Three steps forward, two steps back in Corryville.

        Wednesday's shooting in the 200 block of Donahue Avenue at a suspected drug house provided more evidence that progress is difficult in this neighborhood on the border of the University of Cincinnati campus.

        Residents, employers and business owners dedicated to improving the neighborhood — home to a popular business district and many UC students — said Thursday they often feel like they just can't win.

The house on the left on Donahue Avenue is where Adam Wheeler, 21, died Wednesday night in a confrontation with Cincinnati police. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        “It's certainly fair to say this business district has struggled,” said Pete Mello, a board member of the University Village Business Association. But, “the vast majority of people feel safe.”

        Some worry that the public's perception of Corryville's safety will dive after the shooting.

        “These events happen in a lot of places, but we don't hear about it,” said Janine Walz, owner of Sudsy Malone's, a Laundromat and concert hall. “It happens everywhere. It just hits the press sooner when it's in Corryville.”

        Statistics support their contention that Corryville — with its major thoroughfares and mix of nicely kept homes next to decrepit ones — is not necessarily becoming more dangerous.

        In 2000, Cincinnati police officers received 6,154 calls about suspicious happenings in the neighborhood. That number is less than 6 percent more than in 1997.

        Last year there were 54 robberies, 95 burglaries, eight rapes, 438 larcenies and 33 autos stolen in Corryville. Drug arrest statistics were not available Thursday.

        A murder has not been reported there since 1997.

        On Thursday morning, the only sign of crime along Short Vine Street, home to Bogart's and other clubs, was a shattered window at a restaurant.

        Yet Jenn McGinnis, a piercer at Uptown Tattoo, has noticed an increase in shootings, bar fights and, in the summer, aggression on the streets.

        She didn't know anything about the Wednesday night shooting, in which a 21-year-old man was killed and a police officer injured during a drug investigation.

        When she heard about it, “I thought it was some frat boy or some dumb punk that wanted to sell drugs or just a violent misunderstanding,” she said.

        The shooting didn't stop James Watson from frequenting one of his favorite Corryville haunts — Hammerhead Coffee Cafe Inc. Mr. Watson, 38, is enrolled in UC's graduate business program.

        “It's always best to wait and see,” he said. “It's sad, though, that someone did die. Not because it's close, but that it just happened.”
       

Carrie's relatives win $3.75M award
Delta was dismal in December
Gen X politicians push for change
Tip led police to house where wanted man died
Corryville fighting negative image
RADEL: Police shooting
Workers suspended in abuse case
Hamilton cleans up its act
Third area school in shutdown; too many out sick
Bill aimed at telemarketing loopholes
CG&E bills add details this month
Chili cooks all fired up
County tax increase advised
Embezzler's husband indicted on new charges
Fairfield operating levy on ballot
Fired Villa Hills workers not getting unemployment aid
Hearing on light rail along I-71 corridor finds support
Judge OKs settlement over corneas removed at morgue
Kentucky's Medicaid budget said to be in critical condition
Lebanon may buy land atop aquifer
Lebanon ponders project
Mason judge to step down after 5 terms
Now, 'A' is for all-year schooling
Parents' godsend closes
Professor hospitalized after rescue from cave
Senator armed for 2002 challenge
Study trumpets benefits of light rail
Tristaters hurrying to aid quake victims
UK business school looking at new location
Kentucky News Briefs
Tristate A.M. Report