Today was the first day that the new parking meters on the North Shore (Frazier Avenue, Coolidge Park, and the Theater Center) were activated and ready to accept your money (cash or credit) so you can park (up to two hours).
It is being reported that the money from the meters will be used for a parking garage on Frazier and to expand the free shuttle service to the North Shore area.
There have been complaints about paying for parking on the North Shore, but I don’t see it affecting me one way or the other. When I go downtown, I am usually on the South side, and I have to pay for parking there. Paying for parking on the North Shore is going to become just a fact of life.
I appreciate the fact that the money will be used for expanding the free shuttle service, so that might actually get me (and others) across the river more. After I pay to park on the south side, of course.
(more…)
According to today’s Times Free Press article, the city will be marketing itself with the new slogan, “A great city by nature.”
Bob Doak, director of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said his agency has a new message for Chattanooga that it will take to 25 television markets throughout the Southeast and another 17 national cable outlets.
The message: Chattanooga is “A Great City By Nature.” He said the campaign will highlight the city’s “fine urban environment” and world-class amenities. Mr. Doak said it will convey that, best of all, Chattanooga is surrounded by great natural beauty.
“We’re not a facade. We’re not a movie set,” Mr. Doak said.
I never realized that there was a ChattaNEWga campaign (aimed at promoting the new waterfront and downtown revitalization), and thought that “The attraction’s only natural” was still the slogan, because it is still up on the Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website. But then again, I am not really the one who the bureau wants to attract- I live here.
(more…)
This press release from the Chattanoogan gives disappointing news to Chattanooga- Toyota picked Tupelo, Mississippi as the site of its new plant. The Times Free Press has an article that indicates the official announcement will be given tomorrow, and they will have a full article in tomorrow’s paper.
So, this is pretty disappointing news. But it really comes as no surprise. This blog article from TennesseeTicket.com makes an excellent point.
A megasite doesn’t have to be inhabited by a mega company, in my view. And look at the original(?) Industrial Revolution as an example: entrepreneurship breeds entrepreneurship.
One of the aspects of Chattanooga that I love is the spirit of entrepreneurship that is flowing throughout the city. Downtown’s resurgence has allowed so many small, unique, and wonderful small businesses to flourish. We have been disappointed twice now in the search for that one big savior of a company. Shouldn’t the city start looking for another solution? Is there another solution?
I am looking forward to the Time Free Press article tomorrow.
[tags]Chattanooga, Toyota, Enterprise South, megasite[/tags]
Today the fine minds at Coptix launched the redesigned St-elmo.org. This announcement is near and dear to me because it is the neighborhood that I currently live in and enjoy everyday.
An email to the neighborhood list from Coptix President, Jeffrey Cross, indicates that the main reason for the redesign is the playground project here in St. Elmo. The site is where you can go an make donations via paypal to help with the final costs of the playground or sign up to volunteer for the weekend project.
The new St. Elmo website gives a wealth of information- the history of the neighborhood, local merchants and artists, and information on the neighborhood association. I appreciate that the site also has external links of interest- our flickr group, craigslist, and the driving tour.
Jeff’s email also mentioned contacting them to let them know of information that isn’t on the site. I know we have more artists in the neighborhood than Infradig, so I hope a lot of them get added to the site soon. Also, our email list is constantly sending emails recommending people for handymen, HVAC, mechanics, and more. Soon that information should be consolidated on the website, which will be a helpful resource to many in the neighborhood.
This website is one that other neighborhoods should look to as an excellent example of a neighborhood website. I’m excited to add it to my blogroll and applaud Coptix for a job well done.
[tag]Chattanooga website, St. Elmo website[/tag]
It is being reported that President Bush will be coming to Chattanooga next Wednesday. An advance team was here in the Scenic City checking out the locations he may visit.
The reason for the visit is health care and some small business owners who are having problems getting health care for their employees will meet with President Bush.
