettering and the graffiti with green slime. In this case your only abatement recourse
may be to wait to have the sign replaced.

Have your city experiment with press on plastic coatings. A city crewman rubs a laminate over the sign.
When the vandal paints the sign the city removes and replaces the laminate. This is a great idea for
signs that are frequently attacked.

Cleaning from Rough Surfaces

Many times paint on a rough surfaces causes permanent damage. The character of the surface will
change because it is virtually impossible to remove all of the paint from any porous surface. A perfect
example is a freeway sound wall or any cinder block wall. You may be forced to paint the wall -- the
entire wall. Simply framing the damaged area leaves you (and the vandal) with an ugly blotch. In my
neighborhood when a sound wall panel has been vandalized the ENTIRE panel is painted. Eventually,
every panel will be painted so the entire wall will have the same appearance. Cites that can invest in
scientific methods of graffiti removal will benefit from products like those offered by CompuColor
Graffiti Systems. Using spectrophotometers, CompuColor can match the color of the existing wall and
mix paint on the spot for immediate coverage.

Our city has experimented with pressure water washers, washers that use water and sand, and the wire
brush. Pressure washers can actually etch a cinder block wall, further hastening the wall's demise. The
wire brush is limited in effectiveness as well. Pressure washing never completely removes the
vandalism because of the porous surfaces involved. A hazy remnant of the graffiti still remains.

Elbow grease and the wire brush.

An inexpensive wire brush is excellent for removing paint from many surfaces. The surface will look
like someone has wire brushed it but the vandal's message will be history. Any surface where you use a
wire brush should be a surface, that will over time, weather back to the original color or texture. Every
graffiti fighter needs a simple wire brush in their toolkit.

Use the wire brush on:
telephone poles
street curbs
some rough metals
smooth stone surfaces
decorative rocks
wood fences
concrete

You would be surprised how fast a vandals message can be removed from a telephone/power pole using
the wire brush! (Note: In California, Pacific Gas & Electric Company does not want persons cleaning
ANY PG&E equipment. Report graffiti damage to PG&E equipment to PG&E for cleaning.) I'm
certain that the power company would like to remind everyone NOT to disturb the ground wire that
may be on the pole.

Item 004

Graffiti Advocate Web Sites at America's's High Schools, Colleges and Universities

One of the costliest crimes in known history, graffiti vandalism, has spawned advocate Internet web sites all over the world. Many of these web sites are located at high schools, colleges, and universities. The United States has the ugly
distinction of having seeded graffiti throughout the world. Now our school servers continue to perpetuate the tragedy with on-line criminal advocacy. Your tax dollars and American children are building these graffiti advocate web sites. Mom and dad, teacher and professor, are you watching over and caring for the kids? Have we no shame? We would not tolerate burglary or hazing advocacy, or pornography at our schools. Why advocate vandalism? Why? Shouting fire in a movie theater is not protected speech and neither is conspiring to commit a crime. Why then are the schools allowing this? Academic freedom ends when the research becomes an arm of advocacy for the criminal activity it portends to study. Universities have an adult responsibility to your child that in some cases appears not be be present. So mom
and dad what are you going to say to your kid's school?

Item 005

Chicago Suburb Votes For Law Evicting Gang Members
08:00 p.m Apr 27, 1999 Eastern

CICERO, Ill. (Reuters) - This Chicago suburb that once harbored gangster Al Capone declared itself a ``gang-free
zone'' Tuesday by passing ordinances that allow it to evict known gang members from their homes and keep others out.

The town's seven-member board of trustees voted unanimously to pass two controversial anti-gang ordinances, which are assured of being put to a court test by civil rights groups.

``The people that are going to be targeted have extensive criminal histories, and are actively involved with gang activity
presently,'' Cicero town spokesman David Donahue said.

Unlike ordinances barring gang members from congregating that have been passed in several California communities and in Chicago, Cicero's ordinance banishes them altogether, Donahue said.

Chicago's anti-gang ordinance, which produced thousands of arrests, was declared too far-reaching by Illinois courts but is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cicero's police department has a list of 600 known gang members living in the city of 71,000 of modest bungalows and
apartments. Those with criminal charges pending against them will be called before an administrative judge and told to either renounce gang activity or leave town.

A second ordinance empowers authorities to levy a daily fine of $500 and confiscate automobiles from a second list of 600 gang members not from Cicero who visit the town. Gates with checkpoints may be erected in some areas to enforce the law.

