If PK Management has done what city officials have called "the impossible," residents of Patten Towers may return home far sooner than expected.

City inspectors may enter and inspect Patten Towers as early as Thursday to clear the building for occupation.

Since she took office in 2002, Circuit Court Clerk Paula Thompson's staff has been paid well for its work.

After a few glitches from Mother Nature early on, repairs to Signal Mountain's W Road are on track and in budget at the halfway mark, engineers say.

The great Tennessee whiskey war is over, and the wets won. But Hamilton County commissioners now are working to keep distilleries out of unincorporated areas.

Hamilton County employees who've been getting "exceptional" health insurance benefits will have lesser policies next budget year if county commissioners pass Mayor Jim Coppinger's proposed budget.

Hamilton County Commission Legal Committee members voted today to consider recommending the full commission exempts unincorporated parts of the county from a recently passed law that would allow whiskeymakers to distill spirits.

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said revenue in the 2014 budget is expected to be flat, and there will be an estimated 1 percent growth in property tax, which he says will amount to about $1.7 million.

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger is scheduled to present his 2014 budget proposal at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at a County Commission agenda session.

All Jeffery Turner wanted to do was avoid eating cold hot dogs. But that didn't fly at the Motel 6, he said Tuesday.

Two weeks after an electrical fire at Patten Towers rendered the 11-story downtown Section 8 housing project uninhabitable, the company that owns it has passed some money to the community that has housed, fed and clothed the building's 241 displaced elderly or disabled residents.

Patten Towers residents will remain in hotels through June 17, but after that their future housing remains in question.

A Chancery Court filing has trimmed and focused a lawsuit against Chattanooga, Hamilton County and the Industrial Development Board that alleges the three inappropriately agreed to pay $9 million in public money to the developer of Black Creek Mountain as part of a tax increment financing deal.

Officials at PK Management say displaced Patten Towers residents will stay in hotels through mid-June but could not comment on what happens after that date.

Hoping to learn who shot two bald eagles in Southeast Tennessee, state and federal wildlife officials are trying to spark public awareness the old-fashioned way — with wanted posters.

After taking a week off in May, Hamilton County Commissioners on Wednesday had plenty on their plates.

Hamilton County Commissioners voted today to continue a $516,300 contract with the Tennessee Department of Health for bioterrorism preparedness activities for the upcoming budget year.

Hamilton County Commissioners voted today to spend $6.75 million upgrading all of its 1,697 portable radios.

Jerry Walls says Lookout Valley Elementary regularly draws short straws from the school system, and he and other residents are tired of it.

Most of the lead-tainted soil found in more than 60 yards in Chattanooga's Southside in 2011 has been removed, according to environmental officials.

Unless commissioners vote next week to spend $6.75 million, Hamilton County might hear radio silence from surrounding counties and state and federal agencies during future emergencies, according to Human Services Administrator Don Allen.

The Hamilton County Commission's Finance Committee voted to approve a $6.75 million contract with Motorola to replace 1,697 portable radios for various county departments.

Mayor Jim Coppinger Thursday told commissioners he would present his proposed balanced budget on June 13.

Fulfilling one of his campaign promises, Commissioner Marty Haynes today told commissioners during a regularly scheduled agenda meeting he wanted discretionary funds spent by commissioners to be posted on the county's website.

A trend of lower property assessments for the nearly 148,000 properties in the county has triggered a significant drop in appeals coming to Property Assessor Bill Bennett's office.

Lawmakers have passed new rules for mining natural gas in Tennessee — with rare blessings from the industry and environmental groups alike.

Two years ago, a Vanderbilt University poll showed 69 percent of Tennessee residents were either slightly or strongly opposed to allowing gay or lesbian couples the right to marry.

There's a big, green tree-killing mob heading toward Chattanooga, and City Forester Gene Hyde is trying to brace for it.

Local attorneys expect the U.S. Supreme Court to give a final "amen" to prayers in public meetings after the high court agreed Monday to hear a New York case.

Amid a cluster of nearly 50 local Tea Partyers holding handwritten signs emblazoned with anti-income tax and Libertarian slogans Tuesday, Barry Barsoumian held a sheet of white posterboard bearing a simple question in black marker: "Is this still America?"

Last year, the Hamilton County medical examiner probed 140 deaths that police deemed suspicious.

Beneath the calm, spring-fed headwaters in the Barrens Plateau, a bitter battle is being fought.

Hamilton County commissioners say emission testing is a bitter pill everyone just has to swallow.

A woman who is no stranger to real estate or community service will lead Chattanooga's Economic and Community Development department under Mayor Andy Berke.

With some opposition, Hamilton County commissioners today voted 7-2 to renew a contract with the state of Tennessee to continue testing emissions in the county.

Hamilton County Commissioners unanimously voted today to allow the county to accept a $500,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to buy property for the next phase of the Tennessee Riverpark project.

The Chattanooga City Council unanimously denied a zoning change for a developer who is suing the city for making the same call in 2011.

Mayor Andy Berke needs a little more time building Chattanooga’s 2014 budget to adjust for massive changes to the city’s organizational structure.

The Chattanooga City Council unanimously denied a zoning change for a developer who is suing the city for doing the same thing in 2011.

The Chattanooga Animal Control Board has a lot of homework to do if the city is going to become fowl friendly.

Dueling investors are sparring over the purchase of the historic Delta Queen.

The Chattanooga Animal Control Board has until next month to complete a comprehensive animal ordinance, which will include rules for keeping chickens inside the city limits.

Sit in any Hamilton County finance committee meeting and you will quickly learn that most infrastructure and road work is routine business.

A balanced budget proposal that does not require additional money from county taxpayers earned the Hamilton County Department of Education cheers from commissioners Thursday.

Signal Mountain's W Road will cost taxpayers an additional $500,000 after commissioners voted Thursday to release a new round of cash for emergency repairs to the 120-year-old road.

Hamilton County Commissioners today authorized an additional $500,000 to repair Signal Mountain's W Road.

An independent panel of judges will decide whether a local group can stop Sequoyah Nuclear Plant from operating two decades past its current license.

Ten million bucks may be a drop in Hamilton County's $643 million bucket, but officials say money generated by the county's five fee-collecting offices makes a big difference at budget time.

When it comes to budget proposals, Hamilton County Commissioner Fred Skillern has a simple measure for success: Start with last year's figure — and lower it if possible.

Fuel expenditures for Hamilton County government have risen by more than 40 percent in the past four years, and some officials are calling for fuel-efficiency standards for the county's fleet.