Tennessee is often at the top of some lists for poor health care- recently a report from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (headquartered here in Chattanooga) puts Tennessee at the very top for prescription drug use.
I am interested in who the small businesses will be that get to meet with President Bush. I know that it will be an honor to get to meet with him and air their grievances and thoughts on the topic.
And I hope that the President finds Chattanooga hospitable in his short visit here.
[tag]Chattanooga, President Bush, health care in Tennessee[/tag]
The Chattanooga Airport is getting free wireless via Airnet. The press release quotes Keith Campbell, Airnet’s Chief Operations Officer.
“With a visitor’s first impression to Chattanooga through our airport, what better way to assist the wonderful job that Mike Landguth and his folks at the airport are doing for us and show our travelers what Chattanooga has to offer.”
I agree that having free wifi in our airport will give our visitors and travelers a great first impression of Chattanooga. And it even gives people a great impression of our city when they leave and/ or are stuck in our airport. Free internet access is a small gift we can give people who fly here and visit
Thanksgiving of 2005 my family was flying back from Florida and got stuck in the Charlotte, NC airport. We were there for almost 8 hours and it was not very fun with a toddler and the unknown of exactly when we would get on a flight back to Chattanooga. But the free wifi in the airport allowed us to keep in touch with our friends, family, and upload some pictures from our camping trip to flickr.
It gave us something to do instead of watching the same news coverage on CNN over and over again. And I know that if I ever travel to Charlotte again, via airplane, that it will be a pleasurable experience.
I’m glad that the Chattanooga airport will be doing the same.
As I posted before, Chattanooga has revised our recycling program. We no longer have weekly curbside pickup and now we have to wait until our specific Wednesday to have our plastics, cardboard, and paper picked up. Today was the first one for our neighborhood and I was so glad to get rid of everything.
I predicted that we would have 9 to 12 bags of recyclables. I actually forgot to count, but we had a lot. There was a pile in our kitchen that had been collecting since December. We missed the last curbside pick up in 2006 (we were out of town) so we had more than what would be normal.
It was a bad sign when our recycle pile fell over on our dog on Sunday. We almost broke down and took stuff to a collection center, but in my mind, it was like “Then they win!” I guess I think that if we start taking our stuff to a drop off then there will be less at my curb and they might do away with picking up all together. Well, it makes sense in my mind.
So we have another month for everything to pile up (hopefully not on the dog). And next month I promise to count the bags.
One of my favorite places to hang out in Chattanooga is Coolidge Park. We usually get there a few times in the summer so someone can play in the fountains or to see the fireworks at the end of Riverbend. I know the carousel is a big draw as well, with all the hand carved animals that were carved here in Chattanooga. It really is a special landmark of the city.
It was a sad day in August when the large slippery elm tree had to be removed due to severe damage. It was over 100 years old and it gave Coolidge Park some needed shade for many people. I am glad the city recognized how special the tree was and had special plans on what to do with the wood once the tree came down. Giving the wood to woodworkers to use for their craft will make their pieces truly special. (more…)
In checking the local headlines, I tend to head over to two places:
Chattanoogan.com and Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Today I was pleased to see that the Chattanooga Times Free Press will be getting a makeover beginning on Monday. While I have learned to navigate the site as it is now, I would appreciate a cleaner look and some easier navigation. I’m looking forward to Monday’s release.
Until I got a letter in the mail yesterday, I totally forgot about the change in Chattanooga’s recycling program beginning January 1, 2007. The letter had three bullet points to point out what the city claims are improvements to the program:
- New curbside service areas and “Recycle Wednesday” schedule. (Instead of weekly pick up from our curbs, we get to accumulate our goods and wait until our neighborhood’s special Wednesday once a month.)
- Additional convenience centers. (Other areas, not just Warner Park, will be set up for us to go to if we can’t wait for the once a month pick up.)
- Clear guidelines for recycling. (Apparently half of the items picked up weekly have to go to the landfill because people are putting in non-recyclables out for pick up.) (more…)
