So, how's your year been?
What is the proper etiquette for saying "Happy New Year" in terms of time? Today is Jan. 3. Is that too late? Do you get the whole month? Do you get until the end of June?
Anyway, Happy New Year. And know that you can count me among the folks happy to raise a glass as 2018 left the building. Good riddance.
Jay GreesonI'm not a resolution guy. Don't really see the need to put life goals on an arbitrary day simply because the calendar flipped. But if that's your cup of tea, good luck.
That's not to say I am without traditions - and some may find them silly - as the new year starts. First, as a family, we write down the thing we want to forget the most from the previous year and throw it into the fire. One of my pieces of paper simply said, "Writing eulogies" after a year in which I wrote three, including my father's.
Another one - and this one is rather peculiar - is that I can't get enough of the "Year in Review" stories. Locally. Nationally. Politics, sports, entertainment, you name it. Those lists of the folks who died. All of them.
In fact, one of my favorite things the TFP does is the top 10 stories of the year with readers casting votes for those top 10. That's cool. This year's was a strange mix of shootings and tragedies and scandal and new beginnings.
With that in mind, let's start a new tradition in this little meeting place. On our first meeting of the new year, let's try to peg the five stories that will be among those 10 in 12 months. Deal?
» Waste water treatment plant placement. This one seems pretty clear because of three simple truths.
Fact: The fastest-growing parts of Hamilton County must have some way to handle wastewater. Fact: The county has committed to building one. Fact: No one wants a sewage treatment plant anywhere close to where they live.
Those three facts cannot co-exist. But a lot of money - our money – is going to be spent moving wastewater to a treatment plant, nonetheless.
» Stadium seating. There is a mad scramble for better digs among the minor-league and college sports teams that call Chattanooga home.
The Lookouts, the soccer clubs, even the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are exploring options. The key here, like any group or person looking for a new home, is financing.
We know the Lookouts want public funds to help. We know that the new soccer team has announced a plan to fund its new facility, although beyond a rendering, the details such as location, timeline or budget are like scoring in a soccer match - scarce. UTC administrators have talked of moving football away from Finley Stadium.
Who actually packs their bags - and who picks up the check for those moves - for a new home will be interesting.
» Budget battle. The Hamilton County budget discussions have already started.
The schools - which account for more than 60 percent of the more than $700 million annual county budget - are going to request more. They always get more.
This year, however, the school system likely will ask for more than normal growth in revenue. The only way to accommodate that will be a tax increase. And, while no elected official ever is publicly for a tax increase, I've got a strange feeling about this one.
(And while we are here, the end of this school year will be the end of Dr. Bryan Johnson's second year as superintendent. Year three for big bosses in big-boy jobs is when the honeymoon is officially over and positive returns on initiatives and ideas must be displayed. So 2019-2020 is a big year for Johnson, too.)
» Who's running? There are no elections on the calendar in 2019, but that does not mean there will not be campaign posturing.
With the looming 2020 elections, there are several folks eyeing runs for the seats now held by Sen. Lamar Alexander and President Donald Trump.
Several of them could have a 423 area code, too.
» Wanna bet? Tennessee lawmakers have various bills on legalizing sports gambling on their legislative agenda.
We know Gov.-elect Bill Lee has been outspoken against legalized sports wagering, and it is in no way a sure-fire bet to pass.
But just like in wagering, there never is a sure bet, and you can never say never.
What we can say is, if legalized, Chattanooga's proximity to Georgia and Alabama - states that do not have legalized sports wagering - would mean a chance to maximize the revenue-generating opportunities of sports betting.
Will it happen? Hard to know.
But here's betting 2019 is better than 2018.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343.