Chattarati, Chattanooga news and opinion

The Chattanooga Politico, July 18

David Morton — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:30:06 +0000

Weekly review of political stories in Chattanooga and beyond.

Without fear or favor

The City Council voted 9-0 to uphold an existing ban on guns in city parks this week. Following the vote, someone asked me what I thought of the decision. I replied, “Before today, you couldn’t legally carry firearms in city parks. After today, you won’t be able to legally carry firearms in city parks.”

Consider yourself served

On July 21, City Attorney Mike McMahan and Public Works Administrator Steve Leach will explain the process of annexation to council members during the Legal and Legislative Committee meeting. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in the J.B. Collins Conference Room, following the weekly agenda session at 3 p.m.

Despite some rumors to the contrary, no parts of the county have been annexed into the city limits this year. Nor has the RPA made any decisions—that I’m aware of—on this issue. The city attorney said Tuesday’s meeting is not related to any specific area, and will deal primarily with the legal process involved.

The television adds 10 pounds

Rep. Wamp criticized Rachel Maddow this week for basically quoting him via a Knoxville News Sentinel article about C Street on national television. Maddow responded to Wamp on her show:

If I have said something untrue on this program, I am quite literally, not kidding, more than happy to correct it it. But Congressman Wamp, if you say something to your hometown paper that sounds bad when it’s repeated on national television, don’t blame the person reading the quote back to you for how creepy that quote makes you sound.

All in all, I didn’t think the original quote was that creepy, but the fact that Wamp went after MSNBC—thus putting his statement under further scrutiny—instead of getting the newspaper to print a retraction is kind of absurd.

Suddenly, everything has changed

One year ago, Volkswagen announced that it would build its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Chattanooga. Since then, the German automaker has awarded $436 million to local contractors for the plant’s construction, according to the Times Free Press.

In addition to the plant’s ongoing economic impact, the announcement continues to play a major role in local politics as well. ‘Annexation’ and ‘metro government’ were both revived—in part—under the banner of Volkswagen, and there have only been a few public meetings where the company wasn’t alluded to at least once. All this in just one year.

If one thing was made certain by the announcement, it’s that Chattanooga will be a very different place 4 years from now. Some changes will be good. Some will not. But I believe, or at least hope, that our current trajectory is moving Chattanooga forward in a positive way. And the presence of a large and sustainable industrial base is a key component towards that end.

Chattanooga Stand is Evolving and ‘Picking Up Steam’

John Hawbaker — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:00:27 +0000

Chattanooga FC games, Nightfall, Movies in the Park, and JJ’s Bohemia are just a few of the places you may have seen Chattanooga Stand volunteers in yellow t-shirts, collecting surveys from local residents. As the campaign wraps up its eleventh week, coordinator Sarah Lester answered questions about the campaign’s evolving strategy, what they have learned so far, and whether they are on track to collect 25,000 surveys by August 31.

According to the field strategy guide, campaign organizers are pursuing four primary angles:

Top-Down : reaching large and diverse groups of people through small portals

Bottom-Up: supporting established networks and equipping connectors

Events: a yellow t-shirt and an easy ask, turning canvassing into conversations

Neighborhoods: haven’t seen Stand yet? on the ground, coming your way

Ms. Lester characterized the strategy: “Find people. Create time and space for them to respond. Equip others. Do what works today, try something new tomorrow. Change strategy often.”

Political organizers assist field team

The initial strategy was fleshed out and imparted to Stand’s field team with the assistance of Justin Wilkins, Elizabeth Crews, and Adam Green, each of whom has served as grassroots volunteers in local and national politics, including the 2008 Obama campaign. Mr. Wilkins was involved in early planning for the initiative, providing insight towards “building a team around an aggressive goal,” according to Ms. Lester. Ms. Crews assisted with the transition from the research phase to the initial implementation. Mr. Green assisted with the “nuts and bolts of field strategy” and plans for geographic targeting.

“They taught us the importance of engaging others, of sharing (letting go of) ownership of the campaign, and making the tools readily available to others,” Ms. Lester said. “Since launch, they’ve made themselves available to answer questions about engaging volunteers, managing a database of volunteer information, how to motivate people, and exploring a ‘house party’ model of engagement. Motivating people to act—even if just responding to a survey—is a very rewarding challenge.”

