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~ -- - l':'J:::::,.Q) • • "Georgia's Station of the Year" P. 0 . Box 4207 Atlanta, Ga. 30302 waga-tv . H.WRAY GENERAL MANAG ER PAUL RAYMON STATION MA NAG ER DALE CLARK DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AF FAIRS ROUTE TO: _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ Friday, June 3, 1966 A Committee of conscientious citizens is pointing an accusing finger at two groups they say are hurt i ng Atlanta's fight against the spread of slums. That fight is important, and Channel 5 thinks the Committee story needs airing. We're talking about the Citizens Advisory Committee for Ur ban Renewal. In blunt language it says property owners in low-income areas of Atlanta are being swindled by contract ors and repairmen, mah y of them "the out of town or 'fly-by-night' variety." City i nspectors tell a res i den t he must make repairs to bring his house into compliance with the Housing Code . These unscrupu l ous repai r men move in then and take advantage of the situati on . In a letter- to the Fu lt on Coun ty Grand .Jur y, the Committee says " c ontracts are not be ing fu l f illed and substant i al sums of money (are being) ext r acted by tactics little, if any, short of swindling a" Since the au t ho rity of t he Ci ty is i nvolved--with the i nvoking of the City Hous i ng Code-- t he Commi tt ee thinks there is a du t y to provide t hese pr operty owners some p rot e ct i on . Channel 5 agrees o The Commit t ee sugges ts licens i ng o r r egis tra t i on of a l l r ep a ir contractors, a form of bondi ng , or some t y pe of required i nspect i on before th e home- owner pays o res ponsible tenants . bath tub i The other gr oup hur ting our battle against slums a r e irTh.ose who b reak windows~ damage walls and put coal in t he WAGA -TV offers a reasonab l e oppo r tunity to r eply to the v i ews expressed in the ed i tor i a l to a respons i b l e person or group rep_re sent i ng a si gn i f i cant oppos i ng v i ewpo i nt , prov i ded req u est for rep l y t i me i s subm i tted to WAGA -T V w i th i n one week of th i s telecast. �WAGA-TV Editorial Friday, June 3, 1966 ( Continued) Page 2 When a property owner brings a house into compliance with code standards, the Citizens Committee thinks tenants should be required to keep it in good condition. If they are gu i lty of wanton destruction, some think the tenant--not the owner--ought to be required to pay. The Citizens Committee is asking the Fulton County Grand Jury to go into both of these situations and recommend action. Channel 5 endorses that. But without waiting for lengthy investigations we think the City Aldermen could blow the whistle on swindlers and back up responsible property owners. We hope they will do that and keep the pressure on Atlanta's effort to clean up the slums we have and prevent the growth of new ones. WAGA-TV Editorial is pr esented weekdays: 7:25 a.m o 7: 10 p.m .. in EARLY PANORAMA 11 : 20 p .m. in LATE PANORAMA �