Anyone looking to run for Chattanooga mayor or City Council has just over a month to get on the March 4 ballot. Want to find out who's running and who's funding them? Here's how.
Voters living in unincorporated Hamilton County (folks outside any city or town limits) will find booze on their Nov. 5 ballots. Here's what that means.
Get a behind-the-scenes view of the ballot counting and election security procedures at the Hamilton County Election Commission.
Meet the former city councilman behind Chattanooga’s official flag, and learn why it replaced the nearly 90-year-old standard that preceded it.
A recent Tennessee law has led to the arrest of dozens of Hamilton County students, many of them in middle school.
The mayor of Trostyanets, Ukraine, visited Chattanooga seeking local expertise to help the city recover from Russian occupation.
Accra, Ghana, joined a growing list of Chattanooga’s municipal siblings and friends across the globe. But what’s the history and purpose of the partnership program?
Fitch Ratings downgraded the City of Chattanooga’s credit rating, a marker of how well the government can repay its debts. The main reason? Income inequality among Chattanoogans.
The new zoning code for the city of Chattanooga opens up the lot size restrictions on new single-family homes. Smaller lot sizes could mean more affordable housing in the long-run.
After Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Alex McVeagh won election to higher office, it fell to the county commission to pick his interim successor. Here’s why sessions court and the person presiding on the bench matter.
Learn the inspiration behind and two of the figures immortalized on the massive East M.LK. Boulevard mural.
As developers broke ground on the new Lookouts stadium, here’s a look back at how the funding came together, and who’s on the hook for the $115 million project.
Chattanoogans who responded to a survey published in the recent Parks & Outdoors Plan ranked swimming pools as one of the “most needed” types of facilities — 71% of respondents said the city has too few public pools.
Take a trip inside TVA’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. One of three in the region, the facility is a key asset to Chattanooga’s power grid and an essential part of TVA’s green energy future.
It’s common for outdoor sirens to be used for weather emergencies, but not in Chattanooga. Sequoyah's power plant has about 190 emergency sirens in a 10-mile radius surrounding the plant, but they have a specific job – to sound off in case of a nuclear incident.
Chattanooga City Council gave the final OK to the city's upcoming fiscal year budget. From a decline in property tax growth to $2 million for a new skatepark, here are some key budget takeaways.
The Hamilton County Commission will vote June 26 on a budget passed by the school board. It includes around $20 million in extra local funds for teachers raises, a far higher compensation package than in the budget proposal favored by County Mayor Weston Wamp.
The Hamilton County School Board has two options for a school employee pay package in the upcoming budget: a 5% raise that Superintendent Justin Robertson presented to the County Commission or a 3% pay bump proposed by County Mayor Weston Wamp in response.
Orchard Knob Reservation, a national park, is an oasis amid Chattanooga’s sprawl. Preserved due to its role in the Civil War battles, the Knob is home to all kinds of native plants. Alaina Krakowiak, who studied the native flora of the Knob, shared her personal connection to the Orchard Knob neighborhood.
Chattanooga — like cities across the country — has a stray dog problem. While maintaining an at-capacity shelter, McKamey Animal Center also handles all calls about stray, aggressive, and neglected animals. But given concerns from residents and Council members, city officials are re-examining how animal control works in Chattanooga.
More than $2 million to overhaul Chattanooga’s lone skatepark is in the city’s proposed budget for the upcoming year. The years-long project may finally get into gear, addressing skaters’ concerns about dangerous dilapidation, lacking security, and no permanent bathrooms at the park.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Justin Robertson is asking for an extra $21 million in county tax revenues to provide raises for all full-time HCS employees. It's up to the County Commission to OK his proposed budget.
For many years, Chattanooga and other cities grew rapidly through annexation. But about a decade ago, Tennessee laws changed to make it much more difficult for cities to grow in this way.
The Orchard Knob neighborhood in Chattanooga is one of the oldest communities in the city. At one time, Orchard Knob was home to many of Chattanooga’s Black professionals, and the neighborhood had access to a pharmacy, fresh food, and other necessities. After a period of underinvestment, today’s residents are working together to bring back needed resources.
Once you have your idea, found your financing, and know your market — here's how to make your business a reality.
A state bill passed by the Tennessee General Assembly would allow teachers to carry concealed handguns. Here's what it means for Hamilton County Schools.
The City of Red Bank is completely surrounded by the City of Chattanooga. Here's how Chattanooga's history of annexation has played out over the last two centuries.
Hamilton County commissioners rejected an April 17 proposal to tighten the rules for public comments about non-agenda items at the end of meetings.
Cutting ribbons and shaking hands are part of any mayor’s job. But acting as chief executive and running day-to-day city operations? Depending on the city, it may or may not be in the job description.
A survey from the city presents two options for a redesign of Frazier Avenue. Favor more walkability and patio spaces for business? Want to see bike lanes? You can give your feedback at cha.city/frazier.
