100 PILOT tax break deals in city to hit $400 million; is that fair?

Erskine Oglesby speaks with a member of the public after a Chattanooga city council meeting. (Photo DavidTulis) Our  Jobs PILOT program has been around since about 1985. The City and County have approved about 100 PILOT agreements since that time. By Helen Burns Sharp / Accountability for Taxpayer Money About $400,000,000 in property tax revenue […]

Able to go no further, fleeing woman in car slain after hitting cop

Officers slay American after chasing her along highway, into deadend in a Soddy-Daisy residential area surrounded by woods. Did the officer think that the Title 55 transportation stop and its fruits were to be worth the snuffing of a human life, and the serious injuries his bullet gave to the man in the next seat […]

By dismissing 3 Airbnb cases, city holds up illegal rule

This is the house at 3610 Ansel Circle in Hixson from which Amanda Cobb, a single mom, hopes to derive financial sustenance — if only Chattanooga city government would not be illegally banning her private activity. (Photo Google Maps) The city attorney’s office on Thursday let slip three civil defendants who had offended the city’s […]

Ledford pushes back against open city idea that would result from Title 55 obedience

Darrin Ledford, member of Chattanooga city council, says he wants police to treat people with respect. (Photo David Tulis) City council member Darrin Ledford pushes back against the implications of transportation administrative notice, worried that if people have liberty to travel freely, careless travelers will get away with “drunken driving” and other evils without the […]

Residents could win huge refund if Gaddy right about Dunlap annex flaw

Steve Darnell, an administrative law judge from the Tennessee department of state, strolls about the old Sequatchie County courthouse prior to hearing a case seeking to overturn 1972 annexation claims by City of Dunlap, a municipal corporation. (Photos David Tulis) Ivan Condra, 84, elected property assessor seven times, served 28 years and is a longtime […]

Citizens to city council: Routine arrests ugly, hateful

David Tulis, Chattanooga’s “blogger with the biggest pen,” shows city council the narrowness of Tennessee transportation law in Title 55, warning that many abusive police arrests occur as officers operate outside its commercial scope. (Photo NoogaRadio on Facebook) Avery Gray is the angry mother of a girl arrested during an illegally arranged repossession of a […]

Cops drag woman out of car under commercial transportation law

Diana Watt, after being handcuffed, is ordered out of a car; the officer is counting down the time for her to act before he drags her out under the commercial transportation statute at Title 55, which requires the state to exhaust its administrative remedies. (Photo Jalonda Oattes on Facebook) Police’s routine claims upon travelers are […]

How many children would have to die for Hammond to shut schools? 5? 17? 23?

Sheriff Jim Hammond addresses the press after speaking to the school board about ways to prevent a massacre or stop one while in progress. He has not been convinced to exercise his authority as the most powerful peacekeeper in Hamilton County, Tenn., to close public schools and thereby save lives. (Photo David Tulis) If closing […]

Will Hammond obey law, or follow black robes? Key question in race

Sheriff Jim Hammond talks to the Hamilton County school board about armed attacks against students and teachers. Sheriff Hammond has been notified that transportation stops against private travelers are outside the scope of Tennessee transportation statutes, and constitute an oppression. (Photo Hamilton County sheriff’s office) The main question in the race between Sheriff Jim Hammond […]