Opinion

City Council plays an important part in the governance of our city. As a legislative body they should be working with the citizenry to address their concerns and build toward a collective vision of our ideal Chattanooga. Department directors and public officials should be accessible during City Council, as they play a vital role in addressing the specific concerns of the public. It is unfortunate, then, at last weeks City Council meeting, that nearly every department head and public official left the room when it came time for public comment. Its deeply troubling to me that those given the responsibility of running important aspects of our city think so little of the people they serve that t…

Ive recently taken a job doing paperwork for a company in Athens, Tenn., about 45 minutes up I-75. The work I do may not be interesting on the surface, but the people I work with certainly are. I might as well be commuting into their city from Oz every day because these people are completely misguided about certain aspects of our city. Several of my co-workers refuse to even drive through Chattanooga if they can possibly avoid it. Here a few examples of some of the misconceptions Ive heard while at work Walking downtown is extremely dangerousI suppose it is sort of dangerous to walk downtown with all the traffic and such, but I do it every day anyway. There have been a few pedestrians struck…

Almost all of my friends have moved on to marriage and children or substance abuse problems since our wild days in college. I remember feeling so much pride right after a good, old-fashioned make-out session with someone you barely knew and would probably never really know.…

I want to let my girlfriend know early on that Im still taking her out to dinner and possibly purchasing chocolate. I will give her a Valentine and express my feelings for her by saying all the right things at the right times. There will be candles and long periods of gazing into one anothers eyes. I will enjoy every second of the experience because I love her and she loves me and forever and kisses.... But it doesnt have to be that way. What if we decided that together we would work to sabotage the corporate agenda behind the holiday? What if we could shine a light on the bedrooms of America like Lenny Bruce? What would happen if we turned against the normalcy of society and used our intell…

My girlfriend admits her knowledge of football is minimal. My knowledge of football is by proxy. Ive watched hundreds of games and know the rules, but I wouldnt call myself a fan nor do I care about the outcome of the games. We watched this years game together, with the accompaniment of alcohol and homemade hot wings. The questions began immediately. Where are the Giants from? Are they the New York Giants? So why is "it" in Indianapolis? Is it only places with pro teams that get the location? What happens if the predetermined location is home to the team that makes the Super Bowl?Were off to a rollicking start with these legitimate questions, all before the opening kickoff She worked the fir…