Box 1, Folder 1, Document 22

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“Georgia's Station of the Year” P.O. Box 4207 Atlanta, Ga. 30302
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COPYRIGHT, STORER BROADCASTING COMPANY 1966



PAUL RAYMON DALE CLARK

STATION MANAGER DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

H.W. RAY
GENERAL MANAGER

ROUTE TO:

Friday, June 3, 1966

A Committee of conscientious citizens is pointing an
accusing finger at two groups they say are hurting Atlanta's fight against the
spread of slums.

That fight is important, and Channel 5 thinks the Com-
mittee story needs airing.

We're talking about the Citizens Advisory Committee for
Urban Renewal. In blunt language it says property owners in low-income areas of
Atianta are being swindled by contractors and repairmen, many of them "the out of
town or ‘fly-by-night’ variety."

City inspectors tell a resident he must make repairs to
bring his house into compliance with the Housing Code. These unscrupulous repair
men move in then and take advantage of the situation.

In a letter to the Fulton County Grand Jury, the Committee
says "contracts are not being fulfiiled and substantial sums of money {are being)
extracted by tactics little, if any, short of swindling."

Since the authority of the City is involved--with the in-
voking of the City Housing Code--the Committee thinks there is a duty to provide
these property owners some protection. Channel 5 agrees.

The Committee suggests licensing or registration of all
repair contractors, a form of bonding, or some type of required inspection before
the home-owner pays.

The other group hurting our battle against siums are ir-
responsible tenants. Those who break windows, damage walls and put coal in the
bath tub!

WAGA-TV offers a reasonable opportunity to reply to the views expre ssed in the editorial to a responsible person or group repre-

senting a significant opposing viewpoint, provided request for reply time is submitted to WAGA-TV within one week of this telecast.






WAGA-TV Editorial (Continued)
Friday, June 3, 1966

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 guilty 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 presented weekdays:

7:25 a.m.

7:10 p.m. in EARLY PANORAMA
11:20 p.m. in LATE PANORAMA


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