Chattanooga Times Free Press
Fully behind Fritts
Local Chattanooga church Calvary Chapel is promoting Monty Fritts as the Republican pick for Tennessee governor. Despite a longstanding tax law that prohibits political activity at the pulpit, the Chattanooga megachurch has continued to campaign in...
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BACK TO SCHOOL
More than 45,000 Hamilton County students return to the classroom Wednesday, and district officials say students and families can expect to see the school system continue to focus on the things that have made it successful. That includes maintaining...
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Discarded SpaceX rocket on collision course with the moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A drifting SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the moon after launching a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago. The rocket’s upper stage will unintentionally slam into the moon Wednesday, carving out a crater and...
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Chattanooga Times Free Press sold. Paper to have local owners
Freight media executive and entrepreneur Craig Fuller and his father, Max Fuller, have purchased the Chattanooga Times Free Press from Arkansas-based WEHCO Media Inc. in a deal announced to newspaper staff on Thursday morning. The sale, effective...
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City Council tensions reach boiling point
Interpersonal tensions between Chattanooga City Council members have reached a boiling point after a contentious chair vote in April. The growing divide resulted in talking over one another and a cacophony of raised voices during Tuesday night’s...
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EQUIPMENT BACKLOG
Large-scale data centers are upending business as usual for the Tennessee Valley Authority not only because of their high electricity needs, but also because they are competing with utilities for power equipment. Some of the data centers, like Elon...
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Pastor turns to hope
The former pastor of Venue Church, a megachurch that filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after reports of a relationship between the married pastor and another staff member, is fundraising for renovations to a space for the new church he started in...
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‘VERY FRUSTRATING’
When Cheyenne Bedell heard about Chattanooga’s police officers and firefighters getting major raises, she was thrilled for them. She thought she would be next, Bedell said. But Bedell, a senior telecommunicator for the region’s 911 emergency...
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WAKING UP FROM THE AMERICAN DREAM
VERACRUZ, México — Before the late May sun rose on the outskirts of the city of Veracruz, Guillermina Solano-Chala had set up her humble taco stand. Several coolers of stewed meat, the freshest corn tortillas and rice waited on folding tables for...
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Politics at the pulpit
Despite longstanding tax law that prohibits political activity at the pulpit, a Chattanooga megachurch has continued to wield political influence in state and local politics this midterm election. At the most recent Sunday morning service at Calvary...
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Leaders optimistic about Erlanger deal
Hamilton County leaders see the potential for more specialists, technology and medical training as Erlanger Health seeks to join a much larger health system headquartered in South Carolina — but they also want reassurance their local hospital will...
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Erlanger seeks to join South Carolina health system in proposed $2B deal
Erlanger Health could become part of one of the Southeast’s largest nonprofit health systems under a proposed partnership with South Carolina-based Prisma Health, a move leaders say would bring $2 billion in investments over 15 years and transform...
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PERFECT MATCH
When Spain won the World Cup on Sunday, Chattanooga won a title of its own as the chosen training base camp for the top sports team in the world. The victory was a bow on top of a hosting experience local officials have celebrated as a...
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CHATTANOOGA TO CHAMPIONS
Chattanooga has earned the right to bask in the prideful afterglow as the host to the 2026 FIFA World Cup champions. From June 5 through June 30, before advancing from the group stage to the knockout rounds of the tournament, the Scenic City served as...
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‘CLEAN SLATE’
SALE CREEK — With over 1,000 acres at McDonald Farm set to become a new state park, officials are seeking input from the community to inform the vision for the property. The public engagement period is slated to last for about nine months as officials...
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A MIXED DIAGNOSIS
Dentist Jon Salinas didn’t learn Hamilton County would refer displaced patients to his practice until weeks after officials had already announced plans to close the county’s dental clinic but said he welcomes the opportunity to treat them. After more...
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‘Backed into a corner’
RINGGOLD — The Catoosa County Board of Education has voted unanimously to increase its millage rate by 1.5 points, to 15.750, increasing property tax revenue by more than 17%. The school system faced a projected $3.5 million shortfall primarily due to...
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AIRPORT TAKEOVER
Anew state-run board for the Chattanooga Airport on Thursday voted to withdraw Lovell Field from the city’s lawsuit attempting to keep the previous, locally run board in place. The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority had a quorum with five of...
