From the LA Times

Protest Done Up in Polka Dots
             Georgia contractor hopes his paint job connects with city
preservation commission.

           By Rennie Sloan, Times Staff Writer

           AVONDALE ESTATES, Ga. — Stan Pike
           wanted to build a round front stoop on a home
           he owns in this small city seven miles east of
           Atlanta. But the local Historic Preservation
           Commission rejected his plans earlier this
           month, saying they were "atypical" and out of
           sync with the rest of the houses on the street.

           Pike's response came the next day, in
           extremely colorful terms.

           To protest what he felt was an arbitrary
           decision, he painted the formerly off-white
           house lime green, festooning it with large
           purple polka dots. And he threatened to leave
           the garish motif up for a year if the commission did not
           reconsider its decision.