Pam Sohn is the Times opinion editor, representing the left-leaning side of the Chattanooga Times Free Press opinion pages. Sohn has been reporting or editing Chattanooga news for 30 years. A Walden's Ridge native, she began her journalism career with a 10-year stint at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. She came to the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 1999 after working at the Chattanooga Times for 14 years. She has also been a city editor, Sunday editor, wire editor, projects team leader and assistant lifestyle editor. As a reporter, she covered the police, courts, health, education and environment beats. She has won dozens of writing and editing awards in both Alabama and Tennessee, including first-place honors for breaking news, investigative news, public service, features, reporting without a deadline and editorial writing. During her tenure as Sunday editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the paper received the 2002 first-place honors for Best Sunday editions and Sweepstakes Award — Best Paper in the State. She has been married for 41 years to photographer, Louis Sohn. They have a grown son, Mitch, as well as three dogs and a grand cat. When not working, Pam gardens, researches family roots and plays piano. Contact her at psohn@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6346.
Change is beginning.
by Pam Sohn 3 hours agoWe've said it before. Women will not go back. Nor will plenty of men. Kansas just proved it.
by Pam SohnWhew! County elections are over.
by Pam SohnWhat a wild end to an oddly entertaining county mayor's race.
by Pam SohnAdding insult to injury as we desperately and unsuccessfully - so far - hope to be free of COVID-19, we now learn that we also have three cases of monkeypox confirmed in the Chattanooga area, according to a Tuesday announcement from the Hamilton County Health Department.
by Pam SohnEarly voting in Hamilton County was down 9% for this year's county general and state primary compared to 2018. And in 2018, early voting was down 8.85% from four years before in 2014.
by Pam SohnIf you slept any at all last week, you might have missed news of the proposed new Lookouts baseball stadium in the South Broad Street area barreling ahead among local officials — even while much of Chattanooga and one of Hamilton County's mayoral candidates question the expenditure of nearly $80 million in public money to build a new sports temple. All this while developers and the Lookouts commit nothing upfront more than about 10 acres of donated land and standard yearly sports lease payments once the stadium opens.
by Pam SohnLocal and Tennessee Republicans are showing themselves to be just as low, disgusting and deceitful as national Republicans.
by Pam SohnTennessee Gov. Bill Lee just can't help himself - he keeps adding insult to injury for teachers and public schools in our state.
by Pam SohnWe've gotten loud. Now it's time to vote loud.
by Pam SohnAlready, we have seven decided school board members: Rhonda Thurman, District 1; Marco Perez, District 2; Tiffanie Robinson, District 4; Joe Wingate, District 7 - who were not up for election this term - and Gary Kuehn, District 9, who won in May and has no Democratic opposition in the Aug. 4 general election.
by Pam SohnJohn Allen Brooks, an attorney in private practice here for 30 years and and a former Hamilton County commissioner, is far and away the best choice to be the next Hamilton County District Attorney.
by Pam SohnCome September, the Hamilton County Commission will bump from nine seats to 11 seats — thanks to the 2020 Census and the commission's vote to add seats thanks to redistricting.
by Pam SohnCan't you almost smell the change in the political air at the Hamilton County Courthouse?
by Pam SohnFor three-and-a half months, Hamilton County and Chattanooga taxpayers have been getting the hard sell by our mayors and other officials trying to persuade us that spending $80 million in public money up front for a new Lookouts' sports palace is a good idea.
by Pam SohnThree cheers for Memphis Republican Mark White, the Tennessee House Education Administration Committee chairman who said exactly what needed to be said about the Hillsdale College president who spent two hours belittling teachers and educators during a June appearance with Gov. Bill Lee in Franklin.
by Pam SohnIt becomes increasingly obvious that the game is all but over on the proposal to put a new Lookouts stadium on the former U.S. Pipe/Wheland foundry site on South Broad Street using $80 million in public money.
by Pam SohnAs much as we'd like not to say this, COVID-19 is not gone.
by Pam SohnIt's great to see the results of people getting feisty when they don't like what politicians and civic leaders are doing. Take for example the aftermath of a recent reveal of teacher insults from Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn — and the silence from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
by Pam SohnThe big headline on the Chattanooga Times Free Press front page Thursday was clear: "Scenic City lands $4.9M in EPA money."
by Pam Sohn