People who had a way with words in the news last week:
“The Regional Planning Agency has let us down … They did not live up to their end of the bargain.”
— Hamilton County Commissioner Jeff Eversole on a resolution allowing the county mayor to sever a contract with a planning agency shared with Chattanooga.
“As a general rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t want the information put out in the local newspaper, don’t put it into generative AI.”
— Instructional video for Chattanooga city employees.
“Melvin Evans is not a story or a show. Melvin Evans is a human being, a real person whose life, in a real sense, is in your hands.”
— Defense attorney Bill Speek making his opening argument to a jury during the first day of trial in connection with a shooting outside a Dodson Avenue nightclub.
“There’s a lot of traffic, but it was moving. I hadn’t been on it in some time because I was going around it through the Bachman tunnel, but I made it. I just had to be careful about the people zipping around me.”
— Tullahoma, Tenn., coin collector Ben Partin on the speed of traffic moving through recently opened lanes on the now-complete Interstate 24/Interstate 75 interchange, a project that took seven years.
“If there’s anyone out there, please raise your hand and let the board know that you’d be interested in it. But I think it’s a little unrealistic.”
— Susan Richardson Williams, a former TVA board member, on the idea that a qualified CEO would lead the $14 billion federal utility under a compensation cap of $500,000 proposed by President Donald Trump.
“We’re playing musical riverfronts.”
— Chattanooga Office of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Deputy Administrator Monica Kinsey discussing plans to move events normally hosted at Ross’s Landing to Coolidge Park during the downtown riverfront’s expected 18-month closure set to begin this November.
“If I had 12 Aprils, then this place would be really humming.”
— Brian Wright, executive director of Finley Stadium and the First Horizon Plaza, on an effort to bring more events to the venues in the summer and winter.
“I think that’s maybe a natural descriptor for a stock that’s less than a dollar.”
— Novonix Chief Financial Officer Robert Long on whether the company’s shares are a “penny stock” after Nasdaq alerted the company it was out of compliance with its rules.
“Using protection as a reason to limit public access is not leadership,”
— Kanika Jones, a Glenwood resident, commenting on Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Beck saying he was concerned about moving commission meetings to late afternoon due to safety concerns for county female staff members.
“Lanny is a good man, a dedicated educator and public servant, and I look forward to working with him no matter the denouement of our election.”
— Democrat Jack Zibluk on his opponent, Republican Lanny Thomas, in the race for the District 53 seat in the Georgia Senate. Thomas had emergency surgery due to a sudden medical situation, and Zibluk announced he would suspend his campaign operations indefinitely.
“This approach keeps the state expectations for skills and standards in place while allowing the flexibility that districts need.”
— Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Justin Robertson testifying favor of a bill in the Tennessee House that would reduce the amount of required testing for some students.
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