How the Tennessee primary system works and what to expect at your polling place.
Chattanooga City Council approved a final proposal from Mayor Tim Kelly's administration about how to fund the new Lookouts stadium. Here's what's in it.
In Tennessee, all meetings of government bodies must be open to the public, and citizens have the right to request records of any government business done the local and state level, including officials’ emails and texts.
An extra $32 million is needed to cover projected increase in stadium construction costs. That's in addition to the $80 million in bonds already authorized by the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
Most condemned houses get back up to code, but with the city’s limited demolition budget, some can stay boarded up for a long, long time.
With a budget of around $1 billion, the Hamilton County Commission uses its funding control to direct policy across county departments, from public schools to the county jail to the Health Department.
Your curiosity fueled a year of Chattamatters stories. From the local hip-hop scene to the nitty-gritty of local government — here's a glimpse at what found out over a bustling 12 months for Chattanooga.
Tim Kelly and Weston Wamp may share the job title “mayor,” but they are leaders of two fundamentally different types of government with different sets of responsibilities.
Hundreds of miles of mountain biking trails are within a short drive of downtown Chattanooga, including trails at Walden's Ridge Park, the "first of its kind in the country."
Chattanooga City Council confirmed a recommendation to remove the huge stainless steel pillars illuminating the Chattanooga Pier, which were a cornerstone of the Ross’s Landing redevelopment in the early 2000s.
Operators at the Hamilton County 911 Center are the very first response to over 2000 emergency calls that come in each day. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when you call 911.
Charles White, father of Chattanooga's own Hall of Famer Reggie White, shares how he helped integrate local sports as a mid-century baseball and softball standout.
Workforce development programs help workers stuck in low-wage jobs or those sitting out of the labor market find high-paying careers. Here's how they can help in Chattanooga.
When it comes to how our schools are governed, different entities have different powers. Here’s a quick look at what our local school board can — and cannot — do.
There are more than 78,000 parcels of land in the city, and of those, a little over 11,000 are coded as “undeveloped and unused land.” Here’s how to find them.
Sewer overflows are down in Chattanooga. Here’s how you can help keep it that way.
While the competition is fierce, Chattanooga Roller Derby continues the sport’s legacy of inclusion and openness, matching on-the-track intensity with postgame camaraderie.
Chattanooga’s Smart Community Collaborative looks for data-driven solutions to local problems — and for buy-in from the community.
Chattanooga has always had a rich music history. Take a look at how local rapper Swerzie is making his impact on today's scene.
Sub-par neighborhood spaces keep Chattanooga’s park system from reaching its full potential. By measuring gaps in access and quality, the Parks & Outdoors Department is taking steps to get there.
Tax Increment Financing is the first step in the city's plan to revitalize South Chattanooga with development centered around a new Lookouts stadium.
The number of shooting incidents in Chattanooga hit a 10-year low in 2022. What can we do locally to make sure violence continues to decline?
While most people who experience homelessness return to housing relatively quickly, there are more than 400 people in Hamilton County who are chronically homeless. Permanent supportive housing could help.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency has a new tool allowing the public to monitor construction in the county.
Chattanooga’s open data portal, chattadata.org, lets you dig into a catalog of hundreds of public datasets, including police incidents and city spending.
Accessory dwelling units were legalized everywhere in Chattanooga earlier this year.
Chattanooga has four local historic districts: St. Elmo, Battery Place, Fort Wood, and Ferger Place.
We spoke with UTC Professor of Public Administration Chris Acuff about what the four state constitutional amendments on the Nov. 8 ballot really mean.
When food waste goes to a landfill, it doesn't get the oxygen and moisture it needs to decompose. In a landfill, food creates a substantial amount of greenhouse gas.
Only an estimated 4 percent of plastics in the U.S. are recycled. Let's take a look at what gets recycled in Chattanooga.
This quick guide for new Chattanoogans covers the city's public services, transportation, parks, and libraries.
Not only can native plants add beauty to your yard, but they improve air and water quality, and they support local wildlife.
When the city picks up your recyclables from the curb, the items begin a long journey to be sorted, processed, and manufactured into something new — if they can be recycled at all.
Chattamatters interviewed Marie Mott and Marvene Noel, the two finalists for the Chattanooga City Council District 8 seat. They will compete in a runoff election on September 15, 2022.
Despite some residents' enthusiasm for recycling, many people put items in their curbside bins that contaminate the stream.
As Chattanooga's physical landscape evolves, the Chattanooga Design Studio takes a birds-eye view of how growth impacts life.
Since opening its doors in 2019, Allgood's Used Books and Coffee has been a staple in East Chattanooga, finding creative ways to keep the community connected.
Housing prices have been rapidly rising in Chattanooga. In the last seven years, the median-price of a house in Chattanooga has doubled.
Since the pandemic began, the unsheltered homeless population in Hamilton County, TN, has increased five-fold.
We are Chattamatters, and we're here to answer your questions about life in Chattanooga.
