BOMB IT

By Ksenia Galouchko / Special to The Moscow Times

Heating units, which regulate heating in the city, can be found in most courtyards and are usually squat, drab, utilitarian buildings with little architectural value.

The only people attracted to the buildings seem to be the homeless and graffiti artists whose art work has never, until today, found favor with the energy companies who own the buildings.

If you look around the city, you can see more than 300 heating units covered in graffiti — official graffiti — as part of a festival organized by the city government and energy companies as they attempt to co-opt graffiti artists.

“At MOEC [Moscow United Energy Company], we were constantly faced by the issue of vandalism of our heating units: As soon as we would repaint over inappropriate images, new ones would appear,” said Rayfa Bitkova, the head of the company’s press center. “As a result, the idea of the festival was born.”

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By Alfredo Aleman, EGP Staff Writer

All around Los Angeles, murals can be readily seen on the walls of pharmacies, clothing stores and markets, usually depicting some sort of message to the community.

While artists may see the murals as cultural and artistic expressions, many of the businesses where the murals are located see the purpose of the murals differently. For many business owners the murals are a defense mechanism, a way to keep “taggers” and graffiti artists off their property.

And for the graffiti artists who venture off into the business of mural painting on private property, their business model is simple: get paid to keep the graffiti away.

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LA TIME BLOGSPOT
Gerrick D. Kennedy

A dozen surveillance cameras have been installed inside a San Fernando Valley tunnel hard-hit by graffiti vandalism.

The 711-foot tunnel on Sherman Way next to the Van Nuys Airport has been riddled with graffiti for years, and residents were fed up, said Stacy Bellew, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas, who represents the area.

“Our main message was, ‘Taggers beware. You are entering a no-tag zone,’ ” Bellew said. “If you decide to get out of your car and tag, we are going to catch you at every angle.”

The cameras and posted warning signs will serve as a deterrent to taggers and help police catch violators, Bellew said. Two more cameras will be installed within six weeks with the capability of capturing license plate numbers, she said.

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By COURTNEY POTTS
Observer-Dispatch

UTICA — Supporters say he’s an artist. Prosecutors say he’s a criminal.

In either case, Caeden Lauber will soon be behind bars after pleading guilty July 14 to a felony charge of second-degree criminal mischief for defacing the Job Ready building at 527 Oriskany St.

That building is just one of 26 that 19-year-old Lauber of Utica is alleged to have spray painted with graffiti, Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said.

Total damage: more than $38,000.

Jan Burke, Lauber’s mother, said the six-month jail sentence offered in the county’s plea agreement is excessive for a teenage college student.

“A lot of people are talking to me about this,” she said Thursday. “A lot of people are upset about this.”

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