Business Brief: Chattanooga among next Silicon Valleys

Friday, December 27, 2013

Chattanooga among next Silicon Valleys

Slate magazine has identified Chattanooga among 31 cities around the world - and the only one in the Southeast United States - that could become one of the "the next Silicon Valleys" of the world. Slate's David Auerbach writes that Chattanooga and other cities on the list have four crucial ingredients that gave rise to the original Silicon Valley in the San Francisco area: easy research money, easy startup money, mobility, and patience. Oddly, "a catchy nickname" did not make the cut, although it seems to be the first thing on any would-be tech hub's agenda these days. There's Silicon Alley, Silicon Hills, Silicon Forest, Silicon Prairie, Silicon Square, Silicon Wadi, and even the Silicon Savannah. Santiago is Chilecon Valley, Philadelphia is Philicon Valley, and Chattanooga is--breaking the nomenclative mold--Gig City.


Kentucky questions Paradise closing

Kentucky's attorney general is questioning whether TVA followed proper federal decision-making rules in deciding to shut down two of the three units at the Paradise coal plant in western Kentucky. In a letter to TVA, Jack Conway said the utility failed to conduct public scoping meetings in Kentucky and didn't allow enough time for public comments and debate. Conway is requesting TVA to make more information available about why and how it decided to close most of the Paradise plant.