``We tried to put in constitutional protections, such as a probationary term of one year for gang members who renounce
their gang activity,'' Donahue said. ``But if they violate that, they're out.''

Ironies abound in Cicero, the town where Capone chose to run his empire of illegal booze, prostitution and gambling during the 1920s after he was kicked out of Chicago.

More recently, town President Bette Loren-Maltese, who has said she came up with the anti-gang ordinances to protect
residents' rights, has been suspected of having ties to organized crime like her late husband Frank Maltese, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in 1991.

Loren-Maltese has been under investigation by federal authorities for allegedly awarding suspicious auto towing
contract.

State police were called in last year to patrol Cicero's streets, when Loren-Maltese and the police chief sparred over alleged corruption, eventually resulting in one-third of the force being dismissed.

Civil rights experts have cast a quizzical eye at Cicero's anti-gang efforts.

``Are they really going to evict people who committed no crime, or who have served their time in jail?,'' Chicago's American Civil Liberties Executive Director Jay Miller said.

``It's ridiculous,'' he said, adding that the ACLU or someone else would no doubt challenge the ordinances. ``Soon, we'll be back to the witch hunt days.''

The town also announced plans to file two class-action suits on behalf of residents, one asking that gang members not be allowed to congregate and the other demanding $10 million in damages from known gangs for a variety of costs related to police work and graffiti removal.

Donahue said there are 20 street gangs operating in the
neighborhood, roughly six of them well organized.


Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters
shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for
any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Item 006

An Open Letter to the Editor

Regarding Contra Costa Times Coverage of the
Graffiti Exhibition at the Richmond Art Center, Richmond, Ca. the
week of May 18, 1997

May 25, 1997

Contra Costa Times Newspaper
Editor
Walnut Creek, CA.

From: dougs@value.net

Dear Editor:

I could not believe the blatant advocacy of graffiti vandalism in the article written by Anita
Amirrezvani, in the Sunday, May 18, 1997 Sunday Times, Pages C1 & C2, entitled,
"Spray-can artists talk through exhibit." This article was offensive to every Contra Costa
community, all victims of graffiti, and every graffiti abatement volunteer in this county.

This article is a classic example of journalistic irresponsibility. It served no moral purpose, and
had no social justification. The reporter bought the vandal's revisionist history and deceit think,
hook-line-and-sinker. News stories written in this fashion only perpetuate the tragedy of graffiti
vandalism by giving the vandals who desecrate our communities a cloak of respectability.
Knight Ridder's cloak of respectability. Does it matter to Knight Ridder who the bad guys are
any more?

How many thousands of dollars in damage have these kids and adults inflicted upon Contra
Costa public property and private property? How many volunteers and city crews have followed
behind these scum to clean up the paint they leave like a dog leaves urine? Do not believe
these vermin, because for every pretty picture they paint they trash a building, destroy a sign,
paint a pole, scratch out a window, or place moronic messages on stickers everywhere. There
is no difference between "taggers" and "piecers." That is the deceit they want you to believe.
Anita did not do her homework. She has bought into and perpetuated a lie.

This article lends journalistic respect to a cult of vandals that has terrorized and continues to
terrorize our communities. There is no remorse reported in Anita's article, no concern for the
victims, no rage reported from the communities who have fought this blight with sweat and hard
work. All Anita reported was the "deceit think." The only thing in the article is one journalist's
naive attempt to publicly label vandals as artists. The article implies praise for the poor
downtrodden female crew as though it were about some feminist agenda. Despite the fact
these "adults" have victimized their neighborhoods with what Anita calls "street graffiti" for
years, the vandals are elevated to "artist" status because they decide to come out of the dark
and paint publicly for one small moment. One vandal even admits she would rather be doing it
illegally than legally.

These women are vandals. Nothing more than vandals, and until they tell the world they will
have nothing more to do with vandalism, they do not deserve to exhibit art at a publicly funded
facility! Next, you'll find terribly misguided people like Jeff Nathanson, declaring burglary as an
art form and inviting burglars to come out of the closet to demonstrate their talents! Real
community centers and projects DO NOT MAKE DEALS WITH VANDALS. The Richmond Art
Center has lost all credibility and with it the center should lose all funding or Nathanson should
resign in disgrace.

