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■ ROSEVILLE ■ MOUNDS VIEW ■ SHOREVIEW ■ FALCON HEIGHTS ■ LITTLE CANADA ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS DISPATCH SaTiomette tmum t® on 6 cable porn ?; By Ann Baker Staff Writer In December, sexually explicit movies becam available over cable television in the northern suburb and Burnsville and Eagan. In April, the trend w' spread through Washington County. And local regula tory commissions are finding they have little authori ty to stop it. Last week, two commissions passed resolutions ask ing their local cable companies to halt the movies, bu no fines or franchise restrictions were threatened. "It expresses a personal objection," Roseville City Council member Robert Matson said of the resolutio he introduced asking Cable TV North Central to r move its pay -per -view "soft erotica" movies. The company serves 36 suburbs in Anoka, Ramsey and Washington counties, as well as Burnsville and Eagan in Dakota County. Matson added that he realized his resolution "doesn't have any teeth in it — it won't stop the com- pany." The request was a carefully drawn position by the 10-city North Suburban commission, reflecting the thin line cable commissions throughout the St. Paul area are trying to walk as they grapple with the intro- duction of movies that critics call pornography. i . A similar resolution was adopted 4-3 by the South Washington County Cable Commission against the Tuxedo Network, which Coaxial Cable Communica- tions Co. plans to start offering April 15 in most of Washington County. ' That resolution also stops short of imposing any penalities. So does a letter the Ramsey -Washington Cable Commission sent last month to Cable TV North Central, which serves White Bear Lake, Maplewood and Oakdale areas. No "adult movies" have been announced by the cable companies that serve St. Paul and most of Dako- ta County, although the movies are shown in Minneap olis and suburban Hennepin County. Cable TV North Central officials maintain that the movies are popular, more so than any of the individu- al movies and sports programs that subscribers pay $4.95 apiece to see. In January, viewers in the 10 north suburban cities watched 5,000 pay -per -view programs that included the "unrated, adult movies" on Channel 34. In March, they watched 2,600. Company officials said some viewers have complained that the movies aren't ex- plicit enough. In Washington County, Coaxial Cable's Tuxedo net- work will cost viewers a $10 installation fee plus $10.95 a month with no limit on the number of movies that r*ln hn Vann A lnnL%nfo . n.. nn rn