Looks like the energy crisis is about to hit the Scenic City. According to the Times Free Press, TVA will raise its electricity rates by 17% in October. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there may be a subsequent rate increase come January as well.
Luckily, there are many preventive measures you can take to lower your bill while maintaining your social status within Chattanooga’s hallowed creative class. Here are a few suggestions.
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This story is part of the Veekly Vorld Noog’s “Veek of VW” series.
Ground is breaking today at the future site of Jetta’s House, a Volkswagen-sponsored worship center scheduled to open in early 2009 across the street from the company’s future Enterprise South assembly plant off of Bonny Oaks Drive.
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A nationwide tour of Hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars made its stop in Chattanooga today. This photo of VW’s hydrogen car, the HyMotion Touran, is courtesy of RJackson.
Chattarati selects the photo of the day from our Flickr group. Add your photos and they might get featured here on the blog.
This story is part of the Veekly Vorld Noog’s “Veek of VW” series.
In town last week to supervise site preparation at his company’s future plant location at Enterprise South, Volkswagen of America executive director of facilities development Werner Mannz enjoyed dinner and use of the restroom at the Applebee’s Restaurant on Shallowford Village Road near Hamilton Place Mall. (more…)
The Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau recently launched ChattanoogaGetaway.com, a new web site aimed at attracting regional travelers. The site features videos of popular tourist attractions and links back to Chattanooga testimonials on the CVB’s main site, ChattanoogaFun.com. So far, so good. After all, the CVB recently announced that tourism brought nearly $700 million to Hamilton County.
The question some are asking is, why aren’t local firms earning the business of promoting Chattanooga?
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Beijing, CHINA— In an unexpected move, China today canceled the Special Olympics, which were scheduled to follow shortly after the close of the 2008 Summer Games. As part of any winning bid to host the Summer Olympic Games, it is understood the host city will also welcome physically and mentally challenged athletes to the same venues at the close of the mainstream games. This is the first time a host country has canceled the games.
According to a high ranking Communist Party official, Wi Pi Long, the games were canceled after the host country was unable to seat a single team for any of the events. (more…)
Next week, Chattarati’s Weekly World Noog bureau chief Chad A. Newton will take a week-long look at VW’s move to Chattanooga.
Don’t miss “The Veekly Vorld Noog’s Veek of VW,” starting Monday, August 19!
The most recent Freakonomics Quorum on NYTimes.com asked a panel this question: “What will U.S. suburbs look like in 40 years?” Their experts weighed in with thought-provoking and sometimes apocalyptic visions of suburbia’s future, which got us thinking about what the future holds for our own region.
On the one hand, Chattanooga is in the midst of a remarkable story of transformation, garnering media attention around the globe for the 21st Century Waterfront and revitalized in-town neighborhoods. Yet at the same time, our sprawling suburbs are growing just as rapidly in every direction. Is it possible for Chattanooga to sustain these competing ways of life over the next four decades? (more…)
It’s easy to heart/hate something. SJP and the Sex and the City Girls gave us ‘frienemies.’ The 80s gave us hair bands. And George Dubya gave us the US Constitution. (Though, to be fair, I suppose the hate equation of that formula would only apply if you were a member of his staff.) So, what is there to heart/hate about Chattanooga, you may ask? Well, plenty, I would say. And in an effort to avoid spending the time to analyze my incredibly obnoxious obsession with all things Project Runway, I intend to spend my time illuminating the heart/hates of Chattanooga.
Issue 2: Plaid is the New Black and SUV is the new LEV
Did you notice how a couple of seasons ago, everything was black and white with a bold splash of a single color? Well, now tartan plaids are coming in style. If only they could skew a little more toward the Paul Bunyan-ish, lesbians across the land would unite in a drum circle of joy!
But there’s another, even more troubling trend on the horizon. (more…)
Chattanooga is leading me to become a split personality. For every second I think I am railing against the man, fighting ignorance, and generally internalizing the ideals of the New Chattanooga, I am also torn by a knee-jerk reaction that places me somewhat closer to the Old Chattanooga. I am at once set free and constrained by the rules and regulations of Chattanooga society.
And, to be honest, following rules and regulations is not something for which I am particularly well known. I’m not one for showing up early to the office; or, within 10 minutes of when I should be there. (I show up when I am needed— prepared and ready— otherwise my time is best spent serving my boss and the company’s goals, not the ego of a corner office holder.) I am also not likely to roll to a complete stop at a stop sign. But both examples are fairly innocuous. For me, my disdain for the status quo has more to do with an ingrained desire to spread power more equally.
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What do you get when you mix together a few jungle animals, some alcohol, a full moon, and Chattanooga’s conservation-minded set?
It’s called Howl at the Moon, and it happens this Saturday from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Chattanooga Zoo in Warner Park. Twenty bucks gets you in, and the event features a guided twilight tour.
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Photo credit: discopalace
Today’s Tennesseean offers a new twist on the old Maglev to Atlanta story. Chattanoogans have been hearing about high-speed rail between our two cities for some time, including the popular “second Atlanta airport” hypothesis. According to this article, officials from Tennessee and Georgia are studying the feasibility of an estimated two-hour Maglev route from Atlanta to Nashville, via where else? Chattanooga. But don’t get your hopes up too quickly… (more…)
Chattanoogan.com recently reported about a shooting on 5th Avenue. The article, and the quotes from the police, seem to dance around the subject of who was involved in the shooting. Since there’s no straight answer there, we thought we’d ask our readers.
So, who do you think is responsible for the shooting?
- Disgruntled back-to-school shoppers?
- Coca-Cola vending representatives?
- The Saban Nation (aka Bama fans)?
- Gang members?
CQ is a series where Chattarati readers talk back. Give us your answer in the comments section.
First, let’s get this out of the way: What the heck is a Tweetup? WordSpy defines a Tweetup as:
A real world meeting between two or more people who know each other through the online Twitter service.
If you’ve been reading Chattarati for long, you’ve probably noticed the sidebar column which lists our most recent posts on Twitter. We’ve actually been using Twitter since before our site launched, and most of our crew has been using it individually for some time.
So, along with our friends Jackson Alexander (of Coptix) and Strat Parrott (of Find Me in Town), Chattarati is very excited to announce ChattUp, Chattanooga’s first Tweetup. It’s going down on August 30, but that’s the only detail we can reveal here. If you want the full scoop, go sign up for Twitter and follow @ChattUp.
Good Morning and welcome to the “Hiatus” edition of the Breakfast Club. We’re going to take a little break starting tomorrow but never fear, we’re still around!
Chattanooga: Farmers’ Market remains homeless
Nearly two and a half years after the city acquired the Farmers’ Market to expand its services to the homeless, the 9.3-acre site itself remains vacant and largely homeless.
Commentary: As mentioned in the article, Bob Corker was able to transition the waterfront from a four lane highway to a park during his four years. Our current Mayor has been ineffectual in even transforming a former Farmers’ Market into anything other than a barren piece of real estate purchased from some of his largest campaign contributors.
