The Pulse - Vol. 6, Issue 37

Greening the Ghetto ...and finding the Promised Land

by Janis Hashe

News, Views, Arts & Entertainment • September 10-16, 2009 • Volume 6, Issue 37 • www.chattanoogapulse.com • pulse news 95.3 WPLZ

CONTENTS T H E P U L S E • C H AT TA N O O G A , T E N N E S S E E • S E P T E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 0 9 • V O L U M E 6 , I S S U E 3 7

COVER STORY

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NEWS & VIEWS 6 BEYOND THE HEADLINES 9 SHRINK RAP 14 LIFE IN THE NOOG

20 ON THE BEAT 22 SHADES OF GREEN 29 ASK A MEXICAN

ARTS & FEATURES 16 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT By Phillip Johnston Longing for the days of Ed Sullivan? The Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra Pops season kicks off this weekend with a concert program called “Stay Tuned”.

19 FILM FEATURE

By Phillip Johnston I must apologize for confusing you a few weeks ago about the opening of Food, Inc. here in Chattanooga. The powers that be at Magnolia Pictures led me to believe the film would open at the Bijou on Aug. 28 when it is actually opening this week.

23 SPIRITS WITHIN By Vickie Hurley For the last two weeks, Riley’s Wine and Spirits has singled out favorite wines to share with Pulse readers. This week they change it up and talk about tequila.

24 MUSICAL FEATURE

By Hellcat It seems that September 11th sneaks up on me every year. Maybe that is a subconscious thing that I can’t explain. Maybe I’m just typically busy and take everything a day at a time. Maybe nobody knows.

Cover layout by Kelly Lockhart

GREENING THE GHETTO...AND FINDING THE PROMISED LAND

By Janis Hashe Majora Carter is a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient, just one of many honors for her pioneering environmental work. But Carter’s background and goals place her far from the stereotype of “treehugger.” Born and raised in the South Bronx, where she continues to live, Carter founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001. She’s been instrumental in creating riverfront parks, building green roofs, working to remove poorly planned highways in favor of positive economic development, and successfully implementing the Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training (BEST) program.

27 TABLE SERVICE By Collen Wade At first glance, Blue Coast Burrito could be one of any number of “build your own Cal-Mex” joints. You start at one end of the counter and make your way to the checkout, designing your perfect burrito/taco/insert-Cal-Mex-dish here.

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EDITOON LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PULSE BEATS CITY COUNCILSCOPE POLICE BLOTTER CHATTANOOGA STREET SCENES

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A&E CALENDAR MUSIC CALENDAR NEW MUSIC REVIEWS MYSTICAL DUDE'S HOROSCOPE JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted and property of Brewer Media Group.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publishers. The Pulse utilizes freelance writers and the views expressed within this publication are not necessarily the views of the publishers or editors. The Pulse takes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other materials.

The

Editoon

by Rick Baldwin

Publisher Zachary Cooper zcooper@chattanoogapulse.com Contributing Editor Janis Hashe jhashe@chattanoogapulse.com News Editor Gary Poole gpoole@chattanoogapulse.com Advertising Sales Rick Leavell rleavell@chattanoogapulse.com Leif Sawyer leif@brewermediagroup.com Contributing Writers Gustavo Arellano Alison Burke Chuck Crowder Michael Crumb Hellcat Vickie Hurley Victoria Hurst Phillip Johnston Matt Jones Kelly Lockhart Ernie Paik Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D. Stephanie Smith Alex Teach Julian Venable Colleen Wade Tara Williams Editorial Intern Tara Morris

Letters to the Editor

Art Director Kelly Lockhart Art Department Sharon Chambers Kathryn Dunn Damien Power Staff Photographer Damien Power Editorial Cartoonist Rick Baldwin Contact Info: Phone (423) 648-7857 Fax (423) 648-7860 E-mail info@chattanoogapulse.com Advertising advertising@chattanoogapulse.com Calendar Listings calendar@chattanoogapulse.com The Pulse is published weekly and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publishers may take more than one copy per weekly issue. The Pulse may be distributed only by authorized distributors.

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1305 Carter Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 phone (423) 648-7857 fax (423) 648-7860 Letters to the editor must include name, address and daytime phone number for verification. The Pulse reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Please keep letters within 500 words in length.

The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on culture, the arts, entertainment and local news.

Member

Healthy Eating Awesome article [Obesity In Chattanooga – A Weighty Problem].

Parents need to educate their children on how to eat properly. Get plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains. Also drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep, and get more exercise. Of course, that goes for everyone—not just children.

Prevention is definitely the ticket here!

Good job.

Stacey Walker Neighborhood Lawns Following August’s public rebuke of the city’s proposed lawn ordinance,

Chattanooga officials quickly announced their rewrite process would include broader community input. Almost as quickly, they made their first meeting near impossible for working people to attend: 10 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9, at City Hall. This meeting was, however, convenient for land speculators and developers who dream of empowering city yard inspectors to “correct” your flower bed, woods or vegetable garden without due process. I’m glad citizens are waking up to the fearlessness with which our elected officials are threatening our property rights. It’s time to make Chattanooga government for the people, not the well-connected.

Lana Sutton Spending Priorities I don’t know what a spray park is, but if it was me I’d spend that money on an old timey feature attraction of two steam engines racing towards each other and crashing head on like they used to do in the old days at Warner Park. Right there by the Boise rail yards they could supply the city with the locomotives and take a tax write-off, maybe even charge admission.

Don Woods

Police Need Support It was with surreal despondence that I read Mayor Littlefield’s Executive Order regarding the city’s take home vehicles. I am appalled that I, along with all the other dedicated CPD officers, will now have to pay at least $1,300 annually to provide the citizens of our great city the fastest callout response possible. Furthermore, I’ve learned that the proposed 2009/2010 Police Department Budget calls for cuts in longevity pay as well as the Career Development Program. There has also been mention of eliminating, sorry, “unfunding” police positions.

At last count we are already down 34 officers from what “they” say we should be at. I’ve never met a cop who signed up for this job to get rich.

It’s not going to happen and we do not fool ourselves into believing it ever will. We do this job because we love it. We love it because we believe in what is right. We do it in spite of the fact that we have to explain to our children that we may not be there when they wake up scared in the middle of the night because there are others who need our help just a little bit more at that time.

Toby Hewitt Fraternal Order of Police

Send all letters to the editor and questions to info@chattanoogapulse.com We reserve the right to edit letters for content and space. Please include your full name, city and contact information.

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Pulse Beats

Quote Of The Week: A rundown of the newsy, the notable, and the notorious...

“Look at the map of Chattanooga and try to imagine what kind of city we’d would have without earlier annexations. There’d be no Northgate. There’d be no Hamilton Place Mall.”

— Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, responding to public concerns over the several planned neighborhood annexations proposed by the city.

Littlefield Not Backing Down Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield has no plans to back down from his controversial executive order that charges all city employees a $100 monthly fee to keep their take-home cars. He does hope, however, that the policy will be temporary and can be eliminated when the economy improves and city revenue returns to pre-recession levels.

Explaining the thought process behind the take-home charge, he said the alternative was layoffs of city employees, and that he would rather have “everyone hurt a little rather than having some hurt a lot.” If he were to cancel the executive order, the approximately $1.4 million it is expected the program will generate would have to be taken from somewhere else in the city budget. He even pointed out that he is paying the $100 a month for his own city-supplied vehicle.

However, local police officers and other city employees angry over the new policy have been quite vocal in their opposition. They’ve packed city council meetings, sent representatives out to local talk-radio stations, and mounted a letterwriting campaign to both media outlets and city council members. Several council members are upset with the program, not just because they feel it makes it even more difficult for police officers to do their job, but because there is concern that Littlefield may have overstepped his authority, as the City Charter specifically gives only the council the authority to authorize spending and budgets.

Fortwood vs. Fraternities Once Again The residents of the Fortwood neighborhood, which has seen a veritable renaissance over the past decade, are up in arms again over the various college fraternity houses that are dotted throughout the neighborhood. Their concerns came out during a public meeting last week, hosted by the university, which allowed residents and fraternity members to meet face to face.

While nearly everyone in the meeting agreed there were a number of issues that needed to be addressed—primarily parking, loud parties and underage drinking— no one on the meeting was able to agree on how to solve the various problems.

Paul Burke, who is the “house dad” for the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, said the issue was not one of residents against fraternities. “You’re not going anywhere and we’re not going anywhere,” he told the group. “We need to get along.”

Here is one of the more interesting agenda items set to be discussed at the September 15 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.

Not everyone in the audience was willing to take a conciliatory approach.

Resident Janice Heath complained that at least two to three nights a week, she and her husband were unable to sleep because of the loud noises coming from fraternity parties. Some of the parties happened during the week and resulted in the police being called. She also complained about the traffic from people going to and from the parties, which was even louder than the music being played.

Burke, however, was able to get in the last word on Mrs. Heath, informing her that her own son held a house party this past summer when she and her husband were out of town. According to him, there was underage drinking going on, along with plenty of noise and traffic problems, the type she was concerned about. “We didn’t call the police, we didn’t complain,” he told her and the rest of the group. “But this problem happens everywhere, not just in frat houses.”

Chattanooga’s Food Deserts A “food desert” is defined as “a district with little or no access to foods needed to maintain a healthy diet.” Last November, the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies, in partnership with Crabtree Farms and the Benwood Foundation, conducted the first-ever report on food consumption and production in the Chattanooga area. The report, authored by Lori Quillen, found that certain areas of the region could definitely be categorized as food deserts, forcing the residents of those areas to travel outside them to find and purchase healthy foods. If, in fact, these residents do—or can.

According to the report: “Several neighborhoods in and near Chattanooga’s urban core have identified lack of access to grocery stores and healthy food as an issue. These neighborhoods include some areas that have among the highest concentrations of poverty in the region. They also have some of the highest rates of obesity and overweight residents—in many cases double the countywide rate.”

Fair access to healthy food has become a nationally scrutinized issue, and it remains to be seen what Chattanooga will do about it. This issue will be one of the topics addressed by Majora Carter in her upcoming George T. Hunter lecture—see our cover story this week for details.

To view the entire Ochs Center reports, visit www.ochscenter.org

5. Ordinances - Final Reading: j) An ordinance hereinafter also known as “the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Budget Ordinance”, to provide revenue for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, and ending June 30, 2010; appropriating same to the payment of expenses of the municipal government; fixing the rate of taxation on all taxable property in the City, and the time taxes and privileges are due, how they shall be paid, when they shall become delinquent; providing for interest and penalty on delinquent taxes and privileges; and to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part I, Chapter 2, Section 2-267, relative to paid leave for active-duty training.

