Article: Mount Pleasant's Great Divide; Newcomers Pushing For 'Zero Tolerance'

When Jack McKay bought his house in Mount Pleasant 30 years ago, he wagered $22,000 that the drug dealers skulking outside his home would not present too serious a threat and that the neighborhood would remain the kind of edgy, diverse place he loves.

The 61-year-old retired physicist endured the crack cocaine wars of the 1980s, the 1991 Mount Pleasant riot, a series of automobile break-ins and the drug dealers who never left. He said crime is down dramatically since those first years, and his investment is now worth $600,000.

"It's come a long way, and Mount Pleasant is still a wonderful place to live," he said.

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