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June 26, 2006
Kenardo Curry Indicted
Former city Neighborhood Services Director Kenardo Curry turned himself in to the County Jail this afternoon after a grand jury indicted him on eight counts of theft last week. Curry was also indicted on a single count of fraudulent credit-card use and another count of misconduct after a city auditor testified to the Hamilton County Grand Jury last Wednesday. Also indicted were former Curry subordinates Mark Kleiner, Jennifer Center and Jeremiah McGill.
Posted by mesh at 06:48 PM | TrackBack
The Walnut Street Bridge is Safe Until the Impending Apocalypse
Ron, meet Bill. Bill, meet Ron. Shake hands. Swap land. Make everybody happy.
Such was the big North Shore news last week, as more than a year of negotiations ended with developer Bill Young exchanging his property next to the Walnut Street Bridge for city land near Renaissance Park, thus ensuring that no monstrous, sun-devouring hotels would be built next to Chattanooga’s finest viewshed. Mayor Ron Littlefield brokered the deal, and was much pleased: “The swap of the Bill Young property resolves a sticky problem for the community,” he told Mike Pare of the Times Free Press, “and opens a new opportunity for development adjacent to Renaissance Park.” Young said that development would not likely be a hotel, “unless one comes calling.” Bring flowers, Miss Hilton.
We could attempt to refresh you with the background on this story – how people hung balloons from the bridge and protested at packed City Hall meetings and how an entire mayoral election seemed to hinge on this one building for a very long time – but it’s all very complicated, and we think you’d much rather read about…
Posted by mesh at 06:47 PM | TrackBack
‘Twill be a City on a Hill
Blue Cross Blue Shield announced at the latest meeting of the Chattanooga Rotary Club that the medical insurance giant will spend $300 million on it new headquarters on Cameron Hill. The development will include five buildings connected by skybridges and walkways, 4100 parking spaces, a wellness center for employees, a health institute and public spaces that provide scenic views of the city – all of which brings the development’s grand total to 950,000 square feet, up from 2003’s estimation of 800,000 square feet and $226 million. Better hope your premium doesn’t go up.
Posted by mesh at 06:46 PM | TrackBack
This Pancake is Way Better than IHOP’s
Saturday night, Chattanooga’s Blaire Pancake, eldest daughter of Dr. Bruce and Mrs. Debbie Pancake, became the newest Miss Tennessee. This “aspiring anthropology lawyer” wowed the judges with her avid activism for children’s rights and her rendition of “I’m a Woman” from the musical Smokey Joe’s Café, which also gave her top honors in the talent portion as she beat out thirty-eight other pageant hopefuls.
For the time being, Pancake will wait on law school so that she can become the new spokesperson for the governor’s Safe and Drug-Free Tennessee campaign, as well as compete in the Miss America pageant, beginning in September. And since Country Music Television will film the seven-week preliminaries for their new TV show “Finding Miss America,” she’ll also become a reality TV star during her academic hiatus. Not even syrup could make us like her more.
Posted by mesh at 06:45 PM | TrackBack
Chattanooga's Benwood Schools Featured on PBS
Click here to watch the story from The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.
Posted by colrus at 10:10 AM | TrackBack
June 22, 2006
Video: Bill Clinton speaking at AAN Annual Convention
Here's a clip of Bill Clinton talking about alt weeklies at last week's AAN Convention in Little Rock.
(Thanks to Julia Goldberg for posting the clip.)
Posted by pulseblogger at 10:26 AM | TrackBack
June 20, 2006
Chattanooga Rec Centers: They're a Hit!
From a kindly, sharing reader and his TiVo:
A recent WRCB news broadcast started off with a story about recent gang violence in Chattanooga. It then moved into a piece by Matt Johnson about all the good a rec center was doing.
While the voiceover talks about a "friendly game of pool," the following scenes can be seen in the background. (Click for bigger view.):
First, a child hits another with a pool stick...
...then, he uses a fist.
Thoughts, anyone?
Posted by pulseblogger at 10:36 AM | TrackBack
June 14, 2006
Pulse Advertising Director Andrew Stegall to Play Riverbend Tomorrow Night
Yes, that's right. His mad bass skills will be on public display tomorrow night at 6:30 on the UnumProvident Stage as he sits in with U I Blue.
Posted by colrus at 09:56 AM | TrackBack
June 13, 2006
Lest Ye Receiveth a Cash Advance
In an effort to, evidently, prevent check-cashing firms from overtaking our city, Chattanooga City Councilwoman Marti Rutherford is behind a proposal that would, essentially, require check-cashing firms to spread out all over our city.
From today's TFP:
Chattanooga officials may limit how close check-cashing firms, pawn shops and payday lenders may be located from one another."The reason is to prevent the clustering that has taken place on so many major roads," City Councilwoman Marti Rutherford said Monday.
The City Council on July 11 will consider restricting the location of alternative financial services. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission on Monday voted 8-2, with one abstention, to endorse the restriction.
An attorney representing Cleveland, Tenn.-based Check Into Cash raised several objections Monday with the proposal.
The proposal would change the city’s zoning ordinance to require certain businesses be located a minimum distance of 1,320 feet from one another. The targeted businesses are check cashing, deferred presentment, title pledge and pawn shop services, according to the resolution.