As the old saying goes, better late than never. More than two months past the start of the 2010 fiscal year, the city council finally will be able to vote on a budget. The budget, presented to the council last week by Mayor Ron Littlefield, contained no tax increases but also made some deep—and in some cases, highly unpopular—cuts in city departments.

What is even more interesting is that the budget planners are having to work largely in the dark, as at the time the budget was being put together, no one was able to predict how the proposed annexation plans were going to play out. Without being able to account for those areas—specifically how much is going to have to be spent to bring them into the city—even a budget as detailed as this one is in many ways a “best guesstimate”.

It will also be interesting to see how much Littlefield’s proposed budget resembles what the council ends up passing. There are serious concerns about spending priorities, especially in regards to the police and fire departments, and several of the new council members have made it a priority to cut way back on what they see as unnecessary spending.

The Chattanooga City Council meets each Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Council Building at 1000 Lindsay St. For more information on the agendas, visit www.Chattanooga.gov/City_ Council/110_Agenda.asp

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Beyond The Headlines

The Continued Recycling Debate Hits A Nerve With City Hall The cover story of our August 20 issue, “Can Recycling Work?

Reduce, Reuse—And Refuse To Answer” struck a nerve with several members of the city administration.

Mayor Littlefield’s Chief of Staff Dan Johnson sat in with 95.3 Pulse News afternoon host Zack Cooper several days later to address the issue of recycling. However, city Media Relations Director Richard Beeland felt there were still issues with the reporting in the story that needed to be addressed. Here is the letter he sent to us, along with a response from the author of the story, WPLZ News Director Louis Lee. Dear Editor, I am writing in response to the August 20, 2009 cover story, “Reduce, Reuse and Refuse to Answer.” You report that attempts were made by The Pulse to obtain information about the city’s recycling program and the relationship with Orange Grove.

No one from The Pulse has ever contacted me about this matter nor has The Pulse contacted anyone from the City of Chattanooga’s Public Works Department or Orange Grove.

Your reporting is grossly inaccurate. The City of Chattanooga responds to all requests for information regardless of the requester or the negative consequences that may result.

Besides being bound by the Open Records Laws of the state of Tennessee, we strive to be professional and transparent at all times and do so without making the process cumbersome and difficult.

Using words such as, “Despite repeated inquiries...” and “In the last four months, every attempt by Pulse News to find out the exact financial connection between the city of Chattanooga and the Orange Grove Center has been either refused or ignored,” is erroneous and implies wrongdoing on the part of the city. As a journalist, you

“Every city council member who came to our studio (and they all have) was asked about this relationship and none could give us any details. They just didn’t know themselves.” should have a duty (professionally and ethically) to report accurate information and not mislead your readers.

Please provide the information requested and from whom it was requested during the “repeated inquiries,” over the “last four months.” I assure you the city is available to answer any questions and provide any information on recycling or any other subject. All you have to do is simply ask.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Richard J. Beeland Media Relations Director City of Chattanooga Response to Mr. Beeland: One of the first big stories we decided to tackle when WPLZ was launched May 1, 2009, as a joint effort between the radio station and this publication was recycling. One of the main unanswered questions

was the financial relationship between the City of Chattanooga and the Orange Grove Center.

Every city council member who came to our studio (and they all have) was asked about this relationship and none could give us any details. They just didn’t know themselves. When Mayor Littlefield was on the air, no answer was forthcoming. I wrote a letter to Public Works Director Steve Leach and left voice mail on his phone asking for details, but neither was answered.

I believe I was diligent in asking the right people this question, but it wasn’t until I documented my stonewall that anyone came forth.

I applaud the city’s efforts in recycling, and participate in the program myself. I hope the program can be expanded ever further in the future.

Louis Lee News Director, WPLZ-FM 95.3

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A weekly roundup of the newsworthy, notable and often head-scratching stories gleaned from police reports from the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department and the Dalton Police Department.

• In the movies and on television, there are plenty of criminal masterminds with impeccable plans and lawbreaking abilities. In real life, not so much. Even so, one would think that going back to a supermarket that you and your buddy had robbed just a few months earlier would be an obviously bad idea. Not so for one not-so-bright local brigand, who was recognized by an employee when he returned to the market to buy lottery tickets. Police were quickly called, and upon positive identification from the store owner, the armed robber was arrested. No word on his luck with the lottery tickets.

• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again is a wise adage about persistence in the face of adversity.

However, when it comes to stealing beer, maybe stopping with the first

failure would have been a much better idea. A clerk at a Brainerd Road convenience store noticed a man trying to leave the store with an 18-pack of beer. She stopped him and made him return the beer. Then, a few minutes she saw him return to the store and make a beeline for the beer cooler. She stopped him a second time.

Then, proving that persistence can be found in the most unusual situations, while helping a customer, she noted the same man trying the same beer theft. This time she had to chase him out in the parking lot where, when confronted, he returned the beer and finally left.

• With the ever-increasing price of cigarettes, reports of thefts of the cancer sticks have been increasing.

Such was the case at a Brown’s Ferry Road convenience store where a man asked for three cartons of cigarettes, valued at nearly $135. When the clerk put the smokes on the counter, the man grabbed them and ran out

Chattanooga Street Scenes

of the store. The clerk was able to provide police with an excellent description of the fleet-footed nicotine addict as well as his getaway vehicle.

However, the fact that three cartons of cigarettes costs nearly $135 should be enough to make even the most hardened smoker at least pause to consider quitting and saving a rather substantial amount of money.

• And finally, a piece of advice to all readers who rent a house or apartment: kindly ask your friends to use the front door. The landlord of a rental house on Brainerd Road called police to report a possible home invasion when he saw two men jump the fence at the residence. When police arrived, they found the two men inside…along with the unharmed and rather surprised tenant. She explained to officers that the two men were in fact her friends and that nothing illegal had happened. Why they felt they had to jump the fence instead of entering the yard in a normal fashion was not made clear.

Photography by Kelly Lockhart

Public art near the McCallie Tunnels in Brainerd.

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Shrink Rap

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

By Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D www.DrRPH.com

Note: The good doctor took a rest from his labors for the Labor Day weekend, so he’s selected a favorite past column.

I

have recently crossed paths with two friends, both of whom are in the midst of a walkabout.

For those of you unfamiliar with this practice, a “walkabout,” as defined by Wikipedia, is “an Australian term referring to the commonly held belief that Australian Aborigines would “go walkabout” at the age of thirteen in the wilderness for six months as a rite of passage. In this practice they would trace the paths that their people’s ceremonial ancestors took, and imitate, in a fashion, their heroic deeds.”

My friends are doing their own modern-day version of a walkabout.

While perhaps more accurately called a “driveabout,” they are nonetheless on a free-spirited adventure to reconnect with themselves—their internal universe—by connecting with external experiences which lie far beyond the boundaries of the busy lives they have created for themselves. Both are professionals, and this traveling sabbatical is, for them, a way to renew the spirit, feed the soul, meet interesting people and have unusual experiences. They have made a commitment to personal enrichment and intellectual discovery.

Wherever their journeys may lead, I have no doubt that they will be much-

remembered milestones in the bigger journey of their lives.

One friend simply packed up his truck with camping supplies and headed north for a month. He has no concrete plans and a minimal map. The other friend has six months in which to ramble throughout the country—no hotel reservations; just some friends sprinkled here and there who will offer a place to crash for a night or two.

I made a similar, brief journey to Mexico when I was younger. I slept on the beach in my old VW bug and woke to a glorious sunrise.

I remember the very moment of sunrise, which still makes me smile, so wonderful was that once-in-a-lifetime experience. I did a slightly more planned-out version of a walkabout with a friend during my first visit to Europe. We had hotel reservations for the first and last nights of our adventure, but no plans in between except to catch the trains that would take us to various countries. At each new destination we’d learn the money (this was pre-Euro), a few words of the language, and find a place to sleep.

Everything else was delicious gravy.

I am reminded of one of my favorite phrases: “Not all who wander are lost.” This is one of those sayings that struck a chord with me the first time I heard it, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

A bit later in life its meaning came to me: The reason we’re not necessarily lost when we’re wandering is because we are, in fact, doing just the opposite: We’re being found. We’re finding ourselves. We’re discovering new and unusual external experiences, of people, language, food, cultures, and traditions. But we’re also discovering

parts of our inner selves that, without such exposure to these experiences would lie dormant; unstimulated and unexpressed. It is precisely in the creative act of wandering that we unearth ourselves, like some primal, personal archeological dig into our psyches and souls. And we are truly the better for it.

Winston Churchill said that we create our own universe as we go along. And Joseph Campbell advises us to follow our bliss and the universe will open doors for us.

I believe that we can wander every day. We may not have a month (or six) to literally wander, but always we can travel the world in our imagination. We can explore and excavate through meditation, a walk along the river, a romp with the pup, a conversation, a spiritual ritual, a deep breath. We find ourselves, bit by bit, in the small moments of quiet contemplation. And in doing so, we see who we are, how we act, what we believe, and how we present ourselves to the world.

I suggest that every day you do something good for your soul.

Think positive thoughts, call a loved one, light a candle. Every day do something good for your mind. Read, meditate, solve a puzzle. Every day do something good for your body.

Exercise, walk, eat well, sleep well.

Do what makes you smile. Find something to look forward to. Create your own rituals. Create the life you want.

Wander. And let yourself find yourself.

“It is precisely in the creative act of wandering that we unearth ourselves, like some primal, personal archeological dig into our psyches and souls.”

Dr. Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist, minister, and educator, in private practice in Chattanooga, and is the author of “Empowering the Tribe” and “The Power of a Partner.”

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Cover Story

Greening the Ghetto ...and finding the Promised Land

by Janis Hashe

M ajora Carter is a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient, just one of many honors for her pioneering environmental work. But Carter’s background and goals place her far from the stereotype of “tree-hugger.”

Born and raised in the South Bronx, where she continues to live, Carter founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001. She’s been instrumental in creating riverfront parks, building green roofs, working to remove poorly planned highways in favor of positive economic development, and successfully implementing the Bronx

Environmental Stewardship Training (BEST) program.

Carter worked with Van Jones to co-found Green For All, a national initiative dedicated to creating quality jobs in green industries by collaborating with government, business, labor, and grassroots communities. She created and is the co-host of the public radio show, The Promised Land. Described as a “leader in the environmental justice and green-collar job movements,” she’ll be the next featured speaker in the George T. Hunter Lecture Series on September 15. The Pulse caught up with Carter on a plane heading home from the West Coast.

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Cover Story The Pulse: Growing up in the South Bronx, how were you introduced to the idea of greening your environment?

Majora Carter: Although most of our backyard was covered in concrete, my parents did plant great tomatoes and string beans in an old clawfoot iron tub back there. And there was an ancient grapevine planted by the Italian family that lived there before my father bought the house in the late 1940’s. Daddy made wine every year…some years were better than others!

