Chattanooga Times Free Press
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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Thousands flock to US-themed prayer rally
WASHINGTON — Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally Sunday billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation under God.” Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage...
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‘What we’re doing is right’
For years, groups of church volunteers and nonprofit staffers have provided food, clothes and other supplies to Chattanooga’s homeless encampments — most on private property. According to an email sent by a Chattanooga police officer in late April to...
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LOOKOUTS SIGN $500K CHECK
The Chattanooga Lookouts made their first lease payment to the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County for the team’s new ballpark in the form of a physical check for $500,000. The Lookouts owe the city and county’s joint Sports Authority $1 million...
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CEO sings sour notes over company’s stock
The CEO of a Colorado-based developer planning to buy land in Chattanooga for a 12,500-seat amphitheater has expressed frustration with his company’s stock price, which has fallen more than 50% in the past year. The decrease in value of Venu Holding...
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FAST GROWING CARE
Erlanger will expand its Erlanger East Hospital in East Brainerd through a $122 million project centered on a new threestory medical building. The expansion will add services and capacity in what hospital leaders described as the fastest-growing part...
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A QUESTION OF SCALE
Plans for a water line to run to Raccoon Mountain homes are in the works once again after over a decade of back-and-forth, though some Chattanooga City Council members say they take issue with the timing of the proposal. Council member Chip Henderson...
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Developer plans $300M amphitheater on riverfront
A Chattanooga company is partnering with a publicly traded national venue developer to build a $300 million, 12,500-seat amphitheater on the Tennessee River off Riverfront Parkway, set to be one of the city’s largest entertainment...
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PANDEMIC PROBLEMS
A workforce that largely refused to wear masks or get COVID vaccines helped drive delays and cost overruns on a $1 billion-plus project at the Chickamauga Dam, according to documents stemming from a dispute between the federal government and a...
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Agency: Virus on ship ‘not another COVID’
TENERIFE, Spain — The head of the World Health Organization sought Saturday to reassure residents of the Spanish island where passengers of a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship are expected to be evacuated, issuing them a direct message that the virus was...
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‘Transformative project’
FORT OGLETHORPE — The completion of $8.1 million in restorative work on roads dating to at least 1863 in the 5,300-acre Georgia portion of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting Friday at Brotherton...
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Goodbye, AT&T Field
AT&T Field, home to the Chattanooga Lookouts for 25 years, will be torn down this summer after the minor league baseball team moved south to Erlanger Park. River City Co., a private nonprofit focused on downtown development, has engaged a demolition...
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BOUNDARY ISSUES
The Hamilton County branch of the NAACP hosted a press conference to oppose state lawmakers’ newly proposed congressional maps and the redistricting effort to eliminate the last Democratheld seat in Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee reconvened the General...
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Rising costs bring end to dental clinic
A dental clinic run by Hamilton County will close in July, and 15 jobs will be cut, according to a press release issued by the county Health Department. The cut to the dental program, which provides preventive, restorative and emergency care to...
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IT’S MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
A few months ago, Matt Bedsole got a call from two real estate developers asking for his help. Their plan to build a four-story apartment complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee, had a financial hole that no backer seemed eager to fill. The developers needed...
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A ‘hasty plan’
On a drizzly summer night, Hamilton County sheriff ’s deputies wanted to arrest Erick Roberson without risking a possible chase, according to details in the newly released Tennessee Bureau of Investigation case file. Instead, law enforcement quietly...
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NOWHERE TO GO
DeTory Douglas feels like an invisible Chattanoogan. Each night, he searches for someplace to sleep — a parking garage, a side street, a patch of grass behind a store. He knows that if he’s discovered by law enforcement, he could go to jail for camping...
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‘NOT CONSULTED’
The Chattanooga Airport board plans to mount a legal challenge against a Tennessee bill that would place most of the panel’s nine seats under state control. The board held a special meeting Friday afternoon at the law offices of Grant, Konvalinka and...
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Louisiana congressional primaries suspended
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana suspended its congressional primaries Thursday as early voting was about to get underway, while pressure mounted on Republican officials in other states to redraw their U.S. House maps in light of a Supreme Court ruling...
