Love/Hate '08 continues, but what's with all the negativity, you ask? Someone once said the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. If we didn't love Chattanooga, we simply wouldn't care that we had a sheriff and a city councilman arrested or that we didn't get a sweet new water park. So, let's hang our heads in shame as we look back at the punches 2008 landed on our fair city.
11. Splash Valley Drowns
10. Post-it Note Performance Art
9. Erlanger Salary Outcry Hey, Jealousy.
8. Chattanooga Gas Panic Did anyone ever admit they were wrong for helping fuel this nonsense?
7. Mayor Littlefield Sends a Truckload of Bottled Water to Georgia Capitol "A cool wet kiss of friendship" — okay, we'll admit this was mildly amusing.
6. TFP Publishes One Volkswagen Article for Each Potential Job to be Created At least Chad Newton scooped them on the Applebee's story.
5. Chili's Voted Best All-Around Restaurant in Chattanooga Actually, most of the "Best of the Best" results were embarassing. There is life outside Hamilton Place.
4. Hamilton County Schools Face $20+ Million Shortfall And who saw it coming? Rhonda.
3. Marti Rutherford Announces Run to Regain Council Seat Need we say more?
2. Councilman Duke Franklin Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Obstruct Justice
1. Sheriff Billy Long Arrested on Gun and Money Laundering Charges
Stephen42 on Dec. 31, 2008
11. Now East Ridge has hired a PR firm to tell them that they suck.
10, 9, 8. business as usual in Chattanooga
7. Tacky but amusing (isn't that hooters tagline as well...)
6. FYI check out Megaworld's episode about Germany on the Science channel. Transparent VW plant
5. WTF- we can do better, who the hell decided this anyway?
4. I love that crazy hair dresser.
3. Does renting a closet count as residency? and the city gave Healy a hard time about a couple weeks... again WTF
2. Crooked politcians in Chattanooga. Is anyone surprised?
1. Nothing else to say except I hope he is enjoying Arizona... watch your cornhole Billy
What the h*ll? on Jan. 1, 2009
What’s embarrassing is that Chattanoogans are so afraid of their smiling group of thugs and jackals of elected real estate developers, that not one soul (myself included) was man enough to run against the crooked Councilman Jack Benson. Or maybe everyone is just hoping for scraps from the big boys’ table?
Benson has overseen and orchestrated East Brainerd’s emergence as the new Ringgold Road. It’s getting more like an expensive trailer park here every day.
How does a retired principal become a millionaire again? By facilitating multimillion land deals. He’s got the power to intimidate the current owners right out of their property. If that doesn’t work, he just simply degrades the value with his attack on our land use plan. Why does he care, he’s not putting pawn shops and strip malls in his neighborhood, just ours.
How much should we increase their salaries this year for the privilege?
Paul on Jan. 21, 2009
My number one is the realization that Ron Littlefield is actually our mayor.
After that, what else could possibly embarrass us?
Katy on Feb. 3, 2009
What's "embarassing" is that "embarrassing" has two r's.
John Hawbaker on Feb. 3, 2009
That was actually #12 on the list. Thanks, Katy.
Katy on Feb. 3, 2009
You're welcome!
girl in white glasses on April 17, 2009
I dont know if I should be proud or embarrassed to be on this list as I was the girl to do the post it note performance art (aka #10) at 35,85. I guess I made an impression on someone.