The most memorable quotes in the Chattanooga Times Free Press for March 16-23.
"When someone offers you an olive branch, you don't set it on fire."
- State Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, on forcing Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's administration to concede a point about state employee layoffs.
"A huge problem in our community is transportation. It's going to take everybody on the same page. The mayor's office can't be in one direction, CARTA in another and City Council in another."
- Chattanooga City Councilman Jerry Mitchell on the need for coordination and cooperation to find solutions to transportation issues in the city.
"My name is Alberto, maybe he was confused and thought my name was Alredo. I don't know. I never asked."
- Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the nickname "Fredo" his former boss, President George W. Bush called him.
"So they no longer get to say what they say to each other which is, 'Everybody hates us and we never had a chance. And it also helps their own community say to them, 'They are trying to help you. I don't want to hear excuses anymore. You can't act like this anymore.'"
- Criminologist David Kennedy of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York on the need to offer offenders in the city's new Violence Reduction Initiative help and support to reduce gun violence.
"I've been putting in applications all over for the past five months and I've made some contacts today ... I've spent a lot of my retirement tryring to get by and I need a job."
- 60-year-old Darrell Fleming, who lost his job in October at a Fort Oglethorpe business, on the job fair Thursday at the Northwest Georgia Career Expo at the Walker County Civic Center in Rock Spring. Hundreds of job seekers were able to talk with representatives of 40 area employers.
"I am still very open to meeting with the mayor. I don't have an interest in meeting with his staff."
- Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith on efforts to resolve the issue of the $11 million owed to the school district by the city.