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‘Know what to do’
On an April afternoon, Assistant Principal Travis Miller walked up to a piece of paper with “firearm” written on it. He waited until the class of kindergarteners yelled “stop” to pause. As Miller kept moving, the students called out the other safety...
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‘IT’S JUST TIME’
Fusion Threads Collective, a small business that makes hand-dyed apparel on natural fabrics, started at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s incubator program at the Hamilton County Business Development Center in September 2022 after completing...
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Seat reassignments
A bill that Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly has argued would wrest control of the local airport board away from city leaders has cleared both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly. The measure — House Bill 2507 — now requires a signature from Gov....
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Tennessee passes slate of immigration bills
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee General Assembly wrapped up its annual session this past week, with the Republican supermajority signing off on a slate of bills codifying some of the party’s priorities on education and other issues. Lawmakers...
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‘They’ve already decided’
Public board meetings at the nation’s largest public power provider are scripted, according to multiple former members of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors. One former director said the scripted meetings are part of TVA management...
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‘Major milestone’
With the now-completed, $328 million, seven-year project serving as a backdrop, state and local officials celebrated the official opening of the reconstructed Interstate 75/Interstate 24 interchange with a ribboncutting Friday atop the Belvoir Avenue...
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‘Smacks of voter suppression’
Hamilton County resident Kay Mitchell got a postcard in the mail this week, sent by the Hamilton County Republican Party to some residents. On the front side, the mailer cautioned in bold red letters with a warning icon: “Fraudulent primary voting is...
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A growing concern
Business owners participating in the incubator program housed at the Hamilton County Business Development Center held an open house Wednesday at the facility, where members of the County Commission, Chattanooga City Council and County Mayor Weston Wamp...
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WASTE TO POWER
Emissions from Chattanooga’s sewage and other wastewater will soon be captured and used to produce electricity on-site to power the region’s largest wastewater treatment plant. The Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus is partnering with California-based...
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‘Almost impossible’
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Bradley County Commission received a standing ovation from residents as it unanimously approved zoning regulations Monday that leave few, if any, properties where data centers could be built. The commission room at the Bradley...
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Charters pay teachers less, administration more
Charter schools in Hamilton County pay their teachers less on average than the Hamilton County school system, a Chattanooga Times Free Press analysis found. The average salary for a charter school teacher was $57,712 in March. Teachers in the school...
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ROLE REVERSAL
In January, at the start of Tennessee’s legislative session, GOP leadership announced the introduction of several immigration bills that the White House and Stephen Miller, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, had collaborated on. “We’re sending a...
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CHALLENGES FACE NEXT CEO OF TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority is searching for a CEO who can manage a $14 billion utility operation as demand for electricity rises, while also fulfilling legal mandates to generate low-cost power for more than 10 million people, prevent flooding,...
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‘DEVASTATING FOR US’
Plans to sell a Hamilton County building housing a business incubator program sparked tension at a County Commission meeting. The dialogue included business owners lambasting the county government and some county commissioners questioning whether a...
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‘Elevating and celebrating’
Elected officials and business leaders celebrated the opening of Erlanger Park in a VIP section at the stadium brimming with people for whom the $115 million project represented years of tense work when the outcome was uncertain. The Coca-Cola Pattern...
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CITY CHRISTENS ERLANGER PARK
Thousands of Chattanoogans poured through the gates of Erlanger Park on Tuesday night, inaugurating a new home for the Chattanooga Lookouts at a former foundry site most attendees had likely seen from Interstate 24 but never visited before. The $115...
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EYESORE TO ICON
In their heyday, the U.S. Pipe and Wheland Foundry sites were thriving operations, serving as two of Chattanooga’s top employers and manufacturers. The plants produced iron castings, auto parts, drilling equipment and more for over 100 years until the...
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Most County Commission challengers are women
For the past four years, the Hamilton County Commission’s 11 representatives have all been men. Now, the majority of challengers running against the incumbents this election cycle are women. Seven out of 11 races have female challengers, and four of...
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VW will stop producing the ID.4 in Chattanooga
Volkswagen will cease production of the ID.4 at its plant in Chattanooga this month amid headwinds facing the market for electric vehicles. The German automaker will instead shift its focus to the Atlas and the Atlas Cross Sport. That includes the...
