Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe LOS ANGELES, April 7 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles woman said she had a team of young artists paint over the mural they created on a bare wall beside her house after she was fined by the city. Barbara Black, a retired studio costume illustrator, said she had the artists create the 75-foot-long mural last month to brighten the alley next to her home, but she had them paint over it Wednesday after she was fined $360 by the city Department of Building and Safety and threatened with additional fines totaling $1,925, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. Advertisement Inspectors from the Department of Building and Safety said a single word included in the mural, "like," made it into an illegal sign. Black said she had the artists paint over the offending portion, but the inspectors then labeled it an illegal mural and threatened further fines if it was not removed. Black said the fine was paid by a donation from her church. She said the white paint for the cover-up operation was donated by Home Depot.