I spent many hours alone in the backyard, digging up and examining bugs, making flourpaste casts of the different leaves I found. But outside my backyard, in the South Bronx of the ’70s and ’80s, there were fires, crime, and a parade of noxious industries that filled the voids where our walk-to-work community used to be.

Power plants, waste facilities, sewerage treatment plants and truck routes had been accumulating in our area for decades when I came back from a college education in Connecticut.

The distance I had during those years away allowed me to see my community and myself differently.

Poor people don’t plan for concentrations of dirty energy/industry, poorly funded schools, or inadequate service budgets for things like police and parkland. Those decisions are made by more powerful, outside interests. Decide to skimp on the environment today, and you’ll make taxpayers spend dramatically more on the tail end for public health, incarceration, and all the problems associated with a hostile living situation.

But I loved the people in my life who nurtured and protected me, and prepared me for everything—even all this green stuff!

TP: You’ve been quoted as describing the lack of green attention to inner-city areas as “environmental racism.” What do you mean by that?

“If we had placed our energy, transport, agriculture and waste infrastructure next to rich people as easily and quickly as we do to poor communities, we would have had a clean and green economy decades ago.”

MC: Really? I try not to use that phrase because I believe it is inadequate, and more off-putting than helpful.

Nobody wants to believe that they’re a “racist” (well, almost nobody); so when one describes a problem in terms like that, a large portion of the audience stops listening—all of a sudden, it’s not their problem: “It’s those environmental racists, not me...”

I do however talk about “environmental justice” because justice is something that many people agree is an important goal—it’s something everybody wants (almost everybody?). Many activists are good at calling attention to problems like “environmental racism”. The trick is to find

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solutions—like justice.

I have always worked hard to examine our progress towards goals along the way, so that we can refine our strategy as we progress. Justice, or maybe I should say equality, is my over-arching goal, and one I hope I proudly share with all Americans. All of us.

There is a “lack of green attention”, as you put it, today, in poor areas all over the country, inner city and urban. Decades of concentrating our dirty infrastructure on top of, or next to poor Americans is causing us big problems, too. I want everyone to see the value of “Greening The Ghetto”. Those two words next to each other: GREEN and GHETTO—you don’t see that very often. It’s provocative and makes people use their brains differently when they hear it.

But China is a ghetto, too, with cities not visible from the air because of coal smoke, textile dyes killing all life in their rivers, and toxic toys and dog food and other products that we buy here. Closer to home, where mountain-topremoval coal mining in Appalachia, or mega-hog operations are destroying air quality and water

for people who’ve lived nearby for generations; these are all the ghetto—whatever their color, affluent people don’t live there. If we had placed our energy, transport, agriculture and waste infrastructure next to rich people as easily and quickly as we do to poor communities, we would have had a clean and green economy decades ago.

Industries often claim to deliver needed jobs to economically depressed areas, but those jobs are very few. They certainly don’t justify the costs they inflict locally and globally. It looks like more and more people are recognizing that, and it feels really good! This is a great time for the history

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An artistic rendering of Carter’s proposed South Bronx Greenway.

of people. For some reason, humans do some of their best thinking on the brink of disaster.

TP: How did you go about engaging the community for the BEST Program? What do you consider its strongest accomplishments?

MC: By the early part of this decade, we were succeeding in bringing state and federal dollars to the South Bronx for environmental restoration.

I watched as labor from outside our community did the work due to a lack of qualified locals, while our unemployment rate was always above 25 percent. By 2003, I had launched an urban, green jobs training and placement system.

Engaging the community meant more than just offering free job training. BEST incorporates what we call soft skills, like teamwork or a greater ability to work through frustrating situations. These qualities are often missing from men and women returning from incarceration, traumatic combat, or those who have experienced multi-generational poverty. By helping our trainees to be successful people, we also helped them to be successful employees. Their work with plants, rivers, trees, and cleaning up contaminated land was very therapeutic for these most expensive citizens, too. In addition, it’s so important to develop a healthy relationship with local and regional employers if you want to have a successful placement service.

We talked about “green” once they were enrolled and on their way, but it’s not a particularly effective initial engagement tool for most people anywhere—you get them in with the fact that this job training will help them get a job. Then they start to understand their role in making the world a better place to be—that’s empowerment.

TP: Access to healthful foods is a major issue

Cover Story

An artistic rendering of how urban rooftops could embrace gardens.

in low-income, inner-city neighborhoods. How should cities be addressing this? What’s worked in other areas of the country?

MC: An up-and-coming food justice star named Zena Nelson started the South Bronx Food Coop as an economically viable way to ensure healthy food in low-income neighborhoods. There are urban agriculture scenes in many cities across America and they are a good start.

But we need to aggregate their production capacity and move these projects from a feel-good proposition to a good-business proposition that investment capital can support over the resourcedepleting agricultural practices that lobbyists have manipulated us into. Will Allen of GrowingPower in Milwaukee, WI is an excellent example of this direction.

TP: Like the feminist movement, the green movement has been accused of being “wealthy white people telling other people how to live.”

Is any of that stereotype true? If so, how do you combat it in programs like Green For All? MC: Green For All is a national advocacy campaign for green job training money on a federal level, as well as outreach to local communities to get them excited about the potential of “green” economic activity. I love their work, I helped co-found it, however, I do not have any role in its operations.

In my nonprofit work with Sustainable South Bronx, and on the for-profit consulting side that I do now, “green” is a very logical and economically prudent tool to achieve our clients’ goals in many (but not all) cases. As for, how a “movement” is criticized, it’s important to look at the message, and not the messenger. For instance, our country is better off without slavery, but the critics of the “abolitionist movement” said it was

a case of “them telling us how to live” and that it would “wreck our economy.” the same things are said about the health care “debate”, or sustainability.

Similarly, women are pleased to have the right to vote and own property today, but the “feminist movement” that achieved those crucial civil rights was likewise criticized as outsiders dictating how others should live.

A “green movement” can provide healthier air, water, food, and active living, which will help prevent our economy from wasting so much money on healthcare. Green economic practices can help our national security by not sending dollars to petroleum-rich, anti-democratic and religiously radical countries that don’t share our values. “Green” methods of providing essential services can improve the quality of our lives.

Everything from a pleasurable and neighborly walk to work, to hunting and fishing in a pristine natural area is a benefit to us all. Maybe you

in some places, and it’s spreading. We need to believe that we all deserve something better.

When we achieve that level of self-esteem, I believe a green movement will flourish without the easy target of a “movement” attached to it. It will simply be normal.

TP: What are you emphasizing on the new public radio show, The Promised Land?

MC: Leadership, from around the world and around the corner—it can come from everywhere, and in fact must come from everywhere.

People I meet on speaking tours and with clients across the country often approach me and say things like: “I wish I could do what you have done”; or a local politician will say, “I wish we had someone like you here to help us succeed.”

Well, I am not that special.

Most of the very successful people I am privileged to meet were not expected to be great.

They were average folks who saw a problem or an opportunity, or both, and stopped waiting for a “leader” to come do the work for them.

Something made it possible for them to believe in themselves, and they did what needed to be done.

I want that to happen as often as possible and in as many places as possible. I am so grateful for the gifts I have received that it’s my duty to find creative ways to help others experience the best in themselves too.

“The Promised Land” can mean many different things, but we don’t get there unless we maximize our leadership potential among the broadest number of people.

My dream is that millions of people will stop ceding control of their rights to “leaders” who sell them short to protect the profits of too few. I am happy that people can make profits—I’ve embraced my inner capitalist, and if you haven’t, you should—it will save everyone a lot of trouble.

But when somebody’s profit comes at the expense of another’s clean air, clean water, or self-esteem, that’s a deal-breaker, ladies. I believe the promised land is a place where we all protect each other, and we all benefit from this activity.

“There are urban agriculture scenes in many cities across America and they are a good start. But we need to aggregate their production capacity and move these projects from a feel-good proposition to a good-business proposition.” want to spend healthcare resources treating preventable, environmentally borne diseases.

Some people may enjoy financially supporting communists and dictators with oil money. Others might be OK with denying future generations the chance to bond with the natural world that so many of our ancestors have cherished. If there are ANY people OF ANY COLOR who feel like that, then I would say “wealthy white people” are the least of our worries.

When we believe in what is best about America, and work to solve our problems here at home, we all win. We need to examine the corporate welfare that is supporting the fortunes of a very few at the expense of us all. Attaching positive economic activity to our urban and wild environment is already rewarded by the market

George T. Hunter Lecture Series: Majora Carter Free 7 p.m.

Tuesday, September 15 Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center Corner of Vine and Palmetto Streets www.benwood.org

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Life In The Noog

Based On A True Story

By Chuck Crowder

L

ately I’ve been on a documentary freak-out. I’d been collecting them in my Netflix queue for quite some time. The minute I hooked a computer up to my TV and signed up for the on-demand “instant view” option, I don’t think I left the house for five or six days.

I’m not real picky about the subject matter. I watched one about a guy who planned and ultimately performed a tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center right after their construction was complete. It was as interesting to learn about the infrastructure of the ill-fated buildings and the weather conditions at that height in that location as it was to watch him spend all night sneaking a line across the void between them and then walking across it at daybreak.

I watched a documentary about a guy whose goal in life was to set the world’s record for the highest score in Donkey Kong. In spite of this rather boring-sounding premise, the film turned out to be a pretty intense drama that I liken to “Ocean’s 11 with geeks.” A mild mannered laid-off father of two is an OCDimpaired, shoulda-coulda-woulda kind of guy who spends countless hours in his garage pecking away on the old stand-up arcade game someone gave him. Meanwhile as news spreads of his progress, there is a flurry of skeptical activity from the nemesis geeks who control the country’s video arcade game high score rankings from a centralized compound in Iowa. The riveting story of zeniths and zits unfolds from there.

I’d have to say my preference of documentaries is rockumentaries.

The turmoil of a band of immature, self-destructive creative types always intrigues me. On a recent trip to New York City, I actually went to the movies to catch one that won’t make it here—Anvil: The Story of Anvil. This band that, in truth, inspired the inception of Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer to name a few, acted more like a real-life Spinal

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Tap during the film’s recount of their recent reunion tour. I watched another one right after that about the original bass player of the New York Dolls. After years of inner struggle and a strange turn of events, he finally had the opportunity to re-live the dream before it was too late. Both films are kind of sad, but sweet.

Not too long ago I re-watched a documentary about two guys who spent years trying to make a horror film using friends, back yards, fake blood and a lot of improvisation.

That one hit home because my friends and I used to make movies in our own back yards using a VHS camera about the size of a Prius hardwired to the top-loading video recorder the size of a Lincoln that was hardwired by miles and miles of extension cord to an outlet in the closest basement rec room with a sign that read, “DO NOT UNPLUG!!!”

