It goes without saying that the current pandemic has altered our national broadband conversation. What it has not changed, as those of us who have been working in this space are painfully aware, is the reality which existed long before COVID-19. Nor has the virus undone any of the decisions made over the last few decades which have lead us here a moment epitomized by a viral image of two girls attending classes from a Taco Bell parking lot.
What is particularly difficult to accept are the limited options which can provide immediate relief. There are some quick fixes, like the hotspot the school district provided for those two girls, but these stopgap measures are imperfect and, often, ineffective. Mobile hotspots have limited coverage areas, often come with data caps, can be unsustainably expensive and provide access at sub-broadband speeds. Rather than closing a divide, they shift and mask it while creating two different classes of internet user yet hundreds of millions of doll
City Council Approves $800,000 Of COVID Funds For Needy Agencies Tuesday, January 5, 2021 - by Joseph Dycus The Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve the first reading of an ordinance that will appropriate $800,000 to several organizations.
Getting the funding will be the Tivoli Theatre $225,000, the Forgotten Child Fund $75,000, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center $40,000, Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga for eviction relief $60,000, COVID contingency fund $100,000 and the Small Business Relief Fund $300,000.
It had been proposed by the administration that $160,000 go to United Way, but that money went instead to the eviction relief and the COVID contingency.
Earlier that afternoon, the Council decided the money granted by this ordinance was needed as quickly as possible. However, city attorney Phil Noblett said an ordinance cannot be passed on two readings on the same day.
Successful Chattanooga Businessman Darrell Freeman Returns Home To Make Community Donations Thursday, December 17, 2020
A Chattanooga native who became a successful businessman is returning to his hometown to donate $50,000 to the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and $25,000 to the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.
Darrell S. Freeman, Sr. will be in Chattanooga on Friday, including a stop at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center on MLK Boulevard at 3:15 p.m.
The Bessie Smith funds will go toward electronic cataloging at Bessie Smith and is a continuation of giving that Mr. Freeman has conducted in Chattanooga all year long.
He said, “It brings me much joy to be able to help others in my hometown, especially after a year