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Window shopping for mall’s next life
As developers work to reimagine Hixson’s Northgate Mall, community members have expressed desires for what they want from the site. With sticker dots and multicolored sticky notes in hand, attendees of a Wednesday meeting of the community organization...
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Ready to take flight
Meeting for the first time, a brand new board mostly appointed by state lawmakers is scheduled to sit down at the Chattanooga Airport on Thursday to decide whether to withdraw from litigation that challenges the panel’s authority, according to an...
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‘The names keep changing’
A change in the ownership structure for a riverfront project called The Bend has caused a Chattanooga board that oversees tax incentives to scrutinize its deal with the developer. The situation led to a pointed exchange during a public meeting last...
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Hard-liners in Iran want to keep fighting America
The striking prominence of red flags — a Shiite Muslim symbol for vengeance — among the sea of mourners attending the weeklong funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader was considered a none-too-subtle statement that the country should continue the war...
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WHAT’S TAKING SO LONG?
More than five years after company leaders announced plans to revive an abandoned factory in Chattanooga for the electric vehicle age, Novonix is still not operating a synthetic graphite plant at scale. The stakes for Chattanooga are jobs that haven’t...
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Company bright spot
After tariffs cut into Volkswagen’s performance from April to June last year, the company said, a boost in car sales for the same period in 2026 could signal some stabilization in the U.S. — even as the broader brand struggles in China. Two...
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Sewer investment planned after spills into Mill Creek
The developers of a luxury resort in Walker County have poured more than $5 million into upgrading an aging sewage system, an official said, and they intend to make further repairs after two spills that dumped thousands of gallons of raw sewage into...
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Planning Commission chair out after a decade
Ethan Collier, a prolific Chattanooga home builder, is out as chair of a regional zoning board after more than a decade in the role. He’ll be replaced with a consensus pick by Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “We...
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NATO UNVEILS ARMS DEALS
ANKARA, Turkey — President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted that the United States should be in control of Greenland rather than NATO ally Denmark, renewing tensions in Europe even as the transAtlantic military alliance was announcing billions in arms...
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Radiology delays
CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital is experiencing delays in radiology services that have affected patient imaging appointments and increased wait times for some scans, according to a public statement from the health system. The statement, posted Friday...
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Question of jurisdiction
Aconstable elected to serve in Tennessee travels far and wide, to North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and elsewhere on assignment for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but his jurisdiction stops at the Bradley County limits. How does that...
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Leaders did ‘everything we could’ to bring VW to area
When German representatives from Volkswagen hopped into a TVA helicopter almost two decades ago to get a bird’seye view of Enterprise South Industrial Park, they generally liked what they saw. But they couldn’t get a thorough sense of the site because...
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NOT SO FAST
ARepublican nominee for Bradley County constable who is running unopposed in the Aug. 6 general election and won’t be sworn in until September signed an agreement to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May. The federal agency...
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BLAST FURNACE
Fourth of July revelers might wish they could declare independence from the heat while tracking down weekend celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Chattanooga’s forecast calls for temperatures near triple digits for Friday and Saturday as a...
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From Kirk to immigration, new state laws take effect
A slew of new state laws took effect in the Volunteer State on Wednesday. They range from regulating screens in school to artificial intelligence, child social media influencers and religion in school in honor of the late conservative activist Charlie...
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‘TAKE PRECAUTIONS’
Blistering temperatures starting Wednesday will hardly relent as the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaches with daily highs near 100 and a forecast for the heat to stay above 90 through Monday. A heat advisory has been issued for Southeast...
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Kratom countdown
‘KRATOM and THC BUY 2 GET 1 FREE’, says a printed sign hanging on the door of a Highland Park gas station. Products are readily sold in the Chattanooga area, containing kratom in drink, powder, pill and gummy form, which, in just days, will become...
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STATUS CHECKS
A set to take effect Wednesday will require local government agencies such as health departments to verify and report the immigration status of people applying for certain public benefits. Vivian Lozano Sterchi, chief operating officer of the...
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Child welfare checks
Two Bradley County constables — one-person, elected law enforcement agencies that don’t have regular government salaries or funding — traveled to at least four cities in three states outside Tennessee on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs...
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Hooch could head out
Organizers of one of the largest rowing regattas in the nation are questioning the future of the Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga amid plans to renovate the city’s downtown riverfront. Construction at Ross’s Landing, which aims to add shade trees, a...