Speaking of homemade movies, there’ve been a few documentaries made about the ‘noog. Most focus on our unfortunate role as a famous backdrop during the Civil War, but some recognize other interesting stories that happened around here. A good friend of mine did a documentary several years ago about the Bessie Smith Strut that

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aired on PBS. And now there’s a highly acclaimed piece on the middle school teacher in Whitwell credited with illustrating the impact of the Holocaust to her students by having them link paperclips to represent each of its 6 million victims. I have yet to watch that one—but it’s in the queue.

I can’t explain my recent attraction to watching other people’s stories. It doesn’t take Sigmund Freud to figure out that peering through someone else’s looking glass can be very telling as to the level of satisfaction with your own story. But to me it’s the fascination of seeing what makes other people tick.

I like to think that most of my friends and I live pretty interesting lives. And maybe that’s why I appreciate people who take things up a notch, whether it’s to realize a dream or even if it’s simply because they have one good thing going for them. Regardless, there are tons of real stories about real people out there to be told. And not all have “real housewives” in the title.

Chuck Crowder is a local writer and general man about town. His opinions are just that. Everything expressed is loosely based on fact, and crap he hears people talking about. Take what you just read with a grain of salt, but pepper it in your thoughts. And be sure to check out his wildly popular website www.thenoog.com

“I used to make movies in our own back yards using a VHS camera about the size of a Prius hardwired to the top-loading video recorder the size of a Lincoln.”

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

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Arts & Entertainment

CSO Swings with “Stay Tuned”

By Phillip Johnston

L

onging for the days of Ed Sullivan?

The Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra Pops season kicks off this weekend with a concert program called “Stay Tuned”, featuring the acclaimed group of entertainers Five By Design. “Stay Tuned” is a touring show that Five By Design has performed all over the country; a nostalgic piece of showbiz, where the cameras are rolling and the stage is set for a night of music and comedy hearkening back to the golden age of TV. Like the best variety shows of the ’50s and ’60s, Five By Design, a vocal quintet hailing all the way from Minnesota, creates their own unique live TV program onstage. No need for a remote or adjusting rabbit ears, the multitalented Five By Design has it all taken care of.

Their show takes the audience outside a soda shoppe for a rendition of “Sh-Boom” and pits quiz-show contestants against each other for “What’s That Song?” “Papa Loves Mambo” makes an appearance before a hearty salute to the early days of television with tunes by Bobby

“Like the best variety shows of the ’50s and ’60s, Five By Design, a vocal quintet hailing all the way from Minnesota, creates their own unique live TV program onstage.”

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Darin, Henry Mancini, and the Gershwins, as well as a toe-tapping medley of classic TV themes.

The five entertainers will take to the skies with a propelling musical travelogue that swings by “New York, New York,” sees the USA in a Chevrolet, visits “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” gives the orchestra a showpiece version of “Hernando’s Hideaway,” and ends in the African rainforest for a breathless rendition of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

Five By Design has performed many of their shows (including “Radio Days”, “Club Swing”, and “Stay Tuned”) with the Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and more. They’ve seen tremendous success in recent years in becoming one of the country’s leading interpreters of the American popular song. Rarely performing songs written after 1970, their goal is to “make class cool again one song at a time.”

And apparently they’ve done so. In a day when popular audiences tend to eschew The Great American Songbook and tunes like “The Girl from Ipanema” and “As Long As I’m Singing” are usually relegated to AM stations and hipster coffee shops, Five By Design is comfortable sticking to the musical repertoire of ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. According to Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk in The Grand Rapids Press, their approach works wonders: “For style as well as sheer staying power,” he says, “they can’t be beat.”

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When Five By Design debuted their act at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., “Stay Tuned” was heralded by the Washington Post as “one of the best National Symphony Orchestra pops performances of the season”—a high compliment for a show playing a venue that is no stranger to the original artists behind many classic standards.

It’s a privilege to have a prestigious group like Five By Design visit Chattanooga and be accompanied by our first-rate orchestra. The group will hit the Tivoli stage for one night only.

“Stay Tuned” is sure to swing as cool and sway as gently as that tall, young, and lovely girl from Ipanema.

CSO with Five By Design: “Stay Tuned” $19 and up (student tickets available) 8 p.m.

Saturday, September 12 Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad Street (423) 267-8583. www.chattanoogasymphony.org

A&E Calendar

Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

Friday

Thursday “Movement” 9 a.m. Shuptrine Fine Art and Framing, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453.

Fridays Children’s Reading Hour 10:30 a.m. Rock Point Books, 401 Broad St. (423) 756-2855. www.rockpointbooks.com

Southern Jester Improv 7:30 p.m. The Colonnade, 264 Catoosa Cir. (706) 935-9000. www.colonnadecenter.org

Tim Wilson 8 p.m. The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Black Elk Speaks Native American Festival Noon. Heritage Park, 1428 Jenkins Rd. (423) 304-7157. hamiltoncommunitytheatre.com

Hamlet 7:30 p.m. St. Andrews Center, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.

The Mystery of the TV Talk Show 8:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839.

“Identity Stories” UTC’s Kathy Purnell leads a discussion on how personal identity shapes our lives.

“Jellies: Living Art” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View.

(423) 266-0944.

Free.

6 p.m.

Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View, (423) 267-0968. www.huntermuseum.org

“HelloWorld.Show();” Create Here, 55 East Main St. Ste. 105. (423) 648-2195. www. createhere.org

Julie & Julia Another bravura performance from an American treasure, Meryl Streep.

Various theaters; call for times and prices.

Saturday

Black Elk Speaks Native American Festival 10 a.m. Heritage Park, 1428 Jenkins Rd. (423) 304-7157.

First Pops evening of the season. Swingin’ $19 and up.

8 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad Street, (423) 267-8583. www.chattanoogasymphony.org

Monday “Speak Easy” spoken word and poetry 8 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9040.

Empty Bowl Project 5 p.m. Greenlife Grocery, 301 Manufacturers Rd. (423) 702-7300.

“Sign of the Times” 9 a.m. Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace. (423) 493“Collaboration: Two Decades of African American Art” Chattanooga African American Museum, 200 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-8658.

“Landscapes” The Gallery, 3918 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 870-2443.

“Interior, Exterior: Sweeping Environmental Experience Explored Inside Out” 7 p.m. Artful Eye Gallery, 5646 Brainerd Rd. (423) 855-7424.

The Mystery of Flight 138 8:30 p.m. Vaudeville Café, 138 Market St. (423) 517-1839.

Night Visions: The Art of Frederic Remington and Frank Tenney Johnson Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944.

Sunday Robby McMurtry Artist Reception 10 a.m. Bill Shores Gallery, 2 Northshore. (423) 756-6746. www.billshoresframes.com

CSO with Five

By Design: “Stay Tuned”

“Horse Gestures/ Contemporary Formations” Sculpture Show featuring Harry Krippes & Anatoly Tsiris 6 p.m. Lookout Mountain Gallery, 3535 Broad St. (423) 507-8117.

Tim Wilson 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

“Fresh: Emerging Artists” Opening Receptiom 5:30 p.m. Assoc. for Visual Arts, 30 Frazier Ave. (423) 265-4282.

Mosaic Market 11 a.m. 412 Market St. (corner of 4th/Market) (423) 624-3915.

“Breaking the Mold” Opening Reception 6:30 p.m. River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. (423) 265-5033.

Gallery Hop 2 p.m. Downtown/Southside Galleries. (423) 265-4282. www.downtownchattanooga.org

Tim Wilson 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. The Comedy Catch & Giggles Grille, 3224 Brainerd Rd. (423) 629-2233.

Hamlet 3 p.m. St. Andrews Center, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.

“Stay Tuned” 8 p.m. Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. (423) 267-8583.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Arts Chatt 5 p.m. Easy Bistro, 203 Broad St. (423) 266-1121.

Films From The Forties: So Proudly We Hail 6:30 p.m. Flicks Café, 1001 Broad St. (423)757-5310.

Classic Literature Book Club, 1984 7 p.m. Rock Point Books, 401 Broad St. (423) 756-2855.

“Bagels and Barbeque: The Jewish Experience in Tennessee” Event, “A Tale of Two Immigrants” 3 p.m. Kolwyck Library, Chattanooga State, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-4448. www.chattanoogastate.edu

“Maggie!” and “Movement” Opening Reception 5 p.m. Shuptrine Fine Art, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453.

Black Elk Speaks Last day of Native American festival and performance. $5 Noon, festival 3 p.m. performance Heritage Park, Jenkins Road at East Brainerd Road.

(423) 304-7157. www.hamiltoncountytheatre.com

Works by the late Gail Shippman Hammond 3 p.m. Exum Gallery at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. 305 W. 7th St. (423) 266-8195.

Hamlet 3 p.m. St. Andrews Center, 1918 Union Ave. (423) 987-5141.

“Doulton Delicacies” Houston Museum of Arts, 201 High St. (423) 267-7176. www.thehoustonmuseum.com

Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week

“Root Workers and Railroad Tracks: The Work of James McKissic” Chattanooga African American Museum, 200 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-8658.

“New York Cool” Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View. (423) 266-0944. www.huntermuseum.org

George T. Hunter Lecture Series: Majora Carter 7 p.m. UTC Fine Arts Center, 615 McCallie Ave. (423) 267-

“Bagels and Barbeque: The Jewish Experience in Tennessee” Kolwyck Library, Chattanooga State, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-4448.

“An Evening with C.S. Lewis” 7:30 p.m. Iles P.E. Center at Southern Adventist University, 4881 Taylor Cir. (423) 236-2814.

“Maggie!”

Shuptrine Fine Art and Framing, 2646 Broad St. (423) 266-4453. www.shuptrinefineart.com

Gallery Hop Annual chance to visit studios and galleries and find out the latest art happenings. Brochure/map is available on the AVA site. See you there.

Free.

2 – 9 p.m.

Saturday, September 12 Various arty locales. (423) 265-4282. www.avarts.org

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

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Film Feature

Lights, Camera, Independence

by Phillip Johnston

I

must apologize for confusing you a few weeks ago about the opening of Food, Inc. here in Chattanooga. The powers that be at Magnolia Pictures led me to believe the film would open at the Bijou on August 28 when it is actually opening this week as the first film in The Arts and Education Council’s Fall Independent Film Series.

Yes, it’s that time again—the time where you can walk down to the Bijou each weekend and be guaranteed a challenging piece of cinema. If it’s not challenging, it will at least be different…and you may just be surprised at the things you can learn to love.

With the beautiful new movie theater opening on Broad Street soon, the AEC has been limited on film picks for this fall, but there are at least five planned so far including Food, Inc., Lorna’s Silence (the new film from the Dardenne brothers), and a rollicking British political satire called In the Loop.