None of these vandals should have been allowed to participate unless they also demonstrated
they would never vandalize property again AND had paid for their own paints. Does Mr.
Nathanson know where graffiti vandals get their paint to satisfy their addiction to victimize
others? They don't buy it! They STEAL it. This fact is common knowledge to police and is a
major factor in the growing number of public ordinances written to lock up aerosol paints or
prevent the sale of aerosol paints. Theft, and the risk behind breaking the law is an integral part
of the graffiti vandal's sub-culture! In a police training file I viewed officers are taught that vandals
steal their paints from stores as well as the open garages of our homes.

Assistant Art Director Rachel Osajima is clueless. She said in the article, " The hope is people
will understand the motivation of the individuals." There is nothing out of the ordinary to
understand, except that the difference between graffiti and art is permission! The vandal's
motivation is the criminal act! What can the vandals tell us that we don't already know? The
vandal's act is criminal and no amount of discussion or attempts to convince the public
otherwise is going to change that! There is no public sympathy or passion for vandals! The
empathy of the majority is felt on behalf of the victims. Osajima has sold out her community
and she has been taken in by a common tactic of the vandal underground. Getting the press to
print happy-think about vandals lends credibility to the vandal's acts of terrorism. Anita has
bought the deceit think vandals perpetuate to strengthen their cause and published it! Anita has
most likely never been a graffiti victim. She has indeed been lied to by the vandals and has
believed them.

This article was a fully biased, graffiti advocate's view of vandalism. It was written in the way
graffiti advocates would prefer such an article be written. It implies the victims and desecrated
communities are unreasonable for despising what these vandals have done to our homes,
businesses and walls. The article refers to graffiti as art and not by its definition as a CRIME.
Every effort is made to give the vandals credibility when all the vandals deserve is jail. The
pictures may be pretty, but Anita this is not, nor has it ever been, art. The thousands of people
like myself who spend weekends cleaning Contra Costa properties of this blight see no
justification in the glorification of community terrorism. You have praised a criminal element that
deserves to pay billions in restitution and spend years behind bars. You have blessed terrorists
in the larval stage.

These kids and adults do deserve credit if they participate in a true art exhibition and swear off
any further vandalism. We as a community must support rehabilitation. We have no obligation,
however, to enter into a dialogue, as Nathanson puts it, unless the vandals stop victimizing the
community. Until then, all you and the Richmond Art Center have done is undo hours of
community education about vandalism and slammed the graffiti victims and abatement
volunteers full in the face with ridicule. You have sent no message other than graffiti is cool you
do not understand what graffiti vandalism really is, nor do you care to.

Vandals constantly use arguments like the arguments the Times has perpetuated in this story.
The vandals arrange these stories to give themselves credibility. They hope the cops may
someday leave them alone and dream communities will give up the abatement effort. Every
once in a while the vandals find a gullible journalist or an art critic to feel sorry for them, and
then misinformation like Anita's article results. Anita and the Contra Costa Times have been
had, big time.

All citizens should boycott this exhibit, given that the exhibit is nothing more than public
advocacy of vandalism at its absolute worst. Anita and the managers of the Richmond Art
Center, need to meet graffiti victims to learn the truth about graffiti. Instead of indirectly
condoning the criminal act, Anita needs to find out what the vandals have really done and will
continue to do. Anita needs to watch the graffiti videos marketed by this underground culture,
she needs to read the vandal's communications in the Internet alt.graffiti news group. She
needs to stop feeling sorry for cultic criminals with spray cans that could care less about her,
her property, or her community!

Graffiti is NOT a legitimate form of artistic expression. The act has no future. Graffiti does not
pay the bills. It is not an occupation. By definition graffiti is illegal. Anything else that is done
legally and resembles graffiti, is art. The concept is so simple you would think a journalist
would understand it. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRAFFITI AND ART IS PERMISSION.

The vandal called Maya said it very well at the end of the article, and this
one statement should have been enough for the Times to end this story
at the editor's desk, " I would rather be doing graffiti in illegal spaces
than legal. It's a lot more exciting to me."

The Times has stooped extremely low. This story is trash, complete trash. You have
succeeded in allowing law breakers to flip off the community with impunity. I cannot tell you
how disappointed I am in the Times at this moment. It is an absolute travesty of justice to
support the Richmond Art Center's revisionist history of the graffiti sub-culture. (Read the facts:
http://www.dougweb.com/faq.html)

Sincerely,
Douglas M. Smith

Volunteer
Pleasant Hill Graffiti Abatement Task Force