Existing locations at about 100 Chattanooga sites would be grandfathered in and not subject to the new rules, if adopted. Many of the businesses are on Brainerd Road, Highway 58, Highway 153 and Rossville Boulevard, said Michael N. St. Charles, an attorney with Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC. Other cities that regulate business locations, such as Las Vegas and Pittsburgh, have set a standard distance of 1,000 feet of separation, Mr. St. Charles said. He said his client, Check Into Cash, is not opposing the ordinance change. But he said the alternative financial services were being singled out and the proposed change deals with "more perception than reality."
Posted by pulseblogger at 09:35 AM | TrackBack
June 12, 2006
Random Riverbend Observations: Weekend One
You can pay $2 to use a clean, air-conditioned restroom one time (or pay $5 for an unlimited use, evening-long “potty pass”) at the Courtyard by Marriott just outside the festival gates if you want to.
No matter how they position the stage from year to year, the heat at any Covista Stage show before 8 p.m.—the Lovell Sisters’ Friday night appearance being a highlight of the festival so far—is almost unbearable. Don’t let this stop you from checking out some great music, however. Take advantage of that convenient misting tunnel right around the corner. The cardboard hand fans that everybody and their brother are passing out this year simply do not help.
If the whiffs of patchouli and the number of noodle dancing teens is any indication, Infradig’s set on the AmSouth stage on Friday night was a hit, as the band zipped through a bunch of new tunes and old faves (DJ Shadow’s “Organ Donor” and Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” among them) in a sort of warm-up gig for this week’s Bonnaroo appearance. Watching Al Di Meola’s band and crew set up for 45 minutes afterwards was not nearly as exciting. Things did pick up when he started to play, however.
Historically, Riverbend’s redneckiest acts draw the biggest crowds, and Friday night’s Hank Williams, Jr. show was no exception, as crowd estimates topped well above 100,000. An interesting phenomena was observed, as well: More and more people are abandoning any attempts to see the stage at all, instead opting to stand around the several large video screens strategically placed near to Coca-Cola stage.
Kenny Rogers may be close to 70, but his face isn’t a day over 54, and his catalog of hits—many of which getting a well-rehearsed, abbreviated treatment Sunday night with the CSO—goes back almost 40 years. Rogers was a tad put off by the bars on the front of Coca-Cola barge and occasionally gently chided the audience for their lack of participation, but was genuinely likable and entertaining during his 63-minute-long set. (Though news of a young man leaping to his death from the Walnut Street Bridge Sunday night put a damper on an otherwise beautiful and enjoyable evening.)
For full, colorful coverage of this year’s festival, read next week’s edition of The Pulse.
Posted by pulseblogger at 03:09 PM | TrackBack
June 05, 2006
Come Back, Bob! Come Back!
So much for that name-recognition problem. The latest statewide polls from Bob Corker’s campaign show the former mayor with a 20-point lead over his closest opponent, Van Hilleary. The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, shows Corker with 43 percent of the Republican primary vote, with Hilleary holding 23 percent and Ed Bryant bringing up the rear with 17 percent.
Neither of Corker’s rivals disputed that the new numbers showed him pulling away from the pack. “I think the response from our opponents to the survey results demonstrates that they believe what we’ve released is accurate,” Corker Campaign Director Ben Mitchell told the Times Free Press on Friday. Corker, appearing at a rally on the 21st Century Waterfront on Saturday, told his supporters that “we are just getting going.” He also said that he isn’t paying attention to Bryant or Hilleary. “I haven't been paying attention to them,” he said. “We are very focused on what we have to do.”
Which left Ed and Van to focus on each other. Bryant’s campaign called Friday for Hilleary to “be a hero” and drop out of the race, allowing a fellow theocon to gather support. (Well, they didn’t say “theocon,” but they might as well have.) The Hilleary camp thought about this idea, and decided it had some flaws. “The person who’s in last place and doesn’t have a chance of winning doesn’t get to decide who stays in races and who pulls out,” said Hilleary spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe. But that way would be so much more exciting!
Posted by pulseblogger at 01:25 PM | TrackBack
The Trouble Is, Everybody Loves Them Some Free Music
Despite a rumor-squashing press release sent out by the Chattanooga Downtown Partnership last Thursday stating that Nightfall would not be leaving Miller Plaza to move to the waterfront, Riverbend Festival Talent Coordinator Joe “Dixie” Fuller could be heard on WUTC with Richard Winham on Friday discussing the possibility of the waterfront being used for Nightfall events in the future. Huh?
Posted by pulseblogger at 12:12 PM | TrackBack
Blog Bites
The Brass Register will soon be reopening on Georgia Avenue. Bud’s Sports Bar has purchased – and will be moving to – the old Christopher’s location on Brainerd Road. Big River is opening another restaurant at the old Grady’s location at Hamilton Place. Clumpie’s has opened another store next to the new Target in Hixson. (They’re also opening one in Birmingham.) The Bluewater Grille is now open in the old Burger King space across from the Bijou on Broad Street. Work is underway at the new P.F. Chang’s site at Hamilton Place.
Posted by pulseblogger at 11:23 AM | TrackBack