On September 16, the acclaimed Sundance documentary The Horse Boy will start a oneweek run. Part travel adventure, part insight into shamanic tradition, but above all an intimate look at the mind of an autistic little boy, The Horse Boy is director Michael Orion Scott’s captivating look into a family where autism has seemingly snatched away the soul of a child.

Going green is all the rage now, but Earth Days (opening October 16) is a look back to the dawn of the American environmental movement. “In all the contemporary agonizing about climate change,” says the film’s director, Robert Stone, “so much of the environmental movement’s past successes have been almost completely forgotten, particularly by young people, most of whom see their efforts at environmentalism as starting from scratch.”

Earth Days is an exciting attempt to give the environmental movement a sense of place.

This week, as you know, is Robert Kenner’s

hit documentary Food, Inc., a harrowing and mostly untold look at the American food industry. The film has served as a revelation for many Americans as it unveils how the majority of our food supply comes not from farmers concerned about the quality of their product but from industrial farms-turned-factories owned by a handful of money-hungry corporations. It’s a story of capitalism gone awry and one where the conclusion affects every American.

Those not familiar with the mechanical, Orwellian way our country produces food may well be shocked by the film, but even more frightening is the way most farmers are afraid to talk about the problem they face daily in their lives and work.

“I understand why farmers don’t want to talk,” says Perdue chicken farmer Carole Morison, “because companies can do what it wants to do as far as pay goes because they control everything.

But…something has to be said.”

Kenner shows us Morison’s farm and the overwhelming reliance antibiotics and high-tech breeding. A chicken that would normally grow into adulthood in three months is fed chemically soaked feed to jolt the growing process to only 45 days.

This may not result in a healthy chicken, but it does produce a chicken with unusually large breasts— and in many cases, this is all people are looking for.

Still, this upsets people farmers Carol Morrison and Food, Inc. is her story as well as the story of others like her, audacious folks who have refused to stand listlessly in their fields and deny the problem.

The emphasis of Food, Inc. is that the future of food in America is not in the hands of farmers, but firmly in the grasp of everyday consumers.

Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm has been taking proactive measures for years and confirms that farmers are more powerless than we think.

“The irony,” he says, “is that the average consumer does not feel very powerful. They think that they are the recipients of whatever industry has put there for them to consume. Trust me, it’s the exact opposite. Those businesses spend billions of dollars to tally our votes. When we run an item past the supermarket scanner, we’re voting.”

To continue the conversation, the Main Street Farmers Market and 212 Market Street are sponsoring a panel discussion with local farmers directly after the first Sunday matinee showing of Food, Inc. In addition to the discussion, the market will provide samplings of local food and hors d’oeuvres, local-tomato Bloody Marys and melon drinks, and a full bar. The event is free. For information, contact Trae Moore, (423) 322-5525.

Film can entertain, but it’s also one of the best ways to spark intelligent discussion about everyday life and the role we can play is making the world a better place. Be sure to take advantage of the AEC Film Series and the upcoming opportunities to continue the conversation.

For more information about the fall Independent Film Series, visit www.artsedcouncil.org

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

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On The Beat

All Dollars, No Sense

By Alex Teach

W

e arrived at work as cheerful as ever to discover the district we would be working for the night—and that with an hour and a half’s notice we would have to start paying $1,950 dollars a year to drive a police car to and from work and use for side employment. Ninety minutes notice after a 17-year run. $1,950 dollars more I would have to earn just to break even. I found it almost appropriate that my own superiors had learned about something as substantial as this from an Internet(s) press release on a local web site, that being the way our elected officials “Roll.” And the final insult? I got a pretty shitty district, too. (I HATE working “Fox Six”.)

My head still spinning, I bounced the math around inside it and realized this was a more-than-four percent instantaneous pay cut. Tsunamis give better warning. I’d grown quite comfortable with the mediocrity of my pay and the concern our elected officials show for us, but while receiving no pay increase in the last three years is one thing, an actual deduction was something I hadn’t considered.

We were briefed (by the media) that this was because of “the economy”, of course. And while true, it was sadly funny, because that’s what we were told the year before. And the year before that. In 2002, it was because of “9/11 and the stock markets”, but the murder of a police officer prompted a raise out of propriety (it, along with money for a police memorial had been denied weeks before her tragic death, then both miraculously appeared). 2003?

Same thing. 2004? You guessed it.

Now, 2005 and 2006 were technically the greatest boom years in terms of personal wealth the country has ever seen (prior to certain economic bubbles bursting), so the excuse then was, “Ah! We’re ‘studying’ your pay now.” And study they did… for two years. In 2007, they finally adjusted our pay—below their studies findings—and then? The mayor’s

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office cut the funding for the raises they had budgeted based on its own independent study, leaving me at a 0 percent change in pay in three years, and only two percent from where I was seven years ago. I can’t make this stuff up.

I’m saying all of this to paint you a picture, albeit a boring one. But I understand perfectly that its boring nature is its Achilles heel, because no one outside of the employees themselves particularly gives a shit.

I washed my war paint off years ago. There were no more arguments left; no more windmills to tilt at, so I hammered my rifles into plows and worked more hours on the side to make ends meet. Then, in its neverending ability to surprise even a barely functional thug like me, I arrived to find I just got a pay cut as well as losing the ability to make up for the loss on the side—unless I paid my employer nearly $2,000 a year.

That’s MY half of the story. Still don’t give a shit? Now let’s tell YOUR half.

This $1.4 million the City is “saving”? Despite the three fatal police-involved shootings just in the last few months and the perception of gang warfare and teenagers shooting into cars on neighborhood streets during a downturn in the economy with unemployment levels at their highest since the Great Depression, your SWAT team members now have to pay $100 dollars a month to respond to SWAT calls with their equipment from their homes. Your afterhours homicide detectives, even your K9 Officers with their specialized “doggie cars”, all have to pay the city no less than $1,300 dollars annually to respond from their homes to our emergencies. To your suicidal gunman situations. To your traffic fatalities and your murders. They have taken that marked police car out of your neighborhoods, causing a 50 percent reduction in cars on the street three times a day for shift changes—but I’m sure that won’t hurt response times either.

On the flip side, the city spent more than that $1.4 million dollars it saved to repair the lights and fountains of “The Passage” alley. Over $700,000 on a homeless mall that is just as inoperable as it was six years ago. $50,000 dollars spent to lease (lease, I said) pieces of “art” for the sidewalks of East Main St. And my most recent

“ There were no more arguments left; no more windmills to tilt at, so I hammered my rifles into plows and worked more hours on the side.” favorite: A quarter million dollars on a “spray park”, announced the day they cut police equipment.

As for those cops who don’t like the sudden $1,950 (or $1,300 option, in fairness) reduction in pay to maintain the benefits they had 24 hours before? If they quit, the city isn’t hiring more police officers. And when they do? It takes 14 months to produce each one (from time of application, to passing basic tests, to background psych and criminal checks, to a six-month academy, and four months of field training). And even then, they have to “pass”, and even then, they have to “stay”. And do you know why we aren’t having police academies to replace the 34 officers that have left since January alone? Because it Saves Money.

About half a million dollars, by some estimates. Did I mention that the city is annexing county property amidst all this?

PRIORITIES, folks. They’re a pretty big deal, and it’s not the cops losing out on this cut, for once. It’s You. When officer Alexander D. Teach is not patrolling our fair city on the heels of the criminal element, he is an occasional student at UTC, an up and coming carpenter, auto mechanic, prominent boating enthusiast, and spends his spare time volunteering for the Boehm Birth Defects Center.

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

21

Shades Of Green

Finding Your Niche

By Victoria Hurst

A

s a consumer, I’ve taken an interest in the changes on the shelves over the past couple of years. It started with one or maybe two brands, in modest packaging, and then grew into catchy items with familiar labels, like Clorox’s “Green Works.” It seems that America has found a new buzzword.

We hear about “green” all over television: the news, advertisements, reality shows. This type of publicity can lead to fad status, making it easier for people to write off green as a mere trend. To counteract this response, the idea of making better decisions for the environment needs to be approached from the community angle.

In 2006, Mayor Ron Littlefield signed the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging that the City of Chattanooga would lower carbon emissions and lessen impact on the environment.

Chattanooga is one of more than 800 communities involved in this agreement. In February of this year, the city’s official Climate Action Plan was published. In addition to “Energy Efficiency” and “Natural Resources,” the Plan features sections on “Healthy Communities” and “Education and Policies.”

A localized approach seems to be most effective when trying to build upon a community’s values.

When people have reinforcement

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not only from the media but also from their neighbors, local businesses, schools, and churches, it creates a reassuring sense of togetherness.

It might be hard for some to worry about the state of polar bears in the Arctic.

But when choices are related directly to a person’s family and friends, the benefit is intrinsic.

“Community Awareness and Participation” is the first objective listed in the “Education and Policies” chapter. One of the potential actions is creating an “extensive environmental curriculum” so that the community can receive streamlined information about the best actions they can take for their city. Every place has its particular problems and different strengths.

If there is effectual education and communication, citizens will know which actions to take, what resources they have to use, and how their decision will make a difference.

But, as we all know, talking is easy.

It is how these things will actually come to pass that is the challenge. For this reason, the Chattanooga Green Committee has prioritized the need to have a permanent entity that will ensure action is being taken to achieve the goals of the plan. People have been talking about environmental issues for years—but it’s time for the city government to become involved and take responsibility for the welfare of its citizens and their home.

We have to recognize, however, that taking sustainable actions involves an ongoing cycle. Changes in lifestyle and culture come gradually. We can all be thankful that the city took its first big step by recognizing the need for a change.

But now we need to consider what our first (or second or thirty-sixth) step will be. In the city’s plan, there is a list of the campaigns that will be prioritized in this first year: solutions to improving home-energy efficiency, infill development and higher housing densities, low-energy lighting alternatives, the local antiidling ordinance, recycling, gasoline

“The Green Committee already has 17 action teams waiting for volunteers. There is opportunity to be involved with each of the four aspects that make up the city’s plan.” conservation, local and organic food sources, and water conservation.

All of these options are based on personal choice. If you start changing your behavior, those whom you live, work, and socialize with might catch on. As more people adopt certain routines, norms will start to shift.

Feeling inspired yet? The Green Committee already has 17 action teams waiting for volunteers. There is opportunity to be involved with each of the four aspects that make up the city’s plan. So whatever your skills or passion, you can make a contribution you can enjoy. Everyone has his or her own niche, the function of which is to serve the greater community. Find yours, and work from there. Whether or not you purchase “Green Works” or drive a hybrid, there are always paths to making a difference—just by the way we choose to live our lives.

