People who had a way with words in the news last week:
“If we can get something else to sew or come up with a menu for a restaurant or do our taxes, then that frees us up to think and innovate and push the boundaries.”
— Claudia Kramer, the Probasco Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on the possibilities of artificial intelligence.
“Our profit margin is too lean to interrupt access to our business during redevelopment.”
— Area 61 co-owner and gallery Director Keeli Crewe, about why the space is closing in anticipation of a revamp of Broad Street.
“What do you do with a child when you arrest them and all they’ve done is go to school?”
— State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, on his proposed legislation to exempt school resource officers from requirements that law enforcement notify federal immigration officials if they come across unauthorized immigrants.
“I’m definitely part of the problem. But I feel like 2020 was still a noticeable increase, even for me.”
— Justin Jakimiak, who moved to Chattanooga from Michigan in 2018, on growth and development trends in Hamilton County.
“I’m for smaller government. I’m for pro-life, for pro-Israel, for cutting out waste, for securing our borders. If all those things that are common sense to me make me a MAGA Republican, then that’s what I am.”
— East Brainerd resident Ron Dyer on a survey showing 61% of Hamilton County Republicans identify with President-elect Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“When we tell people what the law is, what’s going on, the consensus is usually, ‘Why is this still illegal, I wish they would just legalize this already, this is so dumb.'”
— Hemp retailer Anna Butler, on a judge pausing state rules banning certain hemp products, at least until Feb. 18.
“It was time for something fresh and new that really was a better description of who we are as a community today.”
— Allyson Coker, the executive director of Believe Greater Dalton, on a new city logo rolling out in 2025.
“One thing that Mr. Justice was really keen on getting is to find a mentor to have a mentor-mentee relationship for the first six months to a year of his first year as town manager.”
— Signal Mountain Mayor Elizabeth Baker, on the hiring of Matt Justice as town manager.
“In World War II, we borrowed a lot of money to finance buying weapons and arming the world to fight Nazis and Japan. Now, we’re borrowing money and just handing it over to ourselves to spend.”
— Howard Wall, chief economist at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on the growing national debt.
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