Lessons from the field

The campaign’s biggest success came from canvassing large public events, such as Movies in the Park, where they offered Clumpie’s coupons for free ice cream cones to anyone who completes the survey. Volunteers also canvassed Chattanooga FC games, Nightfall, and a Stand party at JJ’s Bohemia. The initiative led them to neighborhood meetings and events, churches, and businesses. Ms. Lester called a recent event at The Bethlehem Center as a “glowing success,” but not only because of the number of surveys collected.

“Everyone in that loud, colorful gymnasium left knowing their voices were heard, seeing more in common with those around the table than when they arrived. This is the beauty and power of community,” she said.

Not every tactic was as effective as anticipated. Neighborhood associations presented a challenge early on. “Response from neighborhood association meetings has been varied, given different levels of neighborhood participation and methods of communication,” Ms. Lester said. “We’ve found more success reaching out through community events, having a Stand presence at gatherings already taking place in the neighborhoods.”

The organization is restructuring its presentations to accommodate a call to action. “We’ve learned that presentations to neighborhood associations, churches and workplaces are less effective when people don’t have the time to respond immediately. Now, we make an effort now to build time in to our presentations to answer the survey,” she said.

Behind schedule, but ‘picking up steam’

As of July 13, Stand collected 9,539 surveys: 1,929 submitted online, 7,608 collected in person, and 2 by telephone. Ms. Lester said that Stand is “gaining momentum” with 1,433 surveys collected in just four days between June 9—12. According to the timeline published in Stand’s field strategy guide, organizers originally hoped to reach 16,250 surveys at the end of this week.

“Sure, we may not have 16,000 today, and you could choose to interpret this as being behind goal, but Chattanooga’s participation is an astounding success. We are raising the bar across the country—even the world—for community visioning efforts of this kind, which use surveys rather than nominal group participation by a show of hands or head count,” Ms. Lester said.

Citing participation statistics for similar campaigns in Calgary, which collected 18,000 responses in 12 months, and Portland, with 17,000 responses in 24 months, Ms. Lester said that the numbers “speak for themselves.” Based on the current tally, she said 5.70% of Chattanooga city residents have participated, compared with 1.88% in Calgary and 2.99% in Portland.

Ms. Lester said, “A plan is pretty on paper, but taking it to the streets is the only way to measure its effectiveness. Developed at the outset of the campaign, the field strategy and timeline are not up to date to reflect the many routes that have brought us to this point. Rather than documenting each step we took, we’ve taken another step forward, taken note, changed course, and moved forward again.”

“Our goal remains 25,000 by August 31, and we are steadily making progress,” she said. “We’re picking up steam, momentum is building, and I expect to see a continued and rapid climb in the numbers in the weeks to come.”

Daniel Ryan Joins Chattarati as Technology Director

John Hawbaker — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:31:05 +0000

From campaign cash maps to organizing the local Twitterverse to live event coverage, Chattarati embraces technologies that encourage conversation and deliver value to our readers. Leveraging technology is in our DNA, but unfortunately, we do not always have the technical means to implement certain kinds of projects.

We decided that that needed to change. We wanted a partner to build on our successes and ensure that we can rapidly adapt to future demands. So, we are pleased to welcome Daniel Ryan as Chattarati’s Technology Director.

Daniel is a highly respected web developer and front-end engineer with a broad skill set—ranging from user experience design to developing custom web applications with Django. We recently partnered with him for our live coverage of the mayor’s State of the City address. Daniel built a custom front-end integrating video, live blogging, and social media reactions, as well as the back-end application to power the project. He did all of this in a matter of days. Needless to say, we were impressed.

For the last month, we have pitched different web projects to Daniel—ways we want to see Chattarati grow and evolve. In every instance, he has not only embraced our ideas; he has helped us understand how to make them stronger from a developer’s standpoint.

We are confident that Daniel is the right person to help us innovate, and we look forward to seeing his contributions shape the future of Chattarati.

VW Impact, Year One

Chattarati Staff — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:46:06 +0000

Mike Pare:

Volkswagen has awarded nearly $436 million in contracts to Tennessee and Chattanooga area firms so far, the automaker said today.

Marking one year since the car maker named Chattanooga as the site of its new auto assembly plant, VW said the contract amount includes almost $198 million awarded by the city, state and VW to contractors and subcontractors for plant construction.

Council Maintains Guns in Parks Ban

David Morton — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:16:23 +0000

35 residents gathered in the council chamber Tuesday for the Chattanooga City Council’s deliberation to uphold an existing ban on guns in city parks. The new resolution was drafted in compliance with H.B. 716, a General Assembly bill that lifts the statewide ban on guns in parks. The state bill includes an ‘opt-out’ clause for municipal governments wishing to make their own determination on the issue.

The council’s new resolution concludes a month-long debate about the role of firearms in public spaces. The council, having voiced support for the ban on June 16, upheld its existing position by a 9-0 vote in favor of the new law.

Prior to the vote, two military veterans voiced concerns about the ban, as well as a stigma of concealed carry permit holders characterized as “wild west gunmen.”

“There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about the people who carry permits. A lot of people think that we’re wild west gunmen and many things like that.” said William Catoe, an East Brainerd resident.

“Many of us are actually, very well trained,” he said. “And many of the permit holders that I know, or likewise trained, they’re hunters. They’re former law enforcement. They’re former military. They have extensive skills to where—God forbid the need arise—force be used to stop a situation.”

Councilman Peter Murphy responded by saying that one of his brothers has a concealed carry permit. “I’d like to say that I’ve heard some things bandied about—both in the record and my committee, that I felt were disparaging—of people with concealed carry permits…inappropriately so. By all accounts and statistics, they are very fine citizens: upstanding and law abiding.”

Will Sturtevant, a veteran living in Red Bank, argued that the ban would make parks less safe for law-abiding citizens. He said, “One of the main or the basic aspect of physical security is the presence of a deterrent. And by not allowing guns in parks, in a way, you’re letting the bad guys know that there’s no one out there to meet up with them.”

“Carrying a gun is not something I take lightly. It weighs heavy on me. I have mixed feelings about it myself. But what I would like is the choice. That’s all I ask for.” he said.

Mr. Murphy cited conversations with law enforcement officials, as well as his experiences as an attorney, for his position on the resolution. He also said that interpreting the Second Amendment is sometimes “a question of where the line is drawn.”

“I think everybody in here would agree that those who go to visit a jail should not be allowed to carry a firearm in. Police officers are not allowed to. And so if you agree that you should not be allowed to go into a jail with a firearm, then we are all not truly Second Amendment absolutists. It’s merely a question of where the line is drawn,” he said.

“In this case, I don’t believe that most of the municipal parks, certainly in my district, are appropriate places for a firearm being carried by anyone.” he said.

Councilwoman Carol Berz pointed out that the safety record in city parks—alluded to earlier by Mr. Catoe—was accomplished under the auspices of the existing law. “If we vote for this, then we’re in effect not changing the law as it exists now. Correct?” Ms. Berz questioned Mr. Catoe, “And I have to assume that you haven’t been carrying arms—”

“No ma’am, I’m a law-abiding citizen,” Mr. Catoe replied, “I guess you would be changing the law in that the state has come through and said that it is allowed, subject to the proceedings here from the individual cities. So I guess in effect, you would be changing the law.”

Council Chair Jack Benson recalled one instance in the 1980’s when Harry Wilcox, a park policeman, was killed by his own gun in a city park.

“He went in to clean out the restrooms one evening, and they took his gun away from him, and blew his brains out. But that was a policeman carrying a gun. But we’ve had no instances that I know of other than that,” Mr. Benson said, “and we’ve had a law, like you said, for ages, prohibiting guns. But we did let the policemen carry one in.”

Councilman Manny Rico said that he has heard from several residents on this issue. Some citizens assert that a gun is needed to protect they’re families when in public. “I’m not taking my family anywhere I think I might need a gun to protect them,” Mr. Rico said.

“We’re not trying to take anybody’s Second Amendment right,” he continued, “this is a public safety thing for our people and our parks. And I think we’re doing the right thing.”

With the resolution passed, Parks and Recreation Director Larry Zehnder said that his department will begin posting new signs that emphasize the law in city parks.

Statement from Sergeant Jerri Weary on Recent Shootings

Chattarati Staff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:28:08 +0000

Sergeant Jerri Weary, Public Information Officer for the Chattanooga Police Department, released the following statement in response to questions about recent shootings in Chattanooga.

In response to several questions about the recent shootings, the following stats are being released.

For the month of June, 2009, there have been 9 reported shooting incidents worked by our Major Crimes Division. In comparing the number of shootings from this year to last year, the number is the same, 38. Violent crime from 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 has declined. We are currently down 8% from last year.

There are shooting cases that are open and have not resulted in an arrest to date however, the cases are still being pursued and as a whole, are pending test results from evidence gathered during the investigation. On the other hand, some cases have not produced leads for arrests.

The Chattanooga Police Department recognizes the issue of violent crime in the community and has actively taken steps to combat the issues by use of the Crime Suppression, Vice and Narcotics Units. These units supplement the efforts of patrol in identifying suspects, and making arrests where applicable. Additionally, we work in conjunction with other local agencies and federal authorities in our area to identify, locate and arrest those persons involved in criminal activity.

The investigative and judicial process is often a lengthy one. The end result of many investigations goes un-noticed because of the amount of time that has to be invested in dealing with a case. As law enforcers, the Chattanooga Police Department is there to arrest individuals that violate the laws and ordinances of this jurisdiction as well as work proactively in preventing events from occurring.

With the help of citizens of our community in taking a proactive approach in dealing with crime and addressing issues that fuel deviant behavior and violent crime, we can decrease the number of incidences of violence.

Justify Your Existence: La Paz de Dios

John Hawbaker — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:50:29 +0000

Justify Your Existence is a recurring series where Chattarati interviews local nonprofit organizations. This week, Stacy Johnson, Executive Director of the La Paz de Dios, answered our questions about the mission of La Paz, how they measure success, and how Chattanooga’s Latino population to change in the coming years.

Chattarati: What is your mission?

Stacy Johnson: The mission of La Paz is to empower Chattanooga’s Latino population to become engaged community members through advocacy, celebration, education, and inclusion.

Chattarati: Who serves on your board of directors, and who leads the organization on a day to day basis?

Johnson: Board of Directors: David Ortiz, Board Chair; Austin Jett, Vice Chair; Kasey Poole Decosimo, Secretary; Ed Canler, past Board Chair; Liza Blair; Naira Cancel; Rebbeca Cruz; David Elliott; Rachel Jones; Andrae McGary;

Honorary Board: Rev. Lou Garcia (adding a few new members this month!)

Staff: Stacy Johnson, Executive Director; Melody Bonilla, Client Services; Laurie Cook, Development & Communications; Adriana Pasqual, Promotores de Salud; Sylvia Rangel, Promotores de Salud; Anne Shelton, Volunteer Coordinator.

Chattarati: Where do you get your funding and what is your annual budget?

Johnson: We receive funding through grants, special events, corporate support, individuals, and churches. La Paz is funded in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the Lyndhurst Foundation, and the State of Tennessee Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination. Our annual budget is approximately $168,000.

Chattarati: How do you measure success?

Johnson: La Paz is a fairly new organization. Until recently, we have operated with a small working board and a one-person office. Last year, the primary goals of the board were to hire a director, create a marketing/development plan, and increase donor participation as well as community partnerships. We did this and more! Last year (fiscal year july-june) was a big success for La Paz.

We set specific goals and objectives each year that directly align with our mission. We enter all client data into a client database and measure the amount of services and referrals given to each. We have number goals for the amount of services given, partners gained, and contacts added. We also use surveys to evaluate knowledge gained and self-efficacy. The La Paz Board evaluates programs, marketing/development plan and financials at board meetings, and/or at an annual retreat and monitors progress throughout the year.

The goal of La Paz is for everyone in Chattanooga to welcome our Latino neighbors as a valued part of our city. The more people that know about La Paz, the Latino community and the culture, the better we serve our clientele.

Chattarati: What were your biggest successes–and failures–in the last year?

Johnson: Last year (July – June) was a great one for La Paz! We received a 3 year grant from the state which kick-started our success. With this grant, we were able to start our promotores de salud program (promoters of health). We managed to find a wonderful group of passionate women to work for our cause and continued to bring in funding to serve our clients. We hosted our first ever Sangria on the Southside and our 5th annual Feria Hispana; both events a tremendous success.

I don’t believe we’ve had failures…frustrations, maybe. Building a strong board and engaging passionate people for our cause is a difficult challenge. The biggest frustration comes from the fact that we have grown tremendously in a very short time. This is, of course, wonderful, but also challenging. Seeing and understanding the changing needs of the Latino community and envisioning La Paz’s role in meeting those needs, we find that we just can’t do it all! So failure no, frustration maybe, but the push we need to continue our mission with focus and passion.

Chattarati: Why should people care about your organization?

Johnson: The Latino population contributes to the city economically, socially, and culturally. La Paz works to engage our Latino neighbors into city life and becoming stakeholders in our community thus affecting every member of Chattanooga.

Chattarati: What would Chattanooga do without you?

Johnson: Without La Paz, the Latino community would be largely left out of the awareness, consideration, and opportunities of the Chattanooga community at-large. And if further isolated, the effects will continue to be felt by both the Latino and non-Latino communities, creating cultural barriers, misunderstandings, and many other community problems. La Paz is the voice and advocate on behalf of the Latino community, thus bridging the gap of differences into a more unified Chattanooga.

Chattarati: How do you anticipate the Latino population in Chattanooga will change over the next few years and how might it change Chattanooga?

Johnson: The population will become less transient. We will see more Latino professionals and more Latino-owned businesses, serving both Latinos and the rest of the community.

Chattarati: What are the unique challenges facing the Latino population in Chattanooga and how is La Paz addressing those challenges?

Johnson: The majority of this population lives in poverty. They have limited education, familiarity with city resources, and English language skills. La Paz is helping address those challenges by connecting them to healthcare, educational, financial, professional and other resources. We are identifying leaders within the Latino community and providing opportunities to further develop the skills needed to become influential and engaged members within their own community and at large.

Chattarati: How will the new VIVA Chattanooga program increase engagement between the Latino population and the Chattanooga community at large?

Johnson: “VIVA Chattanooga” encourages Chattanooga’s Latinos to become engaged community members by visiting organizations/businesses that typically fall beyond their cultural boundaries and comfort levels. Examples include, but are not limited to local banks (open a bank account), public library (apply for a library card and check out books), parks, restaurants, stores and museums. VIVA is La Paz’s way to lead the Latino community to Chattanooga and it’s abundance of art, culture and experience. Our Latino population is at many times, separated from the community as a whole and this is a way to “give them the push they need” to become engaged community members.

Editor’s note: La Paz de Dios was the featured nonprofit in Chattarati’s First Friday Five fundraiser in March.

The Chattanooga Politico, July 11

David Morton — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:30:59 +0000

Weekly review of political stories in Chattanooga and beyond.

Is the glass 3/5 full or 2/5 empty?

A year-long debate to establish an Audit Committee is coming to a close.

This week, the City Council appointed 3 members to the committee under an amendment to the City Code. The five-member panel will meet quarterly to review and monitor the work of City Council Auditor Randy Burns and the mayor’s Internal Auditor Division, headed by Stan Sewell. The panel will report “problems or problem areas” to the City Council, according to Ordinance No. 12250. The council still has 2 remaining appointments to make, which will require a majority vote.

Aside: Randy Burns probably has the messiest office in City Hall.

3rd District Spin

Joe Lance commented last week that the open seat in Zach Wamp’s district “may draw a little more of a bona fide campaign” from a Democratic challenger. He argues that local Democrats “did very little to help” Wamp’s challengers in previous elections.

Rep. Wamp was, and is, a popular Congressman. So I see Joe’s point in that the Hamilton County Democratic Party didn’t bring all its guns to the table when a loss was all but certain in past contests. Still, the party needs to step up its game both locally and in the state if it wants to be competitive next year.

Fire your advisers

Two Friday’s ago, I was confounded by Sarah Palin’s decision to step down as Alaska’s governor one year before her term ended. In the face of widespread speculation, the Anchorage Daily News confirmed that neither she or her husband is under federal investigation:

“We are not investigating her,” FBI spokesman Eric Gonzalez said on Sunday. “Normally we don’t confirm or deny those kind of allegations out there, but by not doing so it just casts her in a very bad light. There is just no truth to those rumors out there in the blogosphere.”

(In all fairness, it really did seem like the most plausible theory unless you’re Andrew Sullivan.)

Regardless of your take on Palin’s 2012 candidacy, this move isn’t smart from a political standpoint. The go-to narrative from any primary challenger will be: she couldn’t handle the national stage when she was a governor, how can she handle it in the White House?

And yes, I’m intentionally baiting my old arch-nemesis, Adrienne Royer. Enjoy the Beltway.

City Council Debates Recycling Advocate on Orange Grove Contract

David Morton — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:50:16 +0000

Criticism from Frank DePinto about the Orange Grove Center drew sharp responses from Councilman Peter Murphy and City Attorney Mike McMahan on Tuesday, and led another council member—Manny Rico—to walk out of the chamber.

Mr. DePinto charged that the city’s contract with the Orange Grove Center constituted a $50,000 misappropriation of taxpayer funds in 2007. He said that Orange Grove has become a “black hole of funds, and also process, and of bookkeeping.”

Citing the fluctuating cost of recyclable materials compared to the requirements contract made with the sorting facility, Mr. DePinto said, “What this has wound up to be is a misappropriation by the City Council in a contract that the city attorney has made.”

The Orange Grove Center has sorted and processed the city’s recyclable waste stream since May 1992, when the City of Chattanooga began a pilot curbside collection project. Construction of the Orange Grove facility was completed in January 1994, according to Tera Roberts, Director of Day Services at the Orange Grove Center.

The facility is staffed by developmentally disabled youth, and is located in District 9, represented by Mr. Murphy. He said that the Orange Grove Center provides “an excellent service” to the community.

“The city would be perfectly within its rights to make an appropriation to Orange Grove to support vocational services for those people in an amount identical to or exceeding the amount that they sell those products for,” he said.

In response to Mr. DePinto’s allegation that the city misappropriated funds in dealing with the Orange Grove Center, Mr. Murphy said, “We’re not misappropriating anything. This has all been public for years, and if the city taxpayers have a problem with it, they can take it up with each of us at the ballot box.”

Mr. McMahan echoed the councilman’s remarks, saying, “These young people enjoy doing, what to everybody else would be, exceedingly menial jobs. They get pleasure out of serving the public in this manner.”

The city attorney also acknowledged that the contract with Orange Grove is “somewhat of a subsidy” for the workers.

“The city’s always known that they are providing support for Orange Grove—not strictly a dollar for dollar kind of a quid pro quo,” Mr. McMahan said. “It’s always been somewhat of a subsidy. And the city’s known that from the very first contract that they made with Orange Grove.”

Mr. DePinto requested time to respond to council members’s remarks. After a 5-4 split vote in favor of giving Mr. DePinto three additional minutes on the floor, Mr. Rico abruptly stood and exited the chamber.

“That’s fine. We can survive without Manuel,” Mr. DePinto quipped.

Council Moves Forward on Guns in Parks and Audit Committee

David Morton — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:32:10 +0000

Next week, the Chattanooga City Council will vote on a formal resolution to opt out of the General Assembly’s guns in parks law, HB 716, a bill that lifts the statewide ban on firearms in parks. The council voted to reaffirm an existing resolution on June 16—banning firearms from city parks—at the behest of Larry Zehnder, administrator of the Parks and Recreation Department. The new resolution was discussed in the Legal and Legislative Committee meeting Tuesday, and will fulfill the requirements of the state bill’s opt-out clause.

Cliff Hightower reports:

…it will take an official resolution to opt out of a Tennessee General Assembly bill that passed almost a month ago and allows such weapons in state and local parks.

The City Council named three members to an Audit Committee on Tuesday, which will work alongside City Auditor Randy Burns. The remaining two appointments to the five member panel have not been named.

John Wilson:

Those named are former City Councilman David DiStefano, Charles Millsaps and Timothy Moore.

They will begin holding meetings, while awaiting the appointment of the other two members.

The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to establish the Audit Committee on June 2, following a year of debate about the issue.

Chattarati, Chattanooga news and opinion

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