The resources used for this article can be foundat www. chattanooga.gov/ChattanoogaGreen_ ChattanoogaGreen.htm Victoria Hurst is a proud resident of the Appalachian Mountains. She has recently graduated from Warren Wilson College with a B.A. in English: Creative Writing.

Spirits Within

Making a New Tradicion

By Vickie Hurley

F

or the last two weeks, Riley’s Wine and Spirits in Hixson on Hixson Pike has singled out favorite wines to share with our Pulse readers.

This week let’s change it up and talk about tequila.

Riley’s Wine and Spirits has many tequilas to choose from, priced from low end to high end. This week, I chose Jose Cuervo Tradicional (Reposado). There are five main Jose Cuervo products and a whole line of premixed cocktails. I feel Jose Cuervo Tradicional is one of the best tequilas for the money. It is made from 100 percent agave, matured in oak casks.

It’s a reposado aged for two months and up to a year. Each bottle is hand crafted and marked with the year it was bottled.

When you think of a desert, you imagine a dry, barren, desolate place, devoid of life. Sometimes looks can deceive you. Take the Blue Agave, native to infertile, rocky soil, a very

unattractive, thorny cactus-like plant that grows up to ten feet high with sword-like clusters. This is the source of Mexico’s national spirit…tequila.

We had a real Blue Agave plant in our store this summer, the first one I had ever seen. It looks like an aloe plane until you see the very sharp razor barbs that could really hurt! It is actually in the same family as the pineapple.

Once every eight to 12 years, when the sap rushes to the base of the plant, the plant blooms and the leaves wither away, leaving a twenty- to thirty-foot flowering stalk with a pineapplelooking center, which weighs 75 to 100 pounds when it’s ready to be harvested.

After harvesting, the pineapplelooking part is removed and cut into pieces. Half of it is steamed cooked under pressure to turn the starches into sugars, while the remaining half is crushed to extract all of the juices and then fermented. Once fermented, the product is distilled two to three times, then transferred to oak barrels for aging.

All tequila is distilled in and around Jalisco, a Mexican state.

This is where the Blue Agave plant we had came from.

Often tequilas are distilled with other sugars—up to 49 percent—and are generally poorer quality.

When you see a 100 percent agave tequila, you will notice what the true color is. If it is not 100 percent agave, it will have artificial coloring added.

Jose Cuervo brought out a product called Jose Cuervo Black, which is totally different. It is aged in new charred oak barrels and it is recommended to mix with Coke or Diet Coke, as you would with bourbon.

Everyone at Riley’s Wine and Spirits highly recommends Cuervo Tradicional. Like I said, it is one of the best tequilas for the money. Try our favorite margarita recipe!

local news and views

www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

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Music Feature

Celebrating Americana

By Hellcat

I

t seems that September 11th sneaks up on me every year. Maybe that is a subconscious thing that I can’t explain. Maybe I’m just typically busy and take everything a day at a time. Maybe nobody knows. Regardless, it never fails to amaze and sometimes amuse me, the way that people choose to acknowledge or remember the date.

I know some people who hole away into their dark houses and listen to their favorite sad albums, drinking away an evening in an attempt at remembrance. Others go on like it is any other day; barely noticing that the date reflected on their calendar is the very same day that America watched its towers fall. Still others celebrate in the streets and the bars, toasting whoever can hold their glass for those that were lost and those that risked their lives to help the situation. Some are just stoked about the red, white, and blue-blooded war on terrorism.

wouldn’t take too much of a stretch of the imagination to see how such a lifestyle gives one no choice but to take up music as a passion.

Musical immersion, since birth, appears to have taken hold of Carlene, as country music is quite evident in her roots and influences her sound. I can’t grasp what it must have been like to hear lullabies from the likes of June Carter, or spending an Easter listening to Johnny Cash strum on the guitar after dinner. I would venture to guess it was probably really close to badass.

Carlene even served alongside her stepsister, as a backup singer for the Carter/Cash tour. Maybe a little twinge of Cash’s influence can be heard in some of her guitar licks. Throughout her career, Carlene Carter has danced the fine line that separates country music and rock and roll, sometimes blurring the line into a pretty rocking gray area. If you grew up and toured with one of America’s greatest rebels, you would probably pick up a thing or two, as well.

Her debut album was released in 1978, and her follow up, Two Sides to Every Woman, was supported by The Doobie Brothers. In the interim, Carlene Carter has had a few hits or misses on both the country and the rock charts, but it wasn’t until the very early ’90s that the country music world started to take notice of her again, with her fifth attempt, I Fell in Love. As Hank Williams, Jr., may have said a time or two…”It’s a family tradition.” Carlene is currently signed with Yeproc Records, with the likes of Reverend Horton Heat, and she is currently supporting a new album, Stronger. I would suggest coming out to see her, even if you don’t like this kind of music, because she is a living,

“I am not a new country fan. I like Johnny Cash. I like all the Hanks. I like that sense of storytelling that comes with the older quality country music.”

I can say that I mainly just sit back and watch, observing our collective coping methods. However, this particular September 11th offers a very appropriate outlet for coping, celebrating, forgetting, or memorializing, depending on your inclination. Nightfall is hosting two very well known artists that go about as hand-in-hand as an eagle might with a flag. Those artists are Carlene Carter and Roger Alan Wade.

Carlene Carter hails from the long line of country royalty, considering she is the daughter of June Carter Cash and Carl Smith. Her parents divorced when she was merely two years old, and she spent many years growing up on tour with the Carter Family. It

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breathing part of music history.

Her local opener will be none other than Roger Alan Wade. If you can’t get into some Roger Alan Wade, then you might not be American and you definitely aren‘t from Chattanooga. Call it a guilty pleasure, call it your dirty little secret, but let it be known that even I can get down to some backwoods country rock. A song about fighting, a song about drinking, and a song about drinking and fighting over that damn cheating wife, and you have got yourself a full night of Roger Alan Wade.

I am not a new country fan. I like Johnny Cash. I like all the Hanks. I like that sense of storytelling that comes with the older quality country music. Roger Alan Wade writes music that takes me back to listening to Roy Orbison in my dad’s truck. He has Southern Americana sweating out of his pores, and it’s always a good show, no matter who you are, or who you’d like to be. So I suggest, instead of being glum this September 11th, go out and celebrate life at Nightfall, with Carlene Carter, Roger Alan Wade, and a little bit of America. You can’t beat it for the price.

Carlene Carter with Roger Alan Wade (Nightfall) Free 7 p.m.

Friday, September 11 Miller Plaza, 850 Market Street (423) 265-0771. www.downtownchattanooga.org

Music Calendar

Send your calendar events to us at calendar@chattanoogapulse.com

Friday

Thursday

Mascara Tour: Treva Blomquist, Rachel Deal, Roxie Randall 11:30 a.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043.

Butch Ross 7 p.m. Coffee Crafters, 426 Vine St. (423) 756-9995.

Abigail Baker 7 p.m. Magoo’s, 3658 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. (423) 867-1351.

Carlene Carter, Roger Alan Wade 7 p.m. Miller Plaza, 850 Market St. (423) 265-0771.

Will Hoge with Jeremy Lester 8 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

Social Ghost These Floridians toured with Alice in Chains and have a massive sound with a tricky tuneful force. $5 9 p.m.

The Low Down, 306 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 468-3593. myspace.com/thelowdownchatt

Rick Rushing, Noah Collins 8:30 p.m. Mudpie Restaurant, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043.

Channing Wilson 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878.

Stephanie’s id 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

Worldtown Weekend DJ Rupture & K789 lay down beats while teaching the values of music in the community.

Free 7 p.m.

CreateHere/55Here Studio, 55 E. Main Street, Suite 105.

(423) 648-2195. www.createhere.org

Saturday

Hold Fast 8 p.m. Ziggy’s Hideaway, 607 Cherokee Blvd. (423) 634-1074.

Jennings and Keller 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s, 105 McBrien Rd. (423) 892-4960.

Open Mic Challenge 8 p.m. Mudpie Restraunt, 12 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9043.

Unload to roots rock’s true renaissance man.

Free 6 p.m.

Ross’s Landing Park on Riverfront Pkwy. www.riverfrontnights.com

Monday DJ at The Palms 8 p.m. The Palms at Hamilton, 6925 Shallowford Rd, #202.

(423) 499-5055. www.thepalmsathamilton.com Maserati, MockingBirds 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

Hap and Jacks Open Mic 10 p.m. The Low Down, 306 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 468-3593. myspace.com/thelowdownchatt

Booger Holler 9 p.m. The Tin Can, 618 Georgia Ave. (423) 648-4360.

Eddies in The Wind 9:30 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066.

Eris, Camp Normal 10 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644.

Del Rey 8 p.m. Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, 105 McBrien Rd. (423) 892-4960.

Roger Alan Wade 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260.

Matt Turnure Trio 8 p.m. Original Blue Orleans, 3208 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 629-6538.

Jonathan Singleton 10 p.m. Midtown Music Hall, 820 Georgia Ave. (423) 752-1977.

Sunday Micheal Ford Jr. 8 p.m. Barking Legs Theatre, 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347.

Webb Wilder

Mascara Tour: Treva Blomquist, Rachel Deal, Roxie Randall 8 p.m. North Chatt Cat, 46 Frazier Ave. (423) 266-9466.

Overture for Rent 8:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 South Broad St. (423) 424-3775.

World Town Party feat. DJ Rupture, K789 9 p.m. Loose Cannon Gallery, 1800 Rossville Avenue.

(423) 648-0992.

Brian Ashley Jones, Jefferson Fox 12:30 p.m. First Tennessee Pavilion, 1829 Carter Street.

(423) 648-2496.

Mighty Sideshow 10 p.m. Midtown Music Hall, 820 Georgia Ave. (423) 752-1977.

Open Mic w/Jeff Daniels 4 p.m. Ms. Debbie’s Nightlife Lounge 4762 Highway 58, (423) 485-0966.

Dexateens, The Bohannons, Overzealous 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

Racing Death, The Tammys, Surfer Blood, Satan’s Youth Ministers

Baadmojo 10 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066.

Bang your heads to Racing Death—Monday’s headache will be worth it.

Eric Church 9 p.m. Chattanooga Choo Choo, 1400 Market St. 1-800-TRACK-29.

Land Camera 10 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260. www.marketstreettavern.com

$5 10 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia, 331 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

Tuesday

Wednesday

The Ben Friberg Trio 7 p.m. Table 2, 232 E. 11th Street, (423) 756-8253.

Tim Lewis 6 p.m. Big River Grille Hamilton Place, 2020 Hamilton Place Blvd.

(423) 553-7723.

Overture for Rent 8:30 p.m. The Foundry, 1201 South Broad St. (423) 424-3775.

