Moved from the blog to the Forum now..
nograffiti.com/forum
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
The Nograf Network Inc. Wants to use Volunteers equipped with Covert Cameras to assist local police in catching Graffiti Vandals in the act.
For_Immediate_Release:
United States of America (Press Release) April 11, 2009 --
The Nograf Network Inc. is a Non Profit 501 C3 Corporation that is asking local business owners to help them build an army of volunteers that are equipped with covert cameras supplied by "Tripwire Systems" Volunteers equipped with these cameras can use them to covertly monitor graffiti prone areas 24 hours a day. These hidden cameras monitor locations day or night and when activated, they send several photos and a text message to the volunteers Blackberry cell phone. The volunteer need not stop their normal daily duties, and can even be in bed fast asleep. When the alert comes in, a audible alert is sounded and the volunteer can quickly call a predetermined number to provide the information, including a description of the vandals to on duty police. Later, any tags found at the scene are loaded into the "GRIP" System which is a would wide web based database that holds a collection of monikers and vandal identifications for use by police or prosecutors.
The Nograf Network Inc. ask that any business that would like to participant in the program to contact one of the Nograf board members at this e-mail address covert@nograffiti.com, or they may also contact them directly at 509-531-1334. All amounts donated are 100% tax deductible.
source: FPR
The Nograf Network wants to help make you a part of the solution to stopping this vandalism.
For more information:
The Nograf Network Inc.
PMB 128
1825 Leslie Ave
Richland, WA 99352
509-531-1334 Fax 888-317-9352
United States of America (Press Release) April 11, 2009 --
The Nograf Network Inc. is a Non Profit 501 C3 Corporation that is asking local business owners to help them build an army of volunteers that are equipped with covert cameras supplied by "Tripwire Systems" Volunteers equipped with these cameras can use them to covertly monitor graffiti prone areas 24 hours a day. These hidden cameras monitor locations day or night and when activated, they send several photos and a text message to the volunteers Blackberry cell phone. The volunteer need not stop their normal daily duties, and can even be in bed fast asleep. When the alert comes in, a audible alert is sounded and the volunteer can quickly call a predetermined number to provide the information, including a description of the vandals to on duty police. Later, any tags found at the scene are loaded into the "GRIP" System which is a would wide web based database that holds a collection of monikers and vandal identifications for use by police or prosecutors.
The Nograf Network Inc. ask that any business that would like to participant in the program to contact one of the Nograf board members at this e-mail address covert@nograffiti.com, or they may also contact them directly at 509-531-1334. All amounts donated are 100% tax deductible.
source: FPR
The Nograf Network wants to help make you a part of the solution to stopping this vandalism.
For more information:
The Nograf Network Inc.
PMB 128
1825 Leslie Ave
Richland, WA 99352
509-531-1334 Fax 888-317-9352
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Been Awhile
OK, so I have not posted here for some time now. We have been busy at Nograf and things are just now slowing down and I can get back to this Blog. We were recently received news that our long time member Jim Powers was very ill. Jim is a great friend and integral part of Nograf from its inception. We wish Jim well and a heartfelt thank you for all his assistance over the years.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Cabot College
A post to the Cabot College "The Spectator" in repy by Evelyn Carmack to a pro-graffiti posting LINK TO ARTICLE
First off, who made Evelyn Carmack the art critic king?, so she loves beautiful graffiti, but Evelyn, do you understand that that kid who made that beautiful piece, has also probably done thousands of scribbles while trying to get to that point? How many business owners had to pay to cover up those scribbles? The main point is this, why is it OK for that kid to tell you what is to be on your property? If I do not like graffiti, why is it OK for them to change my property's appearance? Permission is the key here and respect for the property of others. If these kids were to paint a mural on your car or your home, then the shoe would be on the other foot and I bet your article would change.
This is not really a fight about graffiti or art, it is about PERMISSION, and respect for the property of others. We are talking about a multi-billion (15+) problem, all done by vandals who have no respect for your property, nor do they feel a need to obey laws. Graffiti has now been shown to be a gateway to other crimes and it is time to start putting teeth to graffiti laws and we are seeing that finally happen. I would rather see money being spent on educating the youth on the pitfalls of graffiti and being a graffiti criminal. Your article looks to put a positive spin to the kids who have spent years causing vandalism to people's property, and now that then have caused many thousands of dollars in damage, it is somehow OK now, because they do better quality vandalism on property that they still do not have permission to change, damage, or destroy. Think twice before telling a criminal that what they are doing is OK, yet you find yourself a victim of their crime, or the subject of lawsuits for helping promote a criminal activity.
