
Jim Menders now sees graffiti everywhere but he’s not so sure he appreciates the enlightenment. Menders is one of a few hundred people who will take to the streets on Feb. 7 to clean graffiti off streets, sidewalks, utility poles and dumpsters. The Pacific Beach Town Council’s Safe and Beautiful Committee is calling on volunteers to help out at its second annual graffiti day this Saturday. Taggers tend to come out en masse in the summer, according to Menders, who said once he started looking for graffiti he saw it everywhere, from fences to street signs. “It’s kind of disturbing to be enlightened in this way,” Menders said, who helps coordinate the graffiti cleanup. “I thought my neighborhood was relatively free of graffiti and then I found out it’s everywhere.” Last year families, children, activists, politicians and locals sprayed the graffiti with a solvent that quickly dissolves it, or painted over it with paint. This year, volunteers will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church, located at 1675 Garnet Ave. The committee will train volunteers from 8:30 to 9 a.m. and provide refreshments, and volunteers will then head out to clean until noon. Menders said volunteers will know how to clean graffiti next time they see it. “You look at it; you take a photo; you remove it,” Menders said, adding people should report the graffiti to the San Diego Police Department’s Graffiti Strike Force. “Don’t call the city [to remove it]. They can’t assist you.” RSVP for the graffiti day by emailing [email protected] or call (858) 483 6666.








