proof the cops and government selectively enforce the messy yard laws. Original Article Paintbrush strokes stoke property owners' squabble Dan Shearer The Arizona Republic Nov. 12, 2005 12:00 AM MESA - Irene Pine and Nancy Stevens aren't happy with each other, but that's nothing new. The women have been engaged in a stare down that has lasted a decade. And things just got a little more colorful. Pine, 65, owns 27 apartment units in Mesa's Nuestro Neighborhood near Eighth Avenue and Country Club Drive. Stevens, also 65, owns four units on the same street. But that's about all they're going to agree on. Pine lives in one of her own apartments and insists Stevens' fourplex is unkempt. She routinely calls the city to report trash, loud music, graffiti and other infractions she terms "blight." Stevens, who lives in Chandler, says she's being harassed, and that her tenants tell her Pine routinely walks Stevens' property looking for code violations and other reasons to call the city. Well, Pine just gave her another one: Stevens is in the midst of painting her complex, which sits on a street of dusty brown buildings, a riot of bold, rich colors mindful of Mexican Talavera pottery and swirling Ballet Folklorico dresses. It gets better: A local artist is putting the finishing touches on two murals that take up the entire western wall. And that has left Pine wailing. "It is ghetto," Pine said of the new paint job. "It doesn't belong in a neighborhood. That has brought my property values down, along with the whole street. Artwork belongs someplace else." Stevens doesn't agree, but it's not like she asked Pine's opinion before hiring the painter. She freely admits that although she loves the neighborhood, the paint job is payback for 10 years of grief. "I did it to upset her, and it worked," Stevens said. "But the truth is, she was upset anyway. I think it's wonderful that she can walk out her door and see these murals." This is the second paint bomb Stevens has lobbed this year. On the Fourth of July, she painted the slats on her wooden fence red, white and blue. To put it mildly, the colorful building, patriotic fence and mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe stand out in the largely Latino neighborhood, but as far as city code goes, officials say there aren't any problems. "They are not in any violation," said Gina Carter, a neighborhood outreach coordinator. Hope Estrada, who can see the murals from the apartment where she has lived for eight years, said, "Whoever did it has a beautiful hand for art, but it's not appropriate. One side of the street looks very nice, it's well kept. The other side looks like trash."