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September 29, 2005
Cotton Picked Up By Feds
His hearing is set for 2 p.m. at the Federal courthouse downtown. Charges should be announced then. See you there...
Posted by mesh at 12:45 PM | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
Alliterate Much?
No doubt a two-minute search through Pulse archives will prove me a despicable hypocrite, but I'll say it anyhow: Alliterative prose is not clever. It is not brilliant. It does not make your writing sing. Mostly, it just makes you look kind of insipid. Consider:
Adams' country-fueled freedom from the constraints of constructed authenticity permits him to plumb his darkest depths yet, and some of his most affecting.
It was a perfectly competent review up to this harrowing, irreparable moment. Then all to hell. This is where alliteration takes us, people.
Maybe now that Tyler is interning at Pitchfork, he can put a stop to this. Someone must.
Posted by mesh at 02:17 PM | TrackBack
September 27, 2005
Arrest made in Airline murder case
WRCB 3 is reporting this:
Chattanooga Police say a man turned himself into the Hamilton County jail tonight (Monday), on charges of first degree murder. The body of Don Airline was found earlier this month in St. Elmo. He'd been shot five times in the head. Police questioned Edward Jones of Chattanooga early on, but got new information that led to murder charges. Jones turned himself in around 9pm.
Developing...
Posted by colrus at 01:05 AM | TrackBack
September 20, 2005
It's Official
Dr. Jesse Register: "It Is The Right Time To Move On"
Posted by colrus at 10:31 AM | TrackBack
Register to step down? (Updated Yet Again)
The TFP is reporting that Register will retire in June.
He made the decision this summer.
---
(Yesterday's Posts)
According to three different sources, it has come to our attention that Hamilton County School Superintendant Jesse Register will step down as of 10 a.m. tomorrow.
Speculation is that he has received an offer from a bigger market.
Update, 8:40 p.m.:
A source reveals that Charlotte and San Diego are currently interested in Register and Fulton County (Atlanta) has been in the past. He's reportedly been offered twice the amount of pay he receives now.
Here's the Chattanoogan.com story:
Dr. Jesse Register To Resign, Sources Say
School Board Would Name His Replacement
Hamilton County School Supt. Dr. Jesse Register plans to resign, sources said.
The resignation could come as early as Tuesday morning, officials said. A press conference has been set for 10 a.m. at the county schools central office at Bonny Oaks.
The County School Board has a meeting set for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the central office.
Sources said the resignation would become effective Nov. 1.
It would be up to the County School Board to name his replacement.
Several County Commission members have been calling for Dr. Register to leave, though he has enjoyed the support of all but one County School Board member.
He became superintendent here in January 1997 and led the consolidation of the city and county schools.
Posted by colrus at 09:40 AM | TrackBack
September 18, 2005
Katrina Evacuee Shot Dead in St. Elmo
The Chattanooga Police Department is reporting that a 24-year-old New Orleans evacuee was fatally shot in the head last night on Guild Trail in St. Elmo.
"Police were informed by a passerby," a CPD release says, "that a body was lying on the side of the road in the 4500 block of Guild Trail around 7:45 am Saturday September 17, 2005. Upon police officers' arrival, they observed a male body lying face down with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head area.
"The victim is identified as Don Maurice Airline, 24, of New Orleans, La. No further information available at this time and the lead detective for this case will be Detective Ralph Freeman."
A little background: Guild Trail is a narrow road connecting Alabama Avenue to Ochs Highway, creeping up the Lookout Mountain edge of St. Elmo. It is a densely wooded area, less than a mile from the Southside Recreation Center, where about four dozen Katrina evacuees are still staying.
Posted by mesh at 02:58 PM | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Five Words
The Katrina analysis by Newsweek's Evan Thomas is an absolute must-read for anyone who wants to hold a conversation about governmental-response failures. (There are shades of William Langewiesche, which is as high a compliment as I can pay to process reporting.) Thomas' findings argue, in essence, that Bush could have saved thousands of lives -- and perhaps his presidential legacy -- with five simple words:
"Call in the 82nd Airborne."
That he didn't is the Pilate's stain of this administration. Why didn't he? Thomas offers a persuasive theory:
Bush can be petulant about dissent; he equates disagreement with disloyalty. After five years in office, he is surrounded largely by people who agree with him. Bush can ask tough questions, but it's mostly a one-way street. Most presidents keep a devil's advocate around. Lyndon Johnson had George Ball on Vietnam; President Ronald Reagan and Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, grudgingly listened to the arguments of Budget Director Richard Darman, who told them what they didn't wish to hear: that they would have to raise taxes. When Hurricane Katrina struck, it appears there was no one to tell President Bush the plain truth: that the state and local governments had been overwhelmed, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was not up to the job and that the military, the only institution with the resources to cope, couldn't act without a declaration from the president overriding all other authority.
I believe I've made my disgust with the early Bush-sniping in this tragedy rather clear. And there is something absurd -- if uniquely American -- about using political blame as a rash form of theophany. But if this is the state of the White House (and all public evidence points to the accuracy of Evan's thesis) then George W. Bush, if no one else, deserves everything that's happened to him in the last two weeks.
Posted by mesh at 03:39 PM | TrackBack
September 05, 2005
Convert your hotel points for Katrina victims
Apparently, Comfort Inn will apply anyone's bonus points to refugees needing to stay. Something like 12,000 points = 1 room for one night. Holiday Inn will convert bonus points to dollars and give that to the Red Cross and match up to $125 in the process.
Posted by colrus at 11:17 AM | TrackBack
September 04, 2005
Poor Kanye West
It should be noted that in next week's edition of our paper, Mason Neely gives Kanye West's new album a 2 out of 5 rating...