Billy Hopkins 8 p.m. Market Street Tavern, 850 Market St. (423) 634-0260.

I Declare 8 p.m. The Warehouse, 5716 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge.

Open Mic with Hellcat 8 p.m. Raw, 409 Market St. (423) 756-1919.

Lucky’s 2536 Cummings Highway, (423) 825-5145.

Open Mic with Mike McDade 9 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike. (423) 266-1996.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike, (423) 266-1996.

Hidden Spots, Used Kids 10 p.m. JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd. (423) 266-1400.

Irish Music 6:30 p.m. Tremont Tavern, 1203 Hixson Pike. (423) 266-1996.

Jenn Foster, Jill King 7 p.m. Magoo’s, 3658 Ringgold Rd., East Ridge. (423) 867-1351. www.myspace.com/magoostn Open Mic Gene’s Bar & Grill, 724 Ashland Terrace, (423) 870-0880.

Editor’s Pick: Featured Event Of The Week

Kara “Ory” Oke 8 p.m. Riverhouse Pub, 224 Frazier Ave. (423) 752-0066.

Uncle Billy and Friends 8 p.m. The Tin Can, 618 Georgia Ave. (423) 648-4360. www.thetincanchattanooga.com The Bridge, Matt Butcher 9 p.m. Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St. (423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com The Micks 9 p.m. Bud’s Sports Bar, 5751 Brainerd Rd. (423) 499-9878. www.budssportsbar.com

Dexateens, The Bohannons, Overzealous Alabama garage rockers Dexateens give us their “skillet rock” tunes while setting the soul ablaze. Joined by The Bohannons, our own local beauties who will soon begin recording in Chicago, and Overzealous, an ever-reinventing duo with a Nashville base. $7, 10 p.m.

Saturday, September 12, JJ’s Bohemia, 331 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-1400. www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

25

New Music Reviews The Clean

Dean & Britta

Mister Pop (Merge)

13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests (Plexifilm)

I have a theory that applies to several bands, including the beloved New Zealand trio The Clean.

The theory posits that it is possible to have a “best of” compilation that is too good, and that listeners might not delve further into a band’s catalog because they are afraid of diminishing returns. When it comes to certain singleoriented bands, indeed, the albums can prove to be disappointing. The Clean has definitely made some killer pop singles, including their very first one, the endlessly replayable “Tally Ho” from 1981, with giant, irresistible hooks, beats, and melodies, and their two main collections, Compilation and Anthology, are incredibly solid—but not definitive.

In the case of The Clean, listeners who go beyond the compilations are rewarded handsomely, and this is certainly the story with the group’s latest full-length studio album and the first one in eight years, entitled Mister Pop. The members—brothers David and Hamish Kilgour and Robert Scott—have other fruitful musical outlets (most notably, David’s solo career and Robert Scott’s pure pop band The Bats), but there’s a certain, unmistakable spark that shows up when they all get together. “Are You Really on Drugs?” is an odd patchwork of a pop song, blending musical oil and water together and making it work; a subtle, lo-fi rhythm loop is enhanced with a huge tambourine/drum beat, and chiming Byrds-esque guitar lines are punctured with psychedelic guitar outbursts. The instrumental “Moonjumper” has a keyboard drone (think Yo La Tengo, which actually owes more than a few nods to The Clean) and a joyful, propulsive spirit; strings wander in and out of the picture, and its peculiar textures conjure up a Krautrock concoction that’s strangely both folky and modern.

A cursory listen to “Tensile” might present it as a fairly straightforward, driving rock number, but the sound envelopes put it in another category, not to mention the treated vocals that emerge.

“All Those Notes” floats along in a somber mood with quivering keyboards, and its atmosphere and bass notes provide a similarity to the Twin Peaks theme.

Mister Pop is as satisfying as any other Clean release, revealing a band that brings enthusiasm and pleasure to its song and sound creations, maintaining an identity yet not being stuck in a rut after three decades of existence.

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By Ernie Paik

Pop artist Andy Warhol filmed hundreds of “screen tests,” which were four-minute silent portraits of both stars and unknowns, and for this first DVD collection of 13 cherry-picked selections, Dean & Britta were commissioned to create original accompanying soundtracks. Pairing Warhol with the duo makes enough sense, since Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips were formerly in Luna, a band that took inspiration from the Warhol-linked group the Velvet Underground. (One might guess that Warhol, who appropriated cartoons for his work, would also be tickled by the fact that in the ’80s, Britta was the singing voice of Jem, the cartoon pop star.)

The most logical music decision was to use a Velvet Underground cover to accompany the Lou Reed screen test, but the song selection itself wasn’t so obvious: it’s the little-heard “I’m Not a Young Man Anymore” (which was recently unearthed on a bootleg called Live at the Gymnasium). Dean & Britta’s version has a good momentum and a tasteful twang, but it never quite breaks its shackles and rocks out that way that the song should. There’s plenty more VU-love here, including the calm, dreamy “International Velvet Theme” with tremolo synth tones and malleted drums and cymbals, somewhat reminiscent of Moe Tucker on “All Tomorrow’s Parties.” The minimal riffs and vibe of “Incandescent Innocent” bring to mind the restrained, mounting passages of “Heroin,” and a re-working of the Luna track “The Enabler,” retitled here as “Herringbone Tweed” (to describe Dennis Hopper’s onscreen suit), is channeling the VU in smoldering, slowjam mode.

Another logical choice was to cover the Bob Dylan-penned “I’ll Keep It With Mine,” sung by Nico on her 1967 Chelsea Girl album, for the Nico screen test.

It’s polite and reverent, but a bit slight; Britta sings with a blank, sedate style and actually borrows more from the Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs (who stunningly covered the song with David Roback’s Rainy Day in 1984) than from the German, husky-voiced Nico herself. There are no musical offenses here, but the tracks that distinguish themselves are easily the best ones, like the rockabilly duet “Eyes in My Smoke,” the cover of “It Don’t Rain in Beverly Hills” with Kraftwerk-esque electronics, and “Teenage Lightning (and Lonely Highways)” with ear-catching lines about hypnotizing pancakes and levitating the Pope.

Table Service

The Best of Baja, Chattanooga-Style

By Colleen Wade

A

t first glance, Blue Coast Burrito could be one of any number of “build your own Cal-Mex” joints. You start at one end of the counter and make your way to the checkout, designing your perfect burrito/taco/ insert-Cal-Mex-dish here, adding veggies, sauces and all the accoutrements as you go.

But wait! Here’s where it gets fresh, no… really, fresh… Blue Coast Burrito employees arrive every morning at 8:30 and make the salsas and dressings fresh… ALL of them.

Everything from their Pineapple Salsa to Nan’s Ranch Dressing is made fresh daily in their kitchens. And it’s not only the salsas and sauces; they trim all the meats themselves and marinate them, then grill it up right here in their restaurants. None of that processed pre-made, packaged food for them!

When asked what makes his restaurants different from others of the same ilk, Richard Martin, owner of both local Blue Coast Burritos, says, “The processes are all very similar. There are certain things the others do that we don’t and vice versa. I think the key component that makes us different from our competitors is the fact that everything we do is done fresh, we make it fresh and that’s something our competitors can’t say. To me that’s important. And, also that it’s locally owned by someone who was born and raised in Chattanooga and still lives in the area, and is just committed to this area and helping it grow and develop.”

Martin, a local boy who grew up in what was known as Ridgedale, has been involved in the restaurant industry for more than 18 years, working

“Blue Coast Burrito employees arrive every morning at 8:30 and make the salsas and dressings fresh… ALL of them.”

for different companies in various capacities. So how does someone go from working in restaurants to owning two of their own by age 35? “I ended up responding to an ad, going to Nashville, where the company is based out of. I met with officials there, and it took about a six or eight month process doing investigation into the company and the franchising opportunity to make sure it was the right step for us to take and secured the site, and built the first store. Then last year opened store number two.” Martin believes in Chattanooga.

Not only is he scouting locations for a potential third store, but he truly is committed to giving back to the community that helped raise him. Like many restaurants, Blue Coast Burrito is inundated with requests from charities, and Martin tries to help all he can. Blue Coast Burrito provides gift certificates for door prizes to more than 50 local charities a year. For the last two years, BCB has been a premier sponsor of the St. Jude School Golf Tournament; and Martin himself has participated in the MDA Lock-up twice as well. Says Martin,

“This is something that is very close to my heart. I try to do everything I can for different causes like MDA, all the way down to participating with local schools.”

The folks at Blue Coast Burrito take care of the community and the community appears to be taking care of Blue Coast Burrito in return. Since opening the first Blue Coast Burrito in Hixson, Martin has been able to open a second location downtown in Warehouse Row. They’ve expanded to include a booming catering business and have recently added lunchtime delivery from their Warehouse Row location through www.dinnerdeliveredonline.com.

Within the next two months, lunch and dinner delivery will be available in Hixson as well.

So the next time, you’re in the mood for a taste of Baja cuisine, cruise on in to one of Blue Coast Burrito’s two locations, and design your own FRESH Cal-Mex Creation.

Blue Coast Burrito is located at 5591 Hwy 153 in Hixson, (423) 877-1880, or in Warehouse Row on Market Street downtown, (423) 755-0680.

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

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The Mystical Dude's Horoscopes Virgo (August 23 – September 22): Being driven to help a friend could result in monetary confusion. If original plans don’t fit with what’s expected, just review resources and keep analyzing your budget. Wishful feelings for work you’d like to do surfaces Thursday, opportunities are there but it’s best to not be over-optimistic. A matured and sensible approach will eventually bring the best working conditions (Sunday). The reality of relationships jolts you Tuesday: You are ready to make serious changes with a significant other. Persistence in spite of their eccentric unreliability gives way to a new defined set of rules and boundaries.

Libra (September 23 – October 22): Reconsidering and rethinking your general approach helps you work out more balanced ways of professionally asserting yourself. Get involved in a social event Thursday; going out with friends and having fun will help you get creative. This leads you towards Sunday’s realization that cautious expansion will be more productive. The real change comes on Tuesday when you discover how much change you’d like to bring about in your working life. A surprising event amongst co-workers or employees sees you clearing the decks of old ways and preparing a new beginning.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21): Rethink future plans, since several thoughts you’ve intuitively connected to are best kept secret. Meanwhile, energy levels continue rising to learn anew through traveling and an active journey. Thursday brings an enjoyable day when your reputation is helped by being charming— though don’t overdo it! An awareness of the consequences of home life expansion has on your social circle leads you to a surprising change Tuesday in the group you work with. Can you cease a traditional, old-fashioned way because you have a newer, futuristic way of expressing yourself?

