Here's the text transcript from the WCCO broadcast available on their web.
http://wcco.com/education/local_story_300010910.html
Justin Eibenholzl
Armatage
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Oct 27, 2005 11:19 am US/Central
Residents Want Action In 'Como Crisis'
Darcy Pohland
Reporting
(WCCO) Minneapolis The bloom has faded off the rose in the Como Neighborhood
in Minneapolis, but Charlotte Wild and others refuse to let it die.
"This neighborhood's ready to flip and we don't want it to go over the
edge," the homeowner said. "We're fed up, we're tired of it and we want to
save our neighborhood."
In the past five years residents said this neighborhood --- about a mile
north of the University of Minnesota campus -- has declined dramatically.
Wild said party houses have popped up like weeds around her garden-filled
yard.
"It's more than just the students," she said. "Kids are coming from the
outskirts. They come to this neighborhood to get a cheap, fast binge drunk."
Often, they cause more than a nuisance, she said.
"We're seeing crime -- physical crime, guns, people being beat up with
baseball bats and home invasion," Wild said.
Residents said the minute a home in the area goes up for sale, it's quickly
snatched up by an absentee landlord who only cares about making a quick
buck. Residents said they then fill the rental homes with as many young
people as they can.
Students who try to respect their neighbors understand homeowner's
frustration.
"Some kids just don't care if they're not from the area," said 'U' sophomore
John Germscheid. "They don't really care if they leave people's houses a
mess."
Fed up residents brought their fight to City Hall on Wednesday and the mayor
and police chief got an earful.
"Basically, we're all at the end of our ropes," one resident said.
Police Chief William McManus responded, "To me, it's a big deal. Livability
crimes are a big deal."
But residents like Wild want more than just lip service.
"We want to see results," Wild said. "We want to see some bite in the
teeth."
At Wednesday's meeting, the mayor and police chief agreed to take immediate
action to fix the crisis in the Como Neighborhood.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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