...and that the review was completed before Mr. West's questionable comments on the NBC telethon got him banned from the rebroadcast on the coast that (unfortunately for them) shares his surname.
I dunno. I kinda liked his first album.
Posted by colrus at 03:02 AM | TrackBack
September 02, 2005
In Over Its Head
It's still repugnant to accuse President Bush of not caring about the citizens of New Orleans. But saying that his administration, and especially his beloved Department of Homeland Security, were farcically unprepared for a long-term urban catastrophe? That will be common knowledge by Monday.
Chertoff's Department of Homeland Security demonstrated today that it could organize an impressive press conference in Washington, lining up every participating civilian or military service from the Coast Guard to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to promise its cooperation. But on the ground in Louisiana, where it counts, DHS is turning out to be the sum of its inefficient parts. The department looks like what its biggest critics predicted: a new level of bureaucracy grafted onto a collection of largely ineffectual under-agencies.
Posted by mesh at 12:40 PM | TrackBack
CPD Aiding Mississippi
The Chattanooga Police Department released the following statement yesterday afternoon:
Today the Chattanooga Police Department is initiating a relief program to aid select law enforcement agencies, in areas hit the hardest by Hurricane Katrina. Many of our officers and civilian employees want to assist in the relief efforts of the Gulf Coast region. Beginning today we are putting together an effort that will assist law enforcement officers and their families in that region.
The plan is as follows:
1. We will have our Mobile Command Post Vehicle set up here, in the civilian parking, at the corner of Amnicola Hwy. and Wisdom St. We will have volunteers here to collect the donations, from 4:00 – 7:00 this evening and from 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM Friday – Monday.
2. We are requesting donations of the following items: bottled water, juices, Gatorade/PowerAde type drinks, waterless hand sanitizer, batteries of all sizes, canned goods &/or freeze dried type meals, flashlights, rubber gloves, diapers, baby wipes, packaged and/or sealed baby food and monetary donations.
3. For anyone wishing to make a monetary donation, Checks should be made out to the FOP Lodge #22, the FOP will handle getting the funds to the proper authorities in Mississippi and Louisiana. These donations can be brought to the drop-off location or they can be mailed to:
FOP Lodge #22
P.O. Box 5754
Chattanooga, TN 37406
4. Next Tuesday a group of our officers will take the donated items to southern Mississippi for distribution to law enforcement personnel in that area.
Again, this is an effort to try to help the law enforcement officers and their families during this very difficult time. As you know, these officers are working incredible hours and in many cases their homes have been destroyed or damaged as well. To the officers and citizens of Chattanooga, thank you in advance for your assistance.
Posted by mesh at 12:05 PM | TrackBack
September 01, 2005
Local Ways to Help in Hurricane Relief Efforts
FROM WGOW AND WRCB:
Talk Radio WGOW and Channel 3 WRCB will be setup in the Velocity Sports parking lot (old Sam's Club / Circuit City) on Lee Highway at 153 Thursday from 5 a.m. - 7 p.m. for a hurricane relief effort. TranCo Logistics in Rossville has donated use of a truck, pallets, shrink wrap, and manpower to deliver a load of bottled drinking water to the disaster area. DONATIONS ACCEPTED ARE SHRINK-WRAPPED CASES/FLATS OF BOTTLED DRINKING WATER ONLY! No gallon jugs, singles, etc. Monetary donations by check will be accepted. Make checks payable to: "Red Cross Louisiana Disaster Fund". Items not needed/accepted include: food, clothes and cleaning supplies.
FROM TEMA:
If anyone or any organization in Tennessee wants to go to the Gulf Coast to assist in relief efforts, THEY MUST BE CREDENTIALED FIRST. This means ANY ORGANIZATION, GROUPS, LAW ENFORCEMENT... ANYONE. People and organizations who travel to the Gulf Coast without proper credentials first will be turned back before they get close to the area. Failure to acquire the proper credentials will create more problems and slow the delivering of aid.
The credentialing agencies for Tennesseans seeking to help are the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Tennessee Red Cross. They can be contacted at 615-741-1496 and 615-741-0343. If you are solicited for volunteers, please make sure these agencies are contacted and the proper channels are followed. These groups are coordinating with Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana officials about what they need.
FROM NAM:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contacted the NAM early this morning and has activated the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) in an effort to expedite response efforts and save lives. We join the DHS call and urge our members to log-on to the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) web portal (www.swern.gov ; www.nwwarn.gov ; www.ian.in.gov ; and www.seern.gov) to access the National Emergency Resource Registry (NERR) by clicking on the link in the upper right corner of the page. Once registered, this resource allows HSIN-CI members as well as the general public to submit information about resources that may be used to support on-the-ground recovery efforts.
This is a secure, Official U.S. Government system to facilitate the marrying of capabilities and supplies with needs. As of this morning, the highest priority needs are for emergency supplies of non-perishable items that can be made available to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
We also encourage members to continue to check the site, as more specific needs will be posted as they become known.
FROM UNITED WAY:
The United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund is an easy way to help people in affected communities to begin rebuilding their lives. All funds will be allocated for both front-line disaster relief and long-term recovery needs, as determined by local United Ways in affected areas in coordination with a vast network of human service agencies and volunteer centers. United Way of Greater Chattanooga has posted a link to the United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund on its website at www.uwchatt.org for anyone wishing to make a credit card donation. Donations via check are being accepted at the following address: United Way of America, P.O. Box 630568, Baltimore, MD 21263-0568.
Please clink on the links below for some of the organizations assisting with relief efforts:
American Red Cross
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency
Salvation Army
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
Catholic Charities USA
Posted by colrus at 08:11 AM | TrackBack