MEETINGS

Maurice Kennedy's death, and problems in West Price Hill, will be discussed at four meetings this week: Monday: City Council's finance committee, City Hall, 1 p.m. Tuesday: City Council's law committee, City Hall, 1 p.m.; Price Hill Community Council, St. William Church undercroft, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday: Residents plan to pack City Council Chambers for the weekly 2 p.m. meeting.

Kennedy, 17 and a senior at Elder High School, was gunned down in front of the school along Glenway Avenue on Sept. 26.

"I didn't know him at all," Couch said. "But I'm a resident of Price Hill and it happened just blocks from my house. It just hit really close to home."

The shooting has galvanized the community. There have been two walks in two weeks to bring attention to crime along Glenway Avenue, one of the West Side's busiest roadways. And at least four meetings are scheduled next week - along with another Oct. 21 - at which city officials and residents are expected to discuss the recent spate of shootings. Another teenager was shot, but not fatally, Friday night about a half block from where Kennedy was killed.

Residents and people who travel the stretch of Glenway where Kennedy was killed report a gradual change in the scenery in recent years - more groups of teenagers hanging out in front of businesses, more litter, more vacant storefronts. District 3 Police Capt. Drew Raabe has tried for more than a year to curb the teens' hangouts by regular roundups of curfew violators.

But much of what residents are complaining about isn't reflected in crime statistics. Between 2002 and last year, reports of serious crime in West Price Hill dropped by more than 10 percent.

Serious crime includes murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft.

"This is a good, solid, middle-class neighborhood,'' said Pete Witte, president of the Price Hill Civic Club who owns a business across the street from where Kennedy was shot. "We're just trying to be us. We need to count.''

Demographics in the neighborhood have changed, too. Between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the home-ownership rate dropped from 48.7 percent to 45.4 percent, the number of vacant homes jumped 36 percent to 949, and the number of federally subsidized housing vouchers soared 176 percent, to 149. At the same time, however, the population decreased by 13 percent.

Four people were arrested Friday in connection with Kennedy's death. Police say 22-year-old Bernard Reidwas the triggerman. Three juveniles also have been charged with tampering with evidence or obstructing official business. One of the juveniles also has been charged with intimidation of a witness/crime victim.

Reid's 25-year-old sister said Friday night her brother was in a crowd of people when Kennedy was shot, but that he didn't do the shooting. She wasn't sure if her brother knew Kennedy, but said he is not capable of murder. Reid also was charged with felonious assault for allegedly shooting another man, Cameron Watson, in the crowd that night. Watson survived. "He just got out of jail but wanted to change his life and everything," she said. "He had so many plans. My heart goes out to the Kennedy family, but my brother did not do this. I hope they catch the right person."

Police say they already have. Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher credited citizens with coming forward and providing enough information to his detectives to make the arrests.

"My whole life has been in Price Hill,'' said Councilman John Cranley, who grew up in the neighborhood and bought a house there last year.

"There's an energy now. It's worth fighting for.''

E-mail dklepal@enquirer.com