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THE LONG VIEW
Hamilton County’s new “history experience” aims to span tens of thousands of years for tourists and residents alike, according to the project’s creative director. A temporary history museum funded by Hamilton County will open up in Chattanooga’s...
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TVA offering rare chance to see plant
A power plant unlike any other in the region will open to the public for tours as the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest public power provider in the U.S., celebrates the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. Members of the public can...
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‘Should alarm taxpayers’
A federal civil rights lawsuit is seeking a court-appointed review of conditions at the Hamilton County Jail after a Maryland man alleged he nearly died from sepsis when his wounds went untreated. Filed by Chattanooga attorney Neal Pinkston, former...
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‘Stability matters’
Apilot program designed to house Hamilton County students experiencing homelessness has led to more than 200 people securing housing over the past year. As of June 5, the pilot had housed 67 families, serving 178 children, said Lori Carmack, Hamilton...
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Street-level view
Rock City has released a traffic study at the center of its plan to build a gondola sky lift up Lookout Mountain in what the company called the first in a series of documents it hopes will address concerns from neighbors. The tourist attraction made...
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‘Sickening drama’
Two of three city employees who regularly visited homeless encampments have resigned, and a third was reassigned, leaving city leadership to figure out how its staff fits into outreach efforts, according to Casey Tinker, who leads Chattanooga’s...
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Board OKs policy ending take-home devices for K-8
Elementary and middle school students will not be assigned a device to take home next school year under a new policy approved by the Hamilton County Board of Education. The new policy sets rules around both device access and usage, with the amount of...
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‘Inevitable is happening’
About 15 years ago, architect David Hudson — now retired — worked on a plan that envisioned a brand new gateway to Chattanooga’s Southside. As part of a broader urban design challenge held by the River City Co., Hudson and his team proposed a new...
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High tech partnership
Hamilton County Schools and EPB will partner to create an Energy and Quantum Industries Academy at the district’s newest career and technical education center, county and utility officials announced Wednesday. The new academy at the Franklin Roberts...
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Pilgrim’s to close part of poultry operations
A $75 million investment in Pilgrim’s Pride poultry facility in Ellijay, Georgia, will result in the company closing its aging harvesting operations in Chattanooga at 1591 Broad St. “As consumer demand shifts and our customers grow, we are investing...
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FARM LIVING
Local developer Burgin Homebuilders is creating the Chattanooga area’s first “agrihood,” a residential community built around features involving the production of fresh food and a growing trend in real estate across the country. According to the Urban...
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Spanish team enjoys relaxed home base
Written inside the main elevator at the Embassy Suites downtown is a simple yet important message to the Spanish national team. “Disfruta cada momento de este viaje,” which means enjoy every moment of this trip. Baylor School and Chattanooga have...
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Losing ground
Nikki Lake held her first grandchild inside her $1,500-a-month Avondale rental — three times what she paid when she first came to East Chattanooga — as new townhouses selling for just under $300,000 rose up the road. “Even me, having a good job, far...
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Nearly $1.3M in taxes collected for stadium debt
Chattanooga and Hamilton County have set aside nearly $1.3 million in tax revenue from a 470-acre district around the new Lookouts baseball stadium to pay off public debt on the $115 million ballpark. The funding came from two years of property taxes...
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NEW STATE LAW REINS IN HEMP
With the highest concentration of hemp shops per capita of any Tennessee city, Chattanooga is home to a variety of businesses bracing for a new state law that will ban some of the most popular forms of hemp. “Legislators didn’t listen to the needs of...
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GONDOLA FOES GAIN A VICTORY
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The Planning Commission in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, voted 5-2 against recommending the City Council make changes to the city’s zoning laws for a gondola planned by Rock City after the project was met with opposition from some...
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Public, not private
The board of the nation’s largest government-owned power provider will soon bring its process for setting CEO pay more in line with the federal law that created the agency. Mitch Graves, chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority board, told President...
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‘Clean, beautiful’ lifeline
The Tennessee Valley Authority applied for and received more than $115 million in funding from the Trump administration to support operations of its largest coal-fired power plant, previously scheduled to close by 2028. President Donald Trump invoked...
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‘The ultimate exposure’
Lately, in the small town of Aviles, Spain, as Kate Price makes her way around the port city where she is studying abroad at Colegio San Fernando, she is stopped by locals who recognize the Baylor School emblem on some of her shirts. While Baylor has...
