Vandals hit HPD substation

Sure, we've heard a lot about Houston's graffiti problem, but we don't remember hearing about a case of a police station getting tagged — until now. Early this morning, unknown people painted symbols and expletives on the walls of HPD's Neartown substation at 802 Westheimer.

The vandals — who also tagged a couple of squad cars parked at the station — struck sometime before 2 a.m., KHOU reports. Police said there was a spike in graffiti around Thanksgiving, and this case is probably part of a similar Christmas wave of incidents. Sure, some people chug eggnog and sing carols to celebrate the holiday, while others paint graffiti on things — different strokes, we guess.

Under a new city ordinance that took effect this week, HPD has 10 days to clean up the graffiti or it faces a $500 fine. But we have to wonder: If the department failed to clean up the mess and pay the fine, would it have to go after itself?