First off, who made Evelyn Carmack the art critic king?, so she loves beautiful graffiti, but Evelyn, do you understand that that kid who made that beautiful piece, has also probably done thousands of scribbles while trying to get to that point? How many business owners had to pay to cover up those scribbles? The main point is this, why is it OK for that kid to tell you what is to be on your property? If I do not like graffiti, why is it OK for them to change my property's appearance? Permission is the key here and respect for the property of others. If these kids were to paint a mural on your car or your home, then the shoe would be on the other foot and I bet your article would change.
This is not really a fight about graffiti or art, it is about PERMISSION, and respect for the property of others. We are talking about a multi-billion (15+) problem, all done by vandals who have no respect for your property, nor do they feel a need to obey laws. Graffiti has now been shown to be a gateway to other crimes and it is time to start putting teeth to graffiti laws and we are seeing that finally happen. I would rather see money being spent on educating the youth on the pitfalls of graffiti and being a graffiti criminal. Your article looks to put a positive spin to the kids who have spent years causing vandalism to people's property, and now that then have caused many thousands of dollars in damage, it is somehow OK now, because they do better quality vandalism on property that they still do not have permission to change, damage, or destroy. Think twice before telling a criminal that what they are doing is OK, yet you find yourself a victim of their crime, or the subject of lawsuits for helping promote a criminal activity.
Monday, December 1, 2008
2008 Conference Video's Now Available
The 2008 Northern California Graffiti Conference Videos are now available for purchase. We are selling the first 50 sets at our cost, then the price will increase with any additional funds held for future projects. So order your set now, the cost of the 5 DVD set is $59.95 and includes the bonus DVD from the comedian Mike Wally Walters who did a show for our attendees.
Use This Link to Order Your Set
Use This Link to Order Your Set
Graffiti Cost
I just went through some recent data and decided to place it here also. I have found information that the Las Vegas area spends nearly 30 million a year on graffiti removal. I also received information that in Los Angeles, they spend around 142 million per year just on the buses and commuter trains. Can you believe what we are spending these days on graffiti...... Now here is some information that I feel strongly about, we are spending millions on painting over graffiti and investigating graffiti after the fact, yet we spend very little on pro-active approaches to stop it. There are several things that are currently available, the first is covert cameras that send alerts to your cell phone, there are also cameras that shouts out a warning when it detects a vandal in the area, and then there are online databases where we can document these vandals and track them from incident to incident. Graffiti is an estimated 15+ billion a year problem.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Unbelievable! We need to stand up and take action!
I sure wish this was in my town, I would continue to paint it and let them try to arrest me or charge me with a crime, if their people do not take care of it, then it is free to be painted over. Maybe a lawsuit against the post office for allowing graffiti to exist on their property within a city. This is a fight I sure would love to have. Graffiti is a crime, and it must be removed asap and I do not care who does it, as long as they do it.
View the story here..
Postal Service stops anti-graffiti painters in Mt. Washington
By Chris Togneri
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sandy Fundy thought she was battling vandals while sprucing up her neighborhood.
Turns out, she and other Mt. Washington residents unknowingly were breaking federal law.
Fundy said she asked for and received permission from a station manager at the Mt. Oliver post office in June to paint over graffiti on a green relay box near her home on Wyoming Avenue.
She bought a can of paint and a paintbrush. She checked the box every morning at 6 a.m. as she walked to the gym. If even a mark appeared overnight, she took care of it.
"It was early enough so that these guys who painted it at night never got a chance to enjoy their artwork in daylight," Fundy said.
"It sends a signal that we care about our community. If you get rid of the graffiti, these actors do not feel they have a foothold in that community."
But about two weeks ago, the Postal Service told Fundy that she did not, in fact, have permission to paint the boxes. Apparently the station manager at the Mt. Oliver post office (who declined to comment for this story) was in no position to grant such permission.
Postal Service officials said the misunderstanding would not result in any legal action against residents or any disciplinary action for the Mt. Oliver station manager. But they reiterated that only their employees are allowed to paint letter and relay boxes.
"We have to maintain our own boxes," Postal Service spokesman Tad Kelley said, citing liability concerns and contracts with union maintenance crews. "It would be no different if someone wanted to do maintenance work in a park or on a PennDOT bus. That work is restricted."
Other neighborhoods have faced similar roadblocks.