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Chattanooga fans greet Spanish national team
Carlos Duran walked around the crowded entrance to the downtown Chattanooga hotel with a Spanish flag tied around his shoulders. Originally from Barcelona, he said he was excited to see the Spanish national soccer team arrive Friday and watch them...
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WORLD’S WATCHING
Chattanooga has a once-in-ageneration branding opportunity this month as some of the world’s highest paid and most followed athletes, and their hordes of devoted fans, have their eyes on the city during the World Cup. To understand why it matters that...
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‘This place is important’
BIRCHWOOD — Tennessee’s 65th state park offers the opportunity for the public to connect with one of the darkest episodes in this state’s history. Just over the Hamilton County line, where the Hiwassee and Tennessee rivers meet, the Cherokee Removal...
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Will they earn less?
The Tennessee Valley Authority told President Donald Trump that it would reduce compensation across its workforce by up to $153 million next year in cuts that will mostly hit executives while reducing the maximum performance-based portion of all...
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‘A natural evolution’
Several longtime North Chattanooga businesses have recently closed, and some owners have cited changes such as the closure of the Walnut Street Bridge for renovations and the redesign of Frazier Avenue as potential factors. “We had the pedestrian...
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TIME TO CONSIDER
Volkswagen may be given more time to decide if it will acquire hundreds of acres of land adjacent to its plant in Chattanooga. The Chattanooga City Council will take up a resolution Tuesday extending the company’s option on property west of its...
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‘YOU GO WHERE THE WORK IS’
As a constable in Bradley County, Tim Fowler is an elected, one-man law enforcement agency. His post is unpaid and gets no regular state or county government funding. But under a collaboration agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,...
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‘Their fair share’
A letter that Tennessee Valley Authority officials sent to local utilities has been published widely as tensions grow over the high electricity costs and usage of data centers. The changes TVA proposed, however, would increase power bills for data...
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CITY QUANDARY
Proposals for a large homeless shelter in Chattanooga are back on the table — and the city’s elected officials have mixed feelings. The Chatt Foundation, one of the largest service providers to homeless people in the city, has identified four potential...
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ROAD WORK, RAISES PART OF FISCAL PLAN
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp’s administration has proposed a $1 billion budget for the next fiscal year with no tax increase and a raise for county employees across the board. During a Wednesday budget meeting, Wamp said the goal of the 2026-27...
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‘GONDOLA IS GO’
Rock City will likely build a gondola lift even if elected officials in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, decline to let the company build part of the system on property within city limits, CEO and owner Doug Chapin said. The gondola could be built entirely...
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State launches first grants under $207M rural health transformation fund
The Tennessee Department of Health has released the first schedule of competitive grant opportunities tied to the state’s $206.9 million federal Rural Health Transformation Program. Tennessee plans to roll out eight requests for applications and six...
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I-24 west project price tag increases by $300M
The estimated price tag on widening 10 miles of Interstate 24 from Chattanooga to Interstate 59 across the Georgia state line has more than doubled since the state set aside almost $250 million for the project in 2025. The topography of the I-24 West...
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CAUGHT AT THE BORDER
WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — The Tennessee-Georgia line, where Rossville Boulevard becomes Chickamauga Avenue, has become a risky section of pavement for people who are in the country without legal authorization. That’s at least in part because of one Georgia...
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‘Nothing like this exists’
The Chatt Foundation, one of the largest service providers to homeless people in the city, has identified four potential locations for a large low-barrier shelter and shared those proposals with city officials, the nonprofit’s CEO, Baron King, said in...
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TVA answers Trump
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — The Tennessee Valley Authority has prepared a response to the White House concerning how the agency pays its employees, and CEO Mike Skaggs expressed confidence the response will close President Donald Trump’s push for a flat pay...
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‘COERCED FAITH IS NO FAITH AT ALL’
Looking at the spread of different faiths present at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center for a conversation about faith on Wednesday, it would be hard to believe productive conversation could take place. Representatives of Islam, Catholicism, the Church...
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‘A right way to do a right thing’
The Chattanooga Police Department will not give trespassing law exemptions to volunteers and nonprofit employees who venture onto private property to provide services to homeless encampments, Police Chief John Chambers said after the outreach community...
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‘SUBTLE DENSITY’
In the heart of Alton Park, a dozen homes with thin front porches and bright pastel paint jobs stand neatly tucked together facing a grass courtyard. They’re the vanguard of a planned 160-unit community in South Chattanooga called Somerville Cottages....
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