The YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga has been operating Essential Worker Childcare efforts since March in response to COVID-19. Announced last week by the Tennessee DHS, these efforts will continue at YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga sites free of charge to essential workers, as identified in Governor Bill Lee’s Executive Order 22, through the end of the year. All categories ... (click for more)

The Master Gardeners of Hamilton County, in association with the University of Tennessee Extension, continue their public gardening classes online via Zoom during the current pandemic. On Saturday at 10 a.m. the topic will be “Creating a Native Plant Habitat,” presented by master gardener and photographer, Ron McKitrick. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link for ... (click for more)

A fatal fire is under investigation in East Chattanooga. The call came in as a residential fire at 2:50 a.m. on Sunday in the 2700 block of Taylor Street. Neighbors reported that a camper was on fire behind a home and responding firefighters found a large bus fully involved. Engine 4 was first on scene. Bystanders notified the crew that a possible victim was inside ... (click for more)

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the conviction of Randall Reed in a retrial for the murder of an East Ridge woman. A jury in July 2018 convicted Reed of first-degree murder in the 2011 death of 70-year-old Jane Stokes. An earlier conviction by a prior jury had been thrown out by an appeals court. Reed testified in his own behalf. The victim was murdered ... (click for more)

Executive Summary: A New Chattanooga Way The Chattanooga renaissance that local leaders brag about took almost 40 years to reach fruition. It took risk. It took vision. It took billions of dollars. The physical renaissance is a farce if it fails to lift all Chattanoogans. The evidence in this report suggests the renaissance is incomplete. A New Chattanooga Way would include ... (click for more)

I have found my instincts for measuring up people have served me well. This isn’t to say I pass judgement on anyone, but I’m pretty good about knowing which ones not to make any eye contact with. I’ve learned people who act strange usually turn out to be strange. A kook on Monday is still a kook on Sunday, and there simply ain’t no cure for stupid. I also avoid braggarts and those ... (click for more)