In April, residents in the Mexican War Streets in the North Side wanted to paint over a graffiti-covered relay box where a letter carrier was shot in the hand during a botched robbery attempt. Central Northside Neighborhood Council President Bill Buettin, who lives near the relay box, said allowing the graffiti to stay was a symbolic victory for vandals.
"An adopt-a-mailbox program seems like a win-win to me," he said Wednesday. "Citizens and community organizations can combat blight and crime in their neighborhoods and the Postal Service doesn't have to expend manpower on keeping their mail and relay boxes clean. Just give us some specific guidelines on paint color, etc., and let us do the work."
City Councilman Bruce Kraus said he is on board.
Last spring, Kraus drafted a nonbinding resolution urging the Postal Service to start an adopt-a-mailbox program that would allow residents to legally paint over graffiti as soon as it appears.
But the Postal Service isn't on board. Indeed, Kelley said that under no circumstances can residents legally paint Postal Service boxes.
Neighborhood leaders in Mt. Washington said they're not ready to toss their paint and brushes just yet.
"I'm sure this would catch on all around city," said J.T. Smith, president of the Mt. Washington Community Development Corp. "It's such an easy, simple and wonderful thing to do."
Smith said that when word spread about Fundy painting the relay box near her home, many other residents volunteered to paint boxes on their streets.
"People got excited," he said. "We had plenty of volunteers."
Now, "I've got to drive by this stupid graffiti every day," he said. "It's frustrating."
Chris Togneri can be reached at ctogneri@tribweb.com or 412-380-5632.
View the story here..
Postal Service stops anti-graffiti painters in Mt. Washington
By Chris Togneri
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sandy Fundy thought she was battling vandals while sprucing up her neighborhood.
Turns out, she and other Mt. Washington residents unknowingly were breaking federal law.
Fundy said she asked for and received permission from a station manager at the Mt. Oliver post office in June to paint over graffiti on a green relay box near her home on Wyoming Avenue.
She bought a can of paint and a paintbrush. She checked the box every morning at 6 a.m. as she walked to the gym. If even a mark appeared overnight, she took care of it.
"It was early enough so that these guys who painted it at night never got a chance to enjoy their artwork in daylight," Fundy said.
"It sends a signal that we care about our community. If you get rid of the graffiti, these actors do not feel they have a foothold in that community."
But about two weeks ago, the Postal Service told Fundy that she did not, in fact, have permission to paint the boxes. Apparently the station manager at the Mt. Oliver post office (who declined to comment for this story) was in no position to grant such permission.
Postal Service officials said the misunderstanding would not result in any legal action against residents or any disciplinary action for the Mt. Oliver station manager. But they reiterated that only their employees are allowed to paint letter and relay boxes.
"We have to maintain our own boxes," Postal Service spokesman Tad Kelley said, citing liability concerns and contracts with union maintenance crews. "It would be no different if someone wanted to do maintenance work in a park or on a PennDOT bus. That work is restricted."
Other neighborhoods have faced similar roadblocks.
In April, residents in the Mexican War Streets in the North Side wanted to paint over a graffiti-covered relay box where a letter carrier was shot in the hand during a botched robbery attempt. Central Northside Neighborhood Council President Bill Buettin, who lives near the relay box, said allowing the graffiti to stay was a symbolic victory for vandals.
"An adopt-a-mailbox program seems like a win-win to me," he said Wednesday. "Citizens and community organizations can combat blight and crime in their neighborhoods and the Postal Service doesn't have to expend manpower on keeping their mail and relay boxes clean. Just give us some specific guidelines on paint color, etc., and let us do the work."
City Councilman Bruce Kraus said he is on board.
Last spring, Kraus drafted a nonbinding resolution urging the Postal Service to start an adopt-a-mailbox program that would allow residents to legally paint over graffiti as soon as it appears.
But the Postal Service isn't on board. Indeed, Kelley said that under no circumstances can residents legally paint Postal Service boxes.
Neighborhood leaders in Mt. Washington said they're not ready to toss their paint and brushes just yet.
"I'm sure this would catch on all around city," said J.T. Smith, president of the Mt. Washington Community Development Corp. "It's such an easy, simple and wonderful thing to do."
Smith said that when word spread about Fundy painting the relay box near her home, many other residents volunteered to paint boxes on their streets.
"People got excited," he said. "We had plenty of volunteers."
Now, "I've got to drive by this stupid graffiti every day," he said. "It's frustrating."
Chris Togneri can be reached at ctogneri@tribweb.com or 412-380-5632.
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