Santa Ana : Anti-Graffiti Movie Wins Cable TV Award

A city-produced, 13-minute documentary designed to fight graffiti won an Award for Cable Excellence at a recent ceremony sponsored by the National Cable Television Assn.

Santa Ana spent about $150,000 last year on graffiti removal methods, including paying residents who paint over the offending messages and hiring a professional graffiti-removal firm, said city spokeswoman Laurie Cottrell. That figure also includes the cost of city workers who remove the scrawls from city parks.

The film, called “Write On,” is narrated by a Santa Ana youth who points out the expense of battling graffiti and the relationship between the spray-painted walls and youth gang activity. City cable TV channel employees produced the documentary, which is aimed primarily at fifth- and sixth-graders and is shown frequently in Santa Ana Unified School District schools.

The award, presented at the cable association’s convention in Dallas, was for children’s programming. City cable TV manager John Risk said presentation of the award will be aired at 11 p.m. May 18 on the city’s cable channel.