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‘A proud moment for our community’
More than a decade after the owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts first began working with elected officials to plan a new stadium, the team on Tuesday celebrated the upcoming opening of Erlanger Park at a dedication ceremony. “Despite the extraordinary...
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Tennessee, Turning Point partnership details unclear
Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, reaffirmed the December announcement that the state is partnering with Turning Point USA to put affiliate clubs of the organization, founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in...
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ALL ABOUT THE MATH
A firm that has produced economic reports for multiple Chattanooga developments does not determine whether the visions of developers are too ambitious, said a longtime leader at the company. Younger Associates takes plans from developers and turns...
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City cutting down trees near Chatt Foundation
The city of Chattanooga is cutting down about a dozen trees outside the Chatt Foundation, a social service agency where the homeless community frequently gathers outside, as summer nears. The group’s CEO says he wasn’t aware until Day 1 of the...
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Developer casts doubt on Novonix’s plan to expand
Novonix is exploring an expansion next door to its riverfront plant in Chattanooga, but the move would not be the best use for the property, according to the developer of the surrounding site. The battery materials maker is assessing whether to buy a...
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‘Competitive disadvantage’
As it competes with surrounding communities for athletic events, Hamilton County may need to construct a large indoor sports complex if it wants to keep up with demand, according to a recent study. “We have more demand than we have capacity in current...
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Heading to the moon
A towering orange-and-white NASA rocket blasted off from Florida on Wednesday evening, lifting four astronauts toward space and transporting spectators’ imaginations to a future in which Americans may again set foot on the moon. As they did during the...
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‘PRETTY DARN CLOSE’
A study provided to elected officials before they approved a special tax district for a 28-block development on Chattanooga’s Westside predicted the site would produce more than $9.5 million of new tax revenue last year, but the site produced...
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Holding pattern
The timeline for approving or denying Rock City’s requested changes to law on Lookout Mountain, Georgia, to build a gondola lift is delayed as the city waits for more information from studies on traffic and sewer impacts. The city’s Planning...
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‘PROFIT OVER PATIENTS’
ATennessee bill that CVS Health has claimed would force it to close all its pharmacies in the state would not require such closures — and would create a more even playing field, said local independent pharmacists in Chattanooga. State lawmakers are...
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STILL IN THE BALLPARK
As the Chattanooga Lookouts prepare to celebrate the opening of Erlanger Park, a study that made predictions for the scope and speed of development around the minor league baseball stadium beginning in 2026 appears optimistic, although officials...
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RIVERFRONT REFRESH TO START IN THE FALL
Come November, urban planners expect to begin a multimillion dollar project aimed at revitalizing Chattanooga’s downtown riverfront, making it a park that residents use on a more daily basis. “This is one of Chattanooga and Hamilton County’s premier,...
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Work on Chattanooga icon enters final stretch
One year into its 18-month closure, the Walnut Street Bridge is on track to reopen in late September, officials say. The city hosted a walking tour of Chattanooga’s iconic pedestrian bridge Thursday for local media to see the progress made since the...
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PROJECT TAKES A HIT
More than $1.5 million in federal funds have been cut from a program designed to alleviate the shortage of mental health professionals in rural Tennessee schools. Project Rural Access to Interventions in School Environments pays the tuition of...
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MIXED MESSAGES
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump said for a second day that the U.S. was in talks with Iran to end the war as diplomatic efforts picked up Tuesday and Iran issued a newly defiant statement. Airstrikes battered the Islamic Republic...
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Westside milestone
One Westside, a major project of the Chattanooga Housing Authority to revitalize the eponymous city sector and replace over 600 aging public housing units, started construction on the second phase of its sevenphase plan Monday. The new development...
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‘Real momentum’
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is in talks with potential buyers for its downtown Chattanooga headquarters on Cameron Hill, although the state’s largest health insurer has not listed it for sale. The insurance company said last year it may place...
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‘Transitory’ records
Public records requests sent to 35 state and local governments and agencies in the Chattanooga area reveal that officials at more than a dozen use generative artificial intelligence for work. Reporters at the Chattanooga Times Free Press submitted the...
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DOUBLE PARKING
While CARTA brings forward city legislation to boot chronic parking violators downtown, the transit authority is crafting a plan to push private parking operators to lower their prices. The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority primarily...
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