For Paper’s Graffiti Idea, Writing Was on the Wall

City Council members sharply criticized the Orange County Register this week for asking readers to submit examples of their “favorite graffiti” for use in a proposed feature story.

Mayor Daniel H. Young expressed outrage at the council meeting Monday night, noting that the city spent $500,000 last year to wash off, paint over or sandblast unsightly graffiti, most of which is sprayed by youth gangs.

“This is unbelievable,” Young declared, “absolutely unbelievable.”

On Tuesday, the Register announced that it was discontinuing the feature.

“It was an error,” said John Hollon, a Register assistant managing editor. “It was one of those ideas that slipped through the cracks. Now it’s fixed.”

The issue was initially raised by Planning Commissioner John Casteix, who said the proposed newspaper feature was an insult to Santa Ana residents who have been trying to clean up their neighborhoods.

Appearing before the council, Casteix said he saw the notice soliciting graffiti examples while reading Monday’s paper. He said he became so angry that he raced to the council chambers to publicly complain.

“We are awash with graffiti problems in this city,” Casteix said. “I’m frustrated and mad as hell over this.”

Young called on residents and the city manager to complain to the paper about the feature.

The solicitation appeared in Monday’s Register in its Accent section with the headline, “Send us your favorite graffiti.” The notice read, “If you see something that captures your eye, jot it down and send it to ‘Off the Wall.’ ”

The notice said the best selections would be printed as long as readers included their names, phone numbers and the location and city where the graffiti appeared. It also reminded readers that the paper would “only print graffiti suitable for a family newspaper.”