Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The march moves south on the Walnut Street Bridge. The first annual "March for Life" in Chattanooga, rally against abortion by Greater Chattanooga Right to Life, was held on January 22, 2022. The route was from Coolidge Park across the Walnut Street Bridge, to the Market Street Bridge and ending at Coolidge Park.Readers of the Chattanooga Times Free Press participated in an online poll to select the top news stories of 2022. Here are the top stories, in order of most reader votes:
ABORTION LAW
Tennessee banned most abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court released its opinion in June overturning Roe v. Wade. Tennessee's law makes the act of providing abortion services a felony in most cases, with no exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of the mother -- although it allows doctors to defend themselves in court if saving the mother's life was the reason for the procedure.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Marchers cross East 11th Street as they arrive At city hall. Tennesseans gathered and marched for abortion rights at Bans Off Our Bodies rallies around the state Saturday on May 14, 2022. The local march started at Miller Park and circled to the Chattanooga City Hall.
VOLS FOOTBALL
Tennessee raced out to an 8-0 start that included exciting home wins over Florida and Alabama. When the Vols beat Alabama on a last-second field goal -- the first win in 16 years over their rival -- thousands of fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. Tennessee eventually rose to the program's first No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff standings. The Vols would finish the season by going 2-2 in their final four games, including a stunning loss at South Carolina. UT earned a trip to the Orange Bowl for the first time in a quarter century.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Tennessee (20) Jaylen Wright carries the ball as Georgia (23) Tykee Smith gives chase at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. on Saturday, November 5, 2022.LOOKOUTS STADIUM
Chattanooga and Hamilton County officials approved construction of a new $79.4 million Chattanooga Lookouts multiuse stadium on former foundry land in the city's South Broad District. The city and county created a special tax district and most of the new property tax revenue collected in it will help pay off bonds expected to finance the stadium. Such tax districts are designed to spur economic development in areas where it's stagnant.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Hamilton County and City of Chattanooga officials announced the plans to develop the former Wheland Foundry site, with a new baseball stadium being the anchor. The event took place at the Wheland Foundry site on June 30, 2022.MOTEL EVICTION
Hundreds of people were displaced when the Budgetel Inn in East Ridge closed in November. The closure came after District Attorney Coty Wamp asked a judge to temporarily shut down the property, citing a high volume of crime in the past few years. Residents of the extended-stay motel off Interstate 75 said they had about four hours to move out of their rooms.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Residents and officers stand outside the Budgetel on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. After being told to leave the building by early Wednesday morning, many residents of the Budgetel in East Ridge begin packing their belongings. The building is said to be shut down due to high crime. GUN VIOLENCE
Six teenagers were injured May 28 after a gun battle appeared to erupt between two groups of young people near Cherry and Walnut streets in downtown Chattanooga. An incident June 5 on McCallie Avenue left three people dead -- two as a result of gunshots and another who was hit by a vehicle fleeing the scene. In all, 14 people were shot and three more were struck by a vehicle.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Two women hug at the close of the vigil. Darian Hixson was remembered at a memorial vigil at the Central High School football field on June 9, 2022. Hixson was one of three people killed in a mass shooting on McCallie Avenue, Sunday morning, that also injured 14 others.HOMELESSNESS
The number of homeless people in Hamilton County increased 177% from 2021 to 2022, and 1,600 Hamilton County Schools students experienced homelessness during the most recent academic year. The city of Chattanooga removed a homeless camp on East 11th Street in June and cleared a camp at the corner of 12th and Peeples streets in November. Mayor Tim Kelly announced plans to convert a run-down hotel on Lee Highway into more than 70 units of permanent supportive housing.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Ann-Marie Fitzsimmons, left, talks to Eric Durrett, right, and others as they assemble a tent at the homeless camp at the intersection of 12th Street and Peeples Street on Friday, October 28, 2022.SMITH GUILTY