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21): A continued drive to get financial plans in order needs several adjustments before settling on the solution. It’s time to change things, but not by rushing or making too quick a decision! Your love of fun gets highlighted by a long-distance visitor or love interest on Thursday; be careful what you ask for! Sunday sees you structuring long-range hopes; a sibling’s advice is helpful, as could be a parent’s. The real force for change is Tuesday, when your freewheeling reputation at work brings exciting possibilities to change old structures.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19): Be careful what’s said to the boss, as it affects your reputation and status. You’re fired up and trying to get more independent, but think carefully before speaking out in public. Thursday brings changes in money and possessions; you’re pulled apart trying to sort out what’s yours.

Sunday you see how a lack of understanding can bring self-doubt, even though you’ve worked hard learning. This leads to Tuesday’s sudden quest to speak freely against the traditional flow of ideas. And have you got some changes you’d like to talk about!

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18): Speaking out about what you believe in might be better retracted for further reconsideration, since pending money issue is involved. The love and cooperation of a friend on Thursday sees you pulled between an independent stance and creative unification. By Sunday, you realize standing individually fulfills long-term goals but is slow to build resources. This leads radical changes Tuesday: Can you introduce your unique concept of earning, and let go of old restrictive methods of making a living? You could act all dreamy and idealistic towards a significant other.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20): Talk of financial amalgamation and the balancing out of shared resources is delayed for a while, as you need to clarify a partnership first. Sunday sees you realizing that although consolidating

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JONESIN’

By Matt Jones

“You Sound Like L” –and so do these entries.

with a partner and making commitment has been tough, you’ve learnt much about yourself from developing a personal sanctuary. This leads to an electrifying change in consciousness Tuesday as it dawns on you that being independent and breaking away from traditional relationship boundaries serve you rather well. Firstly, idealistic and dreamy cooperation with co-workers or employees needs better definition.

Aries (March 21- April 19): With an emotional urge welling up to “get on with it”, you’re rethinking relationships and retracting things you said earlier. Thursday brings opportunities to express love and attraction, although it’s very easy to over-do it! By Sunday, you’ll realize its time to align the skill set you’ve been working on with your true objectives; it’s not about being headstrong and jumping into anything with gusto and bravado anymore. Instead, you have to develop strategy in your professional life. Tuesday brings another interesting ground shaking event that pushes you in this new direction.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20): Now that you’ve pushed yourself to thinking more directly, review how to organize working life and communicate to co-workers or employees equally. On Thursday, love of family and home life boosts career ambitions tenfold. Overoptimism and overestimation might not match with reality, so be honest what’s actually possible.

On Sunday, good judgment and the ability to learn from experience helps you carefully express hard-won talents in the public eye for appraisal.

This leads to Tuesday’s surprising networking possibility, when a friend offers revolutionary changes if you’re prepared for them. Which you are, aren’t you?

Gemini (May 21- June 20): A competitive urge impels you take action over financial issues and reap rewards for your efforts.

Rather than just say things for fun and pleasure, why not reconsider what you can manifest out of your clever and creative ideas? Thursday, have fun learning and enjoying a short journey to connect with loved ones, especially siblings. On Sunday, you realize how continued perseverance eventually brings structure to long-range goals and beliefs. The real focus is developing a matured view, which accelerates Tuesday with exciting events that affects your reputation and brings changes.

Cancer (June 21-July 22): A determination to assert yourself sees you forced to say things to the family, which on reflection you want to retract now. Explaining that your emotions run a bit wild sometimes will bring back the peace. Spending money on luxuries features Thursday— even though there might be “unlimited” resources, you’d better watch your budget! The real focus is making radical changes to the way you think on Tuesday; if an old traditional belief cramps your style (emphasized by a sibling or a teaching method), then what can you do that’ll break you out the stifling box and onto new ground?

Leo (July 23 – August 22): A subtle drive to work behind the scenes motivates you to talk and think differently.

Review those patterns and don’t go back to old patterns that deflate your current direction.

Your partnership reaches pleasurable levels of cooperation and harmonizing on Thursday: Can you be overly demonstrative in love? On Sunday, notice how your partner holds the keys to your continued efforts to build up selfworth and values, leading to a breakthrough or a breakdown on Tuesday, as you realize the importance of building a firm financial structure.

The connections are out there, use confidence and enthusiasm to build yourself anew!

Julian Venables is a British astrologer whose worldwide travels bought him to Chattanooga.

Email themysticaldude@gmail.com for a personal consultation. Visit www.mysticaldude.com to discover more about the local astrology group, classes and the free podcast on iTunes!

The Pulse 9.10.09 www.chattanoogapulse.com 95.3 Pulse News

Across 1 It starts by “springing forward”: abbr.

4 New Year’s Eve mo.

7 Member of the fam 10 Half-___ (latte order) 13 “Yo te ___” 14 Largest school in the Granite St. 15 Sea ___, animal that contracts when touched 17 Triscuit maker 19 Time that athletes prepare for 20 Hip to sounds from Rice Krispies?

22 Like some trigger fingers 23 Affirmative votes 24 They’re checked at the door 27 IBM competitor 28 Blood relatives 30 “Dukes of Hazzard” deputy sheriff 31 Getting the right pitch and volume, for a lion?

37 Dubuque’s state 38 Teen follower 39 Leftovers from sticking doughy lumps in a coffee percolator?

46 Mayberry kid 47 “I’m so excited!” squeal 48 Indignation 49 USO entertainees 50 Prefix for “dilation”

53 Eagle’s nest 55 Scaring yet again?

59 Squealer 61 Allergy spray brand 62 Message that never goes to the victor 63 Circle section: abbr.

64 Greek letter Ns 65 Braille bit 66 House member, for short 67 Gold, in them there cerros 68 College-level high school tests: abbr.

Down 1 Dinner follower, on some dates 2 More likely to join Mensa 3 Put that in your pipe and smoke it 4 Like the sky just after sunset 5 Env. attachment 6 “Top Chef Masters” host Kelly 7 Like bodies, after gravity takes over 8 With jaw to floor 9 Some tournament rounds 10 Substance in some cough syrups 11 Top-ranked tennis player Ivanovic 12 “SNL” alum Tina

16 My, to Mitterrand 18 I as in Innsbruck?

21 Da ___ (Vietnamese port city) 25 Palme ___ (Cannes film award) 26 1040 digits: abbr.

28 Green fruit 29 ___ instant 30 Neutral shade 32 Clear the screen 33 “Ha!,” in chat 34 Where newspaper may be laid down 35 Shrek, e.g.

36 Conservative opener 39 TV bounty hunter 40 Alternative to Reuters 41 Lose an opportunity 42 Rock sci.

43 “In Utero” band 44 Withers 45 She can see the future 50 Reason for a medal 51 Come up 52 Costly 53 Whisky ___ (L.A. rock club) 54 Reeeeeeally long time 56 “My mama done ___ me...”

57 “Provided that...”

58 Card or Cub, for short 59 Pink Floyd member Barrett 60 Overly

©2009 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle #0430

Ask A Mexican

Special El Edition

By Gusatvo Arellano themexican@askamexican.net

Dear Mexican, Why do Mexicans make the sign of mucho dinero with a gap between their thumb and index fingers, as if holding an imaginary wad of bills between both fingers?

— El Zorro Chupagringos Dear Gabacho-Sucking Fox: Because if a pendejo like you can get the gesture, imagine us normal folks?

Dear Mexican, Why do Mexicans who come into money become so rude and conceited like their caca doesn’t smell?

— El Hijo del Pueblo Dear Wab, Same reason gabachos do. We do assimilate sometimes, you know?

Dear Mexican, This Irishman living in Denver has asked many Mexicans why Estados Unidos is abbreviated in Spanish as EE.UU instead of E.U.? No one seems to know. I even e-mailed the question to a couple of friends in Costa Rica for Christmas. The doubled-up abbreviation gives me that queasy double-vision sensation I get from mixing too many pints of black Irish stout with fine gold tequila.

— El Irlandés Dear Mick, Why are you bothering Costa Ricans with intellectual queries? All ticos are good for is creating a stable state in the middle of banana republics. The answer is simultaneously simple and stupid: grammar. Spanish grammar rules dictate acronyms for plurals get a double-dose

of letters, something that makes as much sense as a Guatemalan becoming president of the United States.

Dear Mexican, After reading your column and listening to Lou Dobbs, I think I know the problem. See, many of us Americans grew up reading the comic strip Gordo, viewing Speedy Gonzalez outwit that cat, and learned to love corn chips—which advanced to tortilla chips and Taco Bell—from the Frito Bandito.

Older folks saw Mexicans from those funny-but-loyal Mexicans that John Wayne defended in cantinas from those who knew not the power of the tequila.

In my case, there were those funny people serving meals at Casa Bonita in Denver. See, we miss those sombrero and sandal-wearing types. Now, all we see is lowriders and gang bangers. Is this not a PR nightmare? Maybe since retro is in, you all should go back to the drawing board.

— El Mick Dear Mick, If widespread acceptance for Mexicans were that easy, que no piensas we would’ve done this already? If that were the case, Stepin Fetchit and Carlos Mencia would be civil rights icons on the level of Martin Luther King, Jr. and César Chávez.

read it every week. Remind everyone that those in silence, who showed up to walk, were a force, something to be reckoned with and shouldn’t stop.

Walk EVERY month! The last time they did, these marches were THE topic of conversation on every pundit’s lips on the evening news. It takes quiet persistence to show Amerikkka your real power nonviolently, something we are not used to and garners respect from even those who should be ashamed. Use your voice to shout out the call to arms for frequent shows of solidarity. EVERY MONTH. Be a gadfly. You are in a good place to be heard.

— El Izquierdista Dear Readers, You heard the lefty gabacho. On this coming Mexican Independence Day, instead of marching to your local taco company for margaritas and sombreros, march for amnesty for illegals. Or undocumented college students. Or to the bookstore to buy my libros. Or at least protest the television networks for ignoring Mexican-themed shows in favor of their umpteenth The Office ripoff. Point is, get on Obama’s case and tell him to forget golfing at Martha’s Vineyard and start fighting the Know Nothings.

“At least protest the television networks for ignoring Mexicanthemed shows in favor of their umpteenth The Office rip-off.”

Ask the Mexican at themexican@ askamexican.net, myspace.com/ocwab, find him on Facebook, Twitter, or write via snail mail at: Gustavo Arellano, P.O. Box 1433, Anaheim, CA 92815-1433.

Solution To Last Week’s Puzzle

Dear Mexican, Your voice needs to urge your fellow Mexicans to make street marches for amnesty a MONTHLY occurrence.

Those marches showed America, more than any other method, the very real power and solidarity of the oppressed in this country, when your brothers and sisters turned out in thousands to block traffic, and quietly and resolutely marched. Use your column wisely. I

95.3 Pulse News www.chattanoogapulse.com 9.10.09 The Pulse

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