#258: Los Angeles is spending nearly $4 million to clean up and fence off the Oceanwide Towers after the three abandoned buildings were covered with graffiti. Some people are glad to see the graffiti go, but others say they like what the murals represent, arguing that their removal is a bad use of tax dollars.

Meanwhile, LAist reporting shows the company who owns the Oceanwide towers has been linked to bribery and money laundering investigations. With all this drama on our mind, we wanted to talk with someone with deep knowledge of LA's graffiti writing scene.

We meet up with Red Ortiz, a graffiti writer turned barber and film director. He'll tell us how painting illegal murals changed his life, and why he thinks graffiti is so important to LA's culture.

If you want to share your hot take, write to us at howtola(at)scpr.org

Music in this episode composed by Dexter Thomas

#258: Los Angeles is spending nearly $4 million to clean up and fence off the Oceanwide Towers after the three abandoned buildings were covered with graffiti. Some people are glad to see the graffiti go, but others say they like what the murals represent, arguing that their removal is a bad use of tax dollars.
Meanwhile, LAist reporting shows the company who owns the Oceanwide towers has <a href="https://laist.com/news/la-city-council-approves-3-8-million-of-city-funds-for-oceanwide-plaza-towers">been linked to bribery and money laundering investigations</a>. With all this drama on our mind, we wanted to talk with someone with deep knowledge of LA's graffiti writing scene.
We meet up with Red Ortiz, a graffiti writer turned barber and film director. He'll tell us how painting illegal murals changed his life, and why he thinks graffiti is so important to LA's culture.
If you want to share your hot take, write to us at howtola(at)scpr.org
Music in this episode composed by Dexter Thomas

How to L.A. aims to drop a little knowledge about ALL the things that affect the people of Los Angeles, whether that’s something that makes our city great (tacos!) or something that we need to work on, like the alarming number of traffic collisions. We serve the curious Angeleno who wants to better connect with our city, discover the new, navigate the confusing and even drive some change along the way. 

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live. This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

How to L.A. aims to drop a little knowledge about ALL the things that affect the people of Los Angeles, whether that’s something that makes our city great (tacos!) or something that we need to work on, like the alarming number of traffic collisions. We serve the curious Angeleno who wants to better connect with our city, discover the new, navigate the confusing and even drive some change along the way. 
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live. This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

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