Former state Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, pleaded guilty to fraud in what federal prosecutors described as a kickback scheme. She is cooperating in an ongoing federal investigation of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren. Prosecutors alleged Cothren, Smith and Casada set up a shadowy political firm, New Mexico-based Phoenix Solutions, and skimmed from its revenues, much of which came from taxpayer-funded mailers.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / From left, Jennie Landreth, Development Coordinator for Choices talks with Tennessee State Representative Robin Smith. The first annual "March for Life" in Chattanooga, rally against abortion by Greater Chattanooga Right to Life, was held on January 22, 2022. The route was from Coolidge Park across the Walnut Street Bridge, to the Market Street Bridge and ending at Coolidge Park.WAMPS AT THE COURTHOUSE
Siblings Weston Wamp and and Coty Wamp were elected as Hamilton County mayor and district attorney, respectively. Weston Wamp, 35, became the youngest Hamilton County mayor ever. The brother and sister team are among the youngest countywide elected officials in Tennessee; Weston is 35 while Coty is 33. Their father, Zach Wamp, served in the U.S. Congress from 1995 to 2011.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Coty Wamp looks on as Weston Wamp talks to his supporters and members of the media at the Edwin Hotel in Chattanooga on Thursday, August 4, 2022.LESLIE JORDAN DEATH
Hometown Chattanoogan, actor, writer and singer Leslie Jordan died Oct. 24 in a car crash in Los Angeles. More than 1,700 people gathered Nov. 20 at Memorial Auditorium to celebrate his life. Jordan grew up in the Woodmore neighborhood and became known to the world for his roles in such television series as "Murphy Brown," "Reba," "Boston Legal," "American Horror Story" and "Hearts Afire." He won an Emmy in 2006 for his work on "Will & Grace."
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / A portrait of Leslie Jordan stands next to flowers at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium on Sunday, November 20, 2022. Family, friends, and fans gathered to honor Leslie Jordan during "Love. Light. Leslie.: Sunday Hymn Singing' Celebrating the Life of Leslie Jordan."STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Almost two-thirds of state assessments taken by Hamilton County students in 2021-22 showed a failure to reach proficiency in at least one subject or subsection of the overall test. An analysis by the Chattanooga Times Free Press using Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program data found 37% of submitted tests had passing proficiency scores across all subjects. The rest -- 63% of tests -- showed inadequate proficiency in one or more subject areas.
BOOK BAN
The McMinn County Board of Education faced protests and found itself amid a nationwide firestorm after voting unanimously to remove the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel on the Holocaust, "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" by Art Spiegelman, from its curriculum. Officials cited obscenities and nudity. The book tells the story of the Holocaust with Nazis as cats and Jews as mice, but a human character, the author's mother, is shown naked in one drawing after committing suicide in a bathtub.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Weston Wamp, middle, holds the Bible as Judge Tom Greenholtz, right, swears in his sister, Coty Wamp as district attorney general during the Inaugural Ceremony for Hamilton County Officials on Thursday, September 1, 2022 at the Chattanooga Convention Center.INCUMBENT DA UNSEATED
Attorney Coty Wamp decisively defeated eight-year incumbent Neal Pinkston for the Republican nomination in May for Hamilton County district attorney. She went on to win the general election in August. Pinkston had violated the state's nepotism law by employing his wife and her brother, the Tennessee Comptroller's Office and Tennessee attorney general found.
VW LAUNCHES ELECTRIC SUV
Volkswagen started production of its all-electric ID.4 SUV in Chattanooga. The company hired about 1,000 more employees in 2022 to assemble the EV along with VW's Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs. Volkswagen invested $800 million to ready the factory to produce EVs, including a battery-pack assembly shop and a battery engineering lab.
RANSOMWARE ATTACK
CHI Memorial's IT system shut down due to a ransomware attack that forced facilities in the Chattanooga region offline for weeks. CommonSpirit Health, CHI Memorial's parent company, said officials took "immediate steps" to protect the company's systems and contain the incident. In addition to the Chattanooga region, hospitals in Nebraska, Washington, Iowa and Texas were affected.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
As home prices rose to record highs and wages failed to keep up, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly unveiled plans for a $100 million affordable housing initiative over five years. The city plans to put up $33 million in "seed" money without raising taxes. The remaining two-thirds funding is to be raised working with nonprofit groups, banks, foundations and other entities. Kelly expects thousands of affordable homes will be created and rehabilitated.
PANDEMIC DEATHS
COVID-19 took its place as a top cause of death in Tennessee, even as most residents went on with their lives as if the pandemic was over. COVID-19 in 2022 has been the third leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer, based on historic mortality data from the Tennessee Department of Health.