LAUNCH

Graffiti is such a nuisance in Oak Cliff that city councilman Delia Jasso has made addressing it, through education and graffiti wipeouts, one of her top priorities. It’s easy to see graffiti as a scourge that deserves severe penalties. But some artists see it as a cry for attention from creative young people who need an artistic outlet.

KEV IN OBRE GON, an Oak Cliff artist who co-owns the Cube Creative studio and gallery, is launching a mural project called Cliffwalls that aims to fight graffiti with art.

What’s the idea behind the Cliffwalls project?

Part of it has to do with community outreach in the schools. It entails bringing in graffiti artists and muralists as guest speakers. The graffiti artists come in and talk about what it’s like to be arrested and living in jail, but still seeking street credibility with the graffiti. They get to hear the bad parts of it, and then they get to hear from these graffiti artists who have changed their game plan to become professional artists.

And you’ll do murals in the schools?

Then some muralists in the Cliffwalls stable will be called on to help schools execute their own murals. The children get to work with and be mentored by professional and amateur muralists and artists, and they learn all the intricacies and math involved in putting up a mural. And they get to figure out how to manage a project like that. They get that sense of accomplishment, that sense of ownership. And then, should the mural get tagged or defaced, they get an emotional response to see what it’s like having your work defaced.

SO IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN MAKING MURALS, REALLY?

It’s not only executing murals; it’s a workshop opportunity, and kids get to formulate a dialog about what is good graffiti and what is bad graffiti. We’re artists, and we know that graffiti is a valid art form. When taggers see that there’s a way for them to express their artistic selves and they can become professional artists, it changes their outlook.

ARTISTS ARE GOING TO BE CREATING THEIR OWN MURALS ASWELL?

We have professional muralists putting up murals along our corridors. Since this is OakCliff-centered, the first corridor we’re working on is Seventh Street [between Bishop and Tyler]. They will be quality murals by quality artists from all over Dallas.

HOW ARE YOU GETTING PERMISSION TO PAINT THEM?

If you’re a building owner, you can pay for a mural and commission it according to your desires. Prices will be determined by size, detail, style and the artist who is selected. But generally, it might be $1 to $5 per square foot. If they want to donate their building, then we encourage that, but they won’t get to decide what the artist paints. They’ll have to live with the art that’s on there.

WHYDO YOU WANT BUILDING OWNERS TO PAY FOR THE MURALS?

Although they’re altruistic by nature, artists are asked to donate their artwork all the time and sacrifice their income. We want to be able to pay the artists stipends for their work. And then there are costs for storage and paint, touch-up kits and other supplies.

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THEY WILL PAY?

Building owners have to grin and bear what taggers do to their buildings. We have a mural on this building [at Tyler and Davis], and it’s been up for a long time, and it’s untouched. No one has so much as taken a marker to it. It takes a lot of gumption to write over someone else’s artwork like that. —RACHEL STONE

My street is VERY D A RK How would I go about getting a STREETLIGHT installed?

1. C all the city’s service request number, 311, and tell the operator that you are requesting a streetlight installed on your street.

2. After you make the request, a work order will be issued to the district engineer within your zip code. T he engineer will send you a petition request; eight signatures are needed from surrounding homeowners for your request to be considered. One stipulation of the installation process is that if you want a streetlight installed between two houses, you need the other homeowner’s consent and signature as well as your own. If you cannot get your neighbor to sign the petition, the streetlight will not be installed.

3. After signatures for the petition are obtained and given to the

Although there is no fee for installing a streetlight in your neighborhood, the installation process can be pretty timeconsuming. Here’s how it works: city, the petition is then sent to Oncor, the company responsible for the city’s streetlights and electricity. T he approval process may take up to 45 days to finalize, but once it receives an OK , your streetlight will immediately be installed.

4. By the way, to report a streetlight outage, call Oncor at 1.888.313.4747. Because Oncor owns all of the streetlights, the city is not involved in any repairs or maintenance, only in the initial installation request.

5. For more information, visit the Oncor website at oncor.com, or visit dallascityhall.com/services/transportation2.html and click on “ Street L ighting”. —ASHA GWIN

Strut Your Mutt

Almost 1,300 people and their dogs participated in this SPCA of Texas fundraiser last year. This year, the society has set a $160,000 fundraising goal. The money goes toward rescuing and caring for abused pets, providing low-cost clinic services and finding homes for animals. The 3k fun run and walk starts at 10:15 a.m. ($30 for registration), but the festivities, including a “bow-wow bazaar”, are from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The bazaar features vendor booths, activities for pets and kids, and the SPCA of Texas mobile adoptions unit. Awards and prizes will go to the top individual and corporate fundraisers. For every $100 participants raise, their names will be put into a drawing for prizes donated by Southwest Airlines, the Dallas Mavericks and other corporate sponsors. Fundraisers don’t have to walk or run to participate. The festivities take place at the SPCA’s headquarters, 2400 Lone Star. spca.org/strutyourmutt. —R AC HE L S TONE

Film Screening

FREE The Unitarian Universalist Church Oak Cliff is screening “Aristide and the Endless Revolution” at 7 p.m. It’s a film about the 2004 coup d’état in Haiti and the impoverished nation’s struggle with reform. 3839 W. Kiest, oakcliffuu.org, 214.337.2429.

MEDITATION RETREAT $60-

$140 Experienced meditation teachers will lead a daylong retreat focusing on meditation methods developed by author and teacher Eknath Easwaran. The retreat is from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at Kessler Park United Methodist Church, 1215 Turner Ave. Cost is on a sliding scale and includes a vegetarian lunch. easwaran.org/ retreats, 800.475.2369.

ART TALK $15 The Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts is bringing back its salon series this spring, and the March installation is “Impressionism Meets Photography”. Heather MacDonald will speak on the exhibition titled, “The Lens of Impressionism: Photography and Painting along the Normandy Coast, 1850-1874”, which will be on display at the Dallas Museum of Art through May 23. The talk is from 7:30-9 p.m. and includes snacks. Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont. 214.946.1670 or turnerhouse.org.

Seafood Done Right

I N A TO W N F ULL OF M E X I C AN J OINTS , Vera Cruz stands out. It’s not really Mexican food. Well, maybe some of it is, including enchiladas and quesadillas, but the restaurant incorporates flavors from all over Latin America. The menu includes a dish with marinated dark-meat chicken cooked in a banana leaf. There is a “desert soup” that includes cactus, squash, beans, hominy, corn, chiles and tomatoes. People rave about the mole there, and Vera Cruz serves steak six ways. But let’s talk about the fish. Almond-encrusted tilapia is delicate and crispy. Oysters can be ordered the same way, and they are fried perfectly, hot and moist inside and tasting slightly of the sea. They’re light — not greasy — and are served with a spicy cream sauce. One of the most mammoth dishes Vera Cruz serves is “pescado xanath”, a whitefish fillet stuffed with shrimp and crab. It’s served with two cheese enchiladas.

—RACHEL STONE

VERA C R U Z

BISHOP & EIGHTH

214.948.4746

CAF EVERA C R U ZDA LL AS. C OM

